Plastic surgery residency

Plastic surgery is the common answer that people look up to, when they want to change the way they look – be it changing their face, ears, nose, reducing weights, looking slimmer or taller etc.

Cosmetic plastic surgery has altered the surgery landscape to such an extent that people don’t think twice about taking a surgery to do minor alternations to themselves.

Plastics surgery has become so common that more people are taking to it and the demand for doctors and surgeons related to plastic surgery has also increased dramatically.

The American board of plastic surgery is one organization that has taken up to standardizing and certifying residency programs and studies related to plastic surgeons.

To become a Surgeon in plastic surgery, a student has to undergo several years of learning in varied fields, training, residency programs, practicing in hospitals etc.

In addition to the normal four year medical education preceeded by the under graduate study, a plastic surgery student has to complete at least three years of training in a certified general residency program.

Completion of a residency program in orthopedic surgery is another option available for plastic surgery students with respect to the general surgery residency.

The surgeon will be evaluated by the board of plastic surgery on completion of the residency program, to ensure his prerequisites are ready before beginning plastic surgery related training.

This training in plastic surgery will include actual exposure to the student into many areas of plastic surgery and also the student will be expected to increase his responsibilities with respect to the handling if the clinical cases and surgical procedures over the training period of two or three years.

After completing the plastic surgery training after the residency program, the resident will be eligible for board certification. The certification for plastic surgery, is in the form of a written examination.

Also an oral exam will be conducted and will mainly be based on the cases that the surgeon performed during the plastic surgery training period.

As can be seen it is a long process to get board certified surgeon in plastic surgery from the residency programs to the final examinations. This can take even up to twenty years after high school.

One of the schools the offer plastic surgery residency programs is the Medical college of Virginia. Here the resident will be exposed to all the cases and consultations that occur in the hospital and will also supervise surgical interns on rotation.

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