Education in plastic surgery: Are we headed in the right direction?

Introduction: Plastic surgery in India is in an era of transition. The speciality faces many challenges as it grows. The present study attempts to identify these challenges and the prevalent mood among the teachers and the trainees. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted from September 2011 to June 2012. In an E-mail based survey a questionnaire was mailed to professionals actively involved in teaching and training of residents in plastic surgery in many institutes running MCh courses in plastic surgery (Group I) [ Appendix 1]. Another questionnaire was mailed to residents undergoing training in plastic surgery and those who had completed their training within past 2 years (Group II) [ Appendix 2]. Chi-square test was applied to test for statistical significance. Observations: 29 Group I and 33 Group II subjects responded to the questionnaire. While 72.4% teachers believed that the current system is producing plastic surgeons with enough skill level, only 9.1% of the respondents in Group II thought the same (Chi-square = 28.1; df = 2; P < 0.001). Whereas 58.6% Group I respondents thought that their student is sufficiently equipped to compete in today's scenario [ Figure 1], only 18.2% Group II respondents thought that their training is enough [ Figure 2]. (Chi-square = 16.4; df = 2; P < 0.001). Nearly 28% respondents in Group I and only 3% in Group II thought that scientific research and publications should be made mandatory for successful completion of plastic surgery training (Chi-square = 9.4; df = 2; P = 0.009). Adequate exposure was thought to be available in general plastic surgery (Group I: 92% Group II: 81%), maxillofacial surgery (Group I: 72% Group II: 68%) and hand surgery (Group I: 84% Group II: 69%). Both groups agreed that exposure is lacking in craniofacial surgery, aesthetic surgery and microvascular surgery. Aesthetic surgery (38.7%) and microvascular surgery (32.6%) were the most frequent response when the Group II respondents were enquired about the subspeciality they would like to focus on in their practice. Inter-departmental exchange of students for limited period of time was favoured by 86.2% of Group I respondents and 93.9% Group II respondents (Chi-square = 1.3; df = 2; P = 0.49). Conclusion: The current training programme is differently perceived by teachers and the trainees. We recommend that constant deliberations at national and regional forums should take place regarding our education and training programmes.