EDUCATION

Medical training is a complex process that most people don’t fully understand. We’re sure you may have many questions. You are not alone. We’ll try to make sense of it here.

A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
"I’m told the surgeon has done many surgeries. That means she has all the necessary training right?"

SHORT ANSWER
Absolutely not.

The Training Tree

An important factor in the development of a plastic surgeon is the opportunity to grow, under guidance and direct supervision. One way to think about the training process is to imagine a tree, starting from the trunk and moving toward the leaves. Different types of doctors branch off into various areas of specialty.

1. College

At the bottom most part of the tree is the trunk. A college education and degree provides the foundation for further medical education. During college, the student must pass the necessary science courses and take the Medical College Admission Test, known as the MCAT.

In 2008, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, there were only 18,036 medical school acceptances in the United States out of 42,231 applications.

2. Medical School

Medical school continues the education process, making way for the development of a doctor. This part takes generally four years divided into two parts.

PART 1: Basic Science Courses
Here the student attends classes to further knowledge in areas such as organic chemistry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and so forth.

PART 2: Clinical Rotations
This time is spent actually working in the hospital with various specialties. So the student gets exposure to pediatrics, OB/GYN, family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, anesthesia, etc. The time on each "rotation" is about 1 to 3 months. That’s relatively short.

When complete with medical school, a medical degree is given. At this point, the student is now called doctor.

3. Internship

Before the doctor is allowed to actually work on his/her own, he/she needs to go through a minimum of one year of internship. After internship, and passing the necessary tests (Board Examinations), the doctor obtains a medical license. Each state licenses their own doctors. Each state also individually monitors their own physicians.

With a medical license, the doctor can now legally practice ALL types of medicine. That’s right, the doctor can deliver babies, treat skin cancer, take out an appendix, or even perform plastic surgery! Further training is voluntary.

With just as little as 1-3 months exposure to plastic surgery, some doctors will call themselves a "cosmetic surgeon". (Notice the possible confusion: while in many places they can not call themselves a "plastic surgeon", they will call themselves "cosmetic surgeons" and perform plastic surgery procedures.)

So while they "CAN" perform plastic surgery, do you really "WANT" him or her to? We wouldn’t. We expect our surgeons to be trained specially in plastic surgery. That’s what a residency is for.

4. Plastic Surgery Residency/Fellowship

Plastic surgery residency entails extensive training with direct supervision of upwards of ten to twenty thousand hours.

In his NY Times bestseller Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell well describes the 10,000 Hour Rule--that's the minimum number of hours of practice needed to be an expert at anything. With a plastic surgery residency, this enormous amount of hours is met. That's why we believe that hands on, intense plastic surgery training through residency and/or fellowship is crucial.

Don't forget--ANY licensed physician can perform practically anything they want. We have found radiologists (doctors who read x-rays) performing liposuction. We have also found obstetricians (doctors who deliver babies) performing tummy tucks or attempt breast augmentations. It’s all legal and allowed in the United States. We just don’t think it’s a good idea.

Conclusion

If you're still not sure, think of it this way: would you want a heart surgeon who is self-taught?

In the end, it is your responsibility to make sure that the doctor has gone through the necessary plastic surgery training.

And when you are searching and asking, make sure you listen carefully. Some doctors who don’t really have the plastic surgery training will try to hide that fact by saying things like "I’ve had a cosmetic fellowship." Watch out! Find out exactly how long that training was and that it wasn't just a fly-by-night certificate.