Is plastic surgery competitive? How important are the USMLEs, research, med school reputation, and AOA membership for matching into plastic surgery? Is plastic surgery IMG-friendly? And what is the DO match rate for plastic surgery programs?
In this article, you’ll learn everything about plastic surgery’s competitiveness in 2022. In the process, you’ll learn what to focus on – and what not to – to maximize your chances of matching into this desirable specialty.
Summary:
- Plastic surgery Overall Competitiveness: High
- Research Importance: High
- USMLE Importance: High
- Importance of Attending Top 40 Med School: Moderate
- Importance of Class Rank / Obtaining AOA (Med School Honors): High
Table of Contents
Is Plastic Surgery Competitive in 2022?
One way to assess the competitiveness of a specialty is to look at the match rate – the % of people who apply who end up matching into their preferred specialty.
Among US Seniors, the unmatched percentage was 37.3%, making it highly competitive among US residencies. The match rate for plastic surgery was the lowest of all the specialties in the 2022 Match, lower than the most competitive specialties like dermatology, orthopedic surgery, or otolaryngology.
For more on the most competitive US specialties, see this article.
Plastic Surgery Match Rate
What is the plastic surgery match rate for US seniors, DO seniors, and IMGs? The “match rate” is the % of people who applied to a particular specialty as their preferred specialty who successfully matched into the specialty.
- US Senior Plastic Surgery Match Rate (2022 Match): 62.7%
- DO Senior Plastic Surgery Match Rate (2022 Match): 0%
- US IMG Plastic Surgery Match Rate (2022 Match): 31%
- Non-US IMG Plastic Surgery Match Rate (2022 Match): 41%
See below for more on matching into plastic surgery as a DO or IMG.
Plastic Surgery Match Statistics 2022
In 2022, there were 194 plastic surgery positions available in the NRMP match. A total of 340 applicants listed it as their preferred specialty.
In the 2022 Match, plastic surgery ranked #18 for most total positions offered, behind:
- Internal medicine: 9,809 positions
- Family medicine: 4,916 positions
- Pediatrics: 3,016 positions
- Emergency medicine: 2,921 positions
- Psychiatry: 2,047 positions
- Anesthesiology: 1,969 positions
- General surgery: 1,622
- Obstetrics and Gynecology: 1,503
- Diagnostic Radiology: 1,155
- Orthopedic Surgery: 875
- Neurology: 1,014
- Dermatology: 544
- Pathology: 631
- Physical Medicine: 532
- Otolaryngology: 361
- Internal Medicine/Pediatrics: 392
- Neurological Surgery: 240
- Plastic Surgery: 194
How Many Applicants Receive Interviews in Plastic Surgery?
According to the 2021 Program Director survey, each plastic surgery program received 282 applications on average. Other data include:
- Applications received (Plastic Surgery): 282
- Applications rejected based on standardized screen (Plastic Surgery): 87
- Applications receiving holistic review (Plastic Surgery): 245
- Interview invitations sent (Plastic Surgery): 42
- Applicants interviewed (Plastic Surgery): 35
- Applicants ranked (Plastic Surgery): 31
Looking at the percentages, we can see that for the 2021 Match:
- 31% of Plastic Surgery applications were rejected via standardized screen,
- 87% of Plastic Surgery applications received a holistic review,
- 15% of Plastic Surgery applications received an interview invitation, and
- 11% of all Plastic Surgery applicants were ranked to match
Plastic Surgery is Moderately Reliant on Screens
Plastic Surgery moderately relies on standardized screens to weed out applicants. In the 2021 Program Director Survey, plastic surgery PDs respondents reported that 31% of applications were rejected via standardized screen. This ranked below the middle of residencies.
USMLE Scores for Plastic Surgery
Step 1 scores for plastic surgery for matched US seniors reflect its high competitiveness.
Plastic Surgery Step 1 Scores (Matched Applicants in 2022 Match):
- 25%ile: 245
- Median: 251
- 75%ile: 259
Step 1 Plastic Surgery Scores Are Top of the Road (2022 Match)
Similarly, Step 2 CK scores for plastic surgery surgery for matched US seniors reflect its high competitiveness.
Plastic Surgery Step 2 CK Scores (Matched Applicants in 2022 Match):
- 25%ile: 251
- Median: 258
- 75%ile: 264
Step 2 CK Plastic Surgery Scores Are Top of the Road (2022 Match)
See this article for more on USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK percentiles for each specialty and the overall percentiles.
Matching into Plastic Surgery as a DO
Matching into plastic surgery as a DO is very competitive, with 0% match rate and 0% of spots filled by DO Seniors in the 2022 Match.
For more on the most DO-friendly specialties, see this article.
Is Plastic Surgery IMG Friendly?
Plastic Surgery is moderately IMG-friendly, with an overall 37% match rate and 6% of spots filled by IMGs in the 2022 Match. In 2022,13 US IMGs and 17 non-US IMGs applied to plastic surgery; 4 US IMGs and 7 non-US IMGs matched.
Plastic Surgery is Moderately IMG-Friendly (2022 Match)
We can see that US IMGs had a slightly higher match rate (31%) than non-US IMGs (41%) in plastic surgery.
For plastic surgery, US IMGs had a slightly higher match rate (31%) than non-US IMGs (41%) in the 2022 Match
For more on the most IMG-friendly specialties, see this article.
Plastic Surgery-Friendly IMG Residency Programs
For a list of the most IMG-friendly plastic surgery programs, see this article.
How Much Do Plastic Surgeons Make per Year? Per Hour?
Plastic Surgeons have an average annual salary of $576,000. This can vary dramatically based on practice setting, specialty training, and experience level.
Plastic Surgeons make $576,000 per year on average
However, annual salaries can be misleading. Some specialties work much more than others. By considering the estimated hours worked per year for plastic surgeons, we get an estimated hourly salary of $230/hr.
Plastic Surgeons make roughly $230/hr on average when taking in hours worked per year
See this article for more on physician annual salaries and estimated hourly wage by specialty.
How Important is AOA for Plastic Surgery?
AOA – Alpha Omega Alpha – is the med school honors society. Each school may elect up to 20% of the graduating class of students.
Having AOA membership confers a greater advantage to matching into some specialties more than others. Often this AOA advantage is greatest for the most competitive specialties.
AOA membership correlated with a 26% match rate advantage for plastic surgery in the 2022 Match
In the 2022 Match, the match rate for US seniors with AOA membership was 26% greater than that of US seniors without AOA membership. AOA membership provided a high advantage to matching into plastic surgery residency.
A number of schools do not have AOA chapters. Even in those schools, many of them rank students against each other. Regardless of AOA status, we can see that class rank is an important factor in successfully matching into plastic surgery.
For more on AOA medical schools and the importance of class rank for matching, see this article.
How Many Publications for Plastic Surgery Residency in 2022
Research is an important characteristic for matching into many specialties, particularly the most competitive. So, how many publications do you need to match into a plastic surgery residency?
In 2022, the mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications for US seniors who matched into plastic surgery was 28.4. The mean number of research experiences was 6.1.
Do I Need an MD-PhD to Match Into Plastic Surgery?
You may wonder how much an MD-PhD helps with matching into plastic surgery. It appears that having a PhD correlates with a moderate advantage of 13% when applying into plastic surgery. Specifically, the match rate for those with a PhD is 13% higher than for those without one when applying into plastic surgery.
Having a PhD correlated with a 13% match rate advantage for plastic surgery in the 2022 Match
Note that those with PhDs are relatively rare among plastic surgery residents. In fact, only 2.2% of matched applicants into plastic surgery had a PhD in 2022.
2.2% of matched applicants to Plastic Surgery had an MD-PhD in 2022
Should You Attend a Top Medical School to Match Into Plastic Surgery?
Does attending a top medical school help with matching into plastic surgery? According to the program director survey results above, 46.7% of plastic surgery PDs consider medical school reputation when considering whom to interview. The mean importance score was 3.6.
Similarly, we can look at the advantage to attending a school in the top 40 by NIH funding. In 2022, there was an 8% advantage in match rate to those attending a school in the top 40 for NIH funding vs. those who did not.
Graduating from a medical school ranked in the top 40 by NIH funding correlated with an 8% match rate advantage for plastic surgery in the 2022 Match
Does an MPH or MBA Help Match Into Plastic Surgery?
Medical training is long. Despite this, many consider – or complete – other degrees, like MPHs or MBAs.
But how much of an advantage – or disadvantage – does an MPH (Master of Public Health) or MBA (Master of Business Administration) confer when applying into plastic surgery? Not much, it turns out. In fact, the match rate for US seniors with other degrees was 11% lower than the rate for those with no other degrees.
These statistics imply that having a second degree that isn’t a PhD doesn’t appear to help your chances of matching into plastic surgery, and may even hurt them.
Having another degree like an MBA or MPH correlated with an 11% match rate disadvantage for plastic surgery in the 2022 Match
What Are the Best Plastic Surgery Programs?
Plastic surgery is highly competitive, making the most desirable programs extremely difficult to enter. So which are the best plastic surgery residency programs?
Opinions will vary. However, some of the most desirable plastic surgery residency programs would include:
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
- University of Pittsburg Medical Center
- University of Pennsylvania
- Emory University- Atalanta
-
Johns Hopkins
Concluding Thoughts
So how competitive is plastic surgery in 2022? Based on the statistics, high competitiveness so. It is among the most competitive specialties like otolaryngology and orthopedic surgery. It requires relatively high amounts of research or extra credentials like AOA membership or an Ivy League education to match.
That said, plastic surgery is highly competitive, particularly for the most desirable programs. While it is true for all specialties, USMLE scores – and particularly Step 2 CK – will be emphasized moving forward, particularly given how reliant plastic surgery is on standardized screens to weed out applicants.
To learn more about how to master – not memorize – for impressive USMLE scores and higher class rankings, sign up for a free consultation. You can learn more about how Yousmle can help you to make the most of your time, to excel in your classes, Board exams, and the extracurriculars that are critical to matching.
Looking for a Plastic Surgery Residency Advisor?
Looking for a plastic surgery residency advisor? Want help writing your personal statement? Need effective strategies for interviewing? Do you have things on your application – e.g., low USMLE scores, failed USMLEs, no research, IMG status, or others – you need help overcoming?
Be sure to check out our Residency Advisor service.
