Current Trends in Aesthetic Surgery Fellowship Training Print
Researchers: Jacob N. Grow, MD and Andrew Kochuba, MD (Co-PIs)

Grant Award: ASERF Interim Grant

Amount Awarded: $2,000

Project Name: Current Trends in Aesthetic Surgery Fellowship Training

Project Summary: The purpose of this project is to investigate application trends for aesthetic surgery fellowships and how this may relate to hand, microsurgery and craniofacial fellowships. Specifically, we are interested in changes that may have occurred over time with regards to the number of applicants and positions offered for each fellowship sub-specialty. We also hope to estimate the percentage of plastic surgery residents that have sought continued training through fellowships.

With The Aesthetic Society formalizing the aesthetic surgery fellowship match process, the development of accredited microsurgical training, and general increase in plastic surgery residency positions, we hypothesize that both the number of fellowship applicants as well as fellowship positions offered will show an increase over time. This will apply to both aesthetic surgery as well as the other sub-specialties. By comparing the number of applicants to the number of positions offered, we will also seek to identify how competitive placement into each fellowship may be. Additionally, we predict that the percentage of residents seeking fellowships has also increased, suggesting that further training is becoming more common amongst residents. This may initiate further discussion concerning training gaps during residency, as well as the trend toward sub-specialization amongst practicing plastic surgeons.

We feel that our research will provide important information for our society as we navigate the future of our specialty and expectations of our trainees.