Office of Career and Residency Advising (OCRA)

Your Match Starts Here

Plastic Surgery Career Advising Toolkit

The Plastic Surgery Career Advising Toolkit provides UCR School of Medicine students with resources to explore plastic surgery, connect with specialty-specific mentors, understand the training pathway, and prepare for residency application success.

Explore Plastic Surgery

Plastic Surgery Career Pathway

Learn about the journey to becoming a plastic surgeon, including medical school preparation, residency training, fellowship opportunities, and career options.

Access Plastic Surgery Training Pathway and Career Roadmap

Plastic Surgery Specialty Profile

Explore information about plastic surgery as a specialty, including career pathways, clinical experiences, and opportunities available to medical students.

This resource can help students:

  • Understand the scope of plastic surgery practice
  • Explore reconstructive and aesthetic surgical care
  • Learn about the management of congenital, traumatic, oncologic, and other surgical conditions
  • Explore specialty-specific clinical experiences
  • Develop surgical skills and clinical knowledge
  • Identify opportunities for career exploration
  • Explore opportunities in academic medicine, private practice, research, and subspecialty care

Plastic surgeons provide surgical care focused on restoring, reconstructing, and enhancing the form and function of the body. The specialty encompasses a broad range of reconstructive and aesthetic procedures and involves clinical decision-making, technical surgical skills, patient-centered care, and collaboration across medical and surgical specialties.

Select the "Specialty Profiles" tab to explore specialty information, clinical experiences, career pathways, and opportunities available to medical students.

Preparing for Plastic Surgery Residency

Specialty-Specific Residency Resources

Access resources designed to help students understand plastic surgery residency expectations and develop an effective application strategy.

Resources include:

Plastic Surgery Specialty Bootcamp

Learn from plastic surgeons and specialty leaders about specialty exploration, clinical rotations, and residency preparation.

Topics include:

  • Exploring plastic surgery as a specialty
  • Preparing for plastic surgery clinical rotations
  • Succeeding during a plastic surgery sub-internship
  • Standing out during your sub-internship
  • Selecting additional rotations for plastic surgery residency
  • Strengthening your plastic surgery residency application
  • Preparing for residency interviews
  • Requesting a strong letter of recommendation

View Plastic Surgery Specialty Bootcamp Video

Plastic Surgery Fellowship Pathways

Explore fellowship opportunities available after plastic surgery residency training. Fellowship training can provide additional opportunities for advanced clinical training, specialization, research, leadership development, and career preparation.

The Office of Career and Residency (OCRA) is currently developing fellowship-specific resources for plastic surgery. Additional fellowship profiles and resources will be added as they become available.

Students interested in exploring plastic surgery fellowship opportunities are encouraged to review national specialty organizations, individual fellowship programs, and other specialty-specific resources.

Select the “Fellowship Profiles” tab to explore fellowship training, clinical experiences, specialization opportunities, and career pathways.

Mentorship and Advising

Plastic Surgery Faculty Advisor

Connect with plastic surgery faculty advisors who provide specialty-specific guidance throughout medical school and residency preparation.

Faculty advisors can assist with:

  • Specialty exploration
  • Plastic surgery clinical rotation planning
  • Research and scholarly opportunities
  • Residency application preparation
  • Career planning

Faculty Advisor

James Depew, MD, FACS
Depew Plastic Surgery

Research and Scholarly Opportunities

Explore opportunities to participate in plastic surgery-related research and scholarly activities.

Students interested in plastic surgery can explore opportunities related to reconstructive surgery, surgical outcomes, innovation, clinical research, and other areas of surgical scholarship.

Visit the Scholarly Activities Portal to learn about available projects, mentorship opportunities, and ways to get involved.

Student Community

Surgery Interest Group

While there is no plastic surgery-specific student interest group, students interested in plastic surgery can connect with the UCR Surgery Interest Group, which provides opportunities to explore surgical careers and engage with surgeons across a variety of specialties.

Mission

The UCR Surgery Interest Group is dedicated to fostering student interest in surgical careers through education, mentorship, skills development, and professional networking. Our mission is to expose students to the diverse specialties within surgery, provide opportunities for hands-on surgical skills practice, connect students with surgeon mentors, and facilitate meaningful interactions with surgeons at all stages of their careers. Through workshops, panels, mentorship programs, and networking events, we aim to support students in exploring the field of surgery and developing the knowledge, skills, and relationships necessary for future success.

Connect with peers and participate in surgical specialty exploration activities through the Surgery Interest Group. Opportunities include:

  • Surgical specialty education sessions
  • Hands-on surgical skills workshops
  • Surgeon mentorship opportunities
  • Surgical specialty panels
  • Networking with surgeons and residents
  • Professional development activities
  • Opportunities to explore different surgical career pathways

Surgery Interest Group Leadership

Faculty Advisor
Nicholas Sheets, MD

Student Leaders

Ally Zweigle
Leo Navejas

UCR Plastic Surgery Residency Match Information

Explore where UCR School of Medicine graduates have matched into plastic surgery residency programs.

Select the "Residency Match Outcomes" tab to view specialty-specific residency match information.