Baker Nusaiba F, Colazo Juan M, Gosain Arun K
From the Medical Scientist Training Program, Emory University; Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University; and Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Lurie Children's Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Plast Reconstr Surg. 2022 Feb 1;149(2):509-516. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000008786.
With plastic surgery being at the forefront of innovation and discovery in multiple research disciplines, plastic surgery is poised for M.D./Ph.D. and research-focused M.D. trainees to be attracted to this field. Surprisingly, recent reports have shown that the number of surgeon-scientists pursuing research is on the decline, with these declines being even more pronounced within plastic surgery. It is essential that plastic surgery remains a leader in translational research by cultivating a group of individuals who have been trained in basic research and are thereby competitive to obtain extramural grant funding. To address this need, the authors review data elucidating why the research-oriented trainee may forego pursuing a career in plastic surgery. Although much of the existing literature is speculative, the authors identified the current number of M.D./Ph.D.s in plastic surgery using data obtained from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and investigated number of grants in plastic surgery compared to other medical and surgical fields using the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results. The authors hypothesize that economic constraints and difficulty securing protected research time may be contributing to fewer trainees pursuing plastic surgery. The purpose of this article is (1) to discuss potential reasons deterring research-oriented trainees from pursuing careers as surgeon-scientists within plastic surgery; (2) to propose solutions that may attract more trainees interested in careers as surgeon-scientists to the field of plastic surgery; (3) to highlight the lack of quantitative data regarding surgeon-scientist training in plastic surgery; and (4) to propose and encourage future research avenues to help attract and nurture surgeon-scientists in plastic surgery.
随着整形手术处于多个研究领域创新与发现的前沿，整形手术有望吸引医学博士/哲学博士以及专注于研究的医学博士学员投身该领域。令人惊讶的是，最近的报告显示，从事研究的外科医生科学家数量在下降，在整形手术领域这种下降更为明显。通过培养一批接受过基础研究培训、从而有竞争力获得校外资助资金的人员，整形手术保持转化研究领域的领先地位至关重要。为满足这一需求，作者回顾了相关数据，以阐明以研究为导向的学员放弃从事整形手术职业的原因。尽管现有许多文献都是推测性的，但作者利用从美国整形外科医师协会获得的数据确定了目前整形手术领域医学博士/哲学博士的数量，并使用美国国立卫生研究院研究项目在线报告工具的支出和结果，调查了整形手术领域与其他医学和外科领域相比的资助数量。作者推测，经济限制和难以获得受保护的研究时间可能导致从事整形手术的学员减少。本文的目的是：（1）讨论阻碍以研究为导向的学员在整形手术领域从事外科医生科学家职业的潜在原因；（2）提出可能吸引更多对从事外科医生科学家职业感兴趣的学员投身整形手术领域的解决方案；（3）强调整形手术领域缺乏关于外科医生科学家培训的定量数据；（4）提出并鼓励未来的研究途径，以帮助吸引和培养整形手术领域的外科医生科学家。
