Elmer Nicholas A, Veeramani Anamika, Bustos Valeria P, Shiah Eric, Hassell Natalie, Comer Carly D, Manstein Samuel M, Laikhter Elizabeth, Lin Samuel J
Division of Plastic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023 Jan 13;11(1):e4766. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000004766. eCollection 2023 Jan.
The Plastic Surgery Common Application (PSCA) was introduced as a free and specialty-specific application for plastic surgery applicants in the 2020-2021 cycle. Now in its second year, the PSCA is being piloted by all integrated residency programs with future plans to replace Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) in the 2022-2023 cycle. This study aimed to explore applicant perspectives related to the PSCA and ERAS applications.
An anonymous survey was distributed to integrated plastic surgery residency applicants from the 2021-2022 application cycle. Participants were asked to provide basic demographic information, their perspectives of the PSCA, and overall application preference.
One hundred forty (43.1%) applicants completed the survey. Nearly, 63% of applicants responded "slightly well" or "not well at all" regarding their ability to highlight at least one aspect of their application. Forty-one percent of applicants believed ERAS best highlighted the strengths of their application compared with 27% who believed their strengths were better highlighted by the PSCA. Seventy-nine percent reported the cost savings associated with the PSCA were "very" or "extremely important." Overall, 63% of respondents reported a preference to apply with the PSCA alone.
This is the first study to provide insight on applicants' perspectives of the PSCA. Although the majority preferred applying with the PSCA, there may be challenges with transitioning to this application solely. Future iterations of the PSCA may aim to ameliorate functionality concerns, optimize application content, and incorporate plastic surgery-specific information that may be important to selection committees.
整形手术通用申请系统（PSCA）于2020 - 2021申请季作为一项面向整形手术申请者的免费且特定专业的申请系统推出。如今在其第二年，所有综合住院医师培训项目都在对PSCA进行试点，并计划在2022 - 2023申请季取代电子住院医师申请服务（ERAS）。本研究旨在探讨申请者对PSCA和ERAS申请的看法。
向2021 - 2022申请季的综合整形手术住院医师培训申请者发放了一份匿名调查问卷。参与者被要求提供基本人口统计学信息、他们对PSCA的看法以及总体申请偏好。
140名（43.1%）申请者完成了调查。近63%的申请者表示，就突出其申请的至少一个方面的能力而言，他们的情况是“有点好”或“一点都不好”。41%的申请者认为ERAS最能突出其申请的优势，相比之下，27%的申请者认为PSCA能更好地突出他们的优势。79%的申请者表示与PSCA相关的成本节约“非常”或“极其重要”。总体而言，63%的受访者表示更倾向于仅使用PSCA进行申请。
这是第一项深入了解申请者对PSCA看法的研究。尽管大多数人更倾向于使用PSCA申请，但仅过渡到这个申请系统可能存在挑战。PSCA未来的版本可能旨在改善功能方面的问题，优化申请内容，并纳入对选拔委员会可能很重要的整形手术特定信息。
