Ford Aubree, Doherty Courtney, Vargo James D
From the Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Neb.
Division of Craniofacial/Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Children's Nebraska, Omaha, Neb.
Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2024 Aug 7;12(8):e6036. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000006036. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Medical students rarely receive dedicated education in plastic surgery, exposing them to influence from the internet or television programming that is frequently skewed toward cosmetic procedures. Additionally, social media posts from board-certified plastic surgeons make up a small portion of available content. These biased representations may impact students' perceptions, narrowing the scope of referrals and limiting career exploration.
Medical students at two academic medical centers were surveyed. Blinded data were collected on exposure to plastic surgery, social media usage, observed content, and perceptions of the specialty. Students' understanding of plastic surgery was evaluated using clinical scenarios.
The response rate was 24.3%. Social media and television were the primary contributors to understanding of plastic surgery in 51.6% of students, especially for those who had not completed a surgical clerkship ( < 0.026). Students most frequently viewed plastic surgery content posted by influencers (28.1%), followed by board-certified plastic surgeons (24.1%), patients (21.2%), and nonplastic surgeon physicians (19.7%). Posts relating to cosmetic procedures (44.3%) were viewed most frequently. Students who followed board-certified plastic surgeons performed better when answering clinical vignettes (64.8% versus 50.9%).
Social media and television play a significant role in medical students' perceptions of plastic surgery. Students are also more likely to see posts from influencers than board-certified plastic surgeons, furthering potential bias. Quality content from board-certified surgeons and professional societies may improve scope of practice creep and student interest.
医学生很少接受整形手术方面的专门教育，这使他们受到互联网或电视节目的影响，而这些节目往往偏向于美容手术。此外，获得委员会认证的整形外科医生发布的社交媒体帖子只占可用内容的一小部分。这些有偏差的呈现方式可能会影响学生的认知，缩小转诊范围并限制职业探索。
对两个学术医学中心的医学生进行了调查。收集了关于整形手术接触情况、社交媒体使用情况、观察到的内容以及对该专业的认知的盲态数据。通过临床病例评估学生对整形手术的理解。
回复率为24.3%。社交媒体和电视是51.6%的学生了解整形手术的主要渠道，尤其是对于那些尚未完成外科实习的学生（<0.026）。学生最常浏览有影响力的人发布的整形手术内容（28.1%），其次是获得委员会认证的整形外科医生（24.1%）、患者（21.2%）和非整形外科医生（19.7%）。与美容手术相关的帖子（44.3%）被浏览得最多。关注获得委员会认证的整形外科医生的学生在回答临床病例时表现更好（64.8%对50.9%）。
社交媒体和电视在医学生对整形手术的认知中起着重要作用。与获得委员会认证的整形外科医生相比，学生也更有可能看到有影响力的人发布的帖子，这进一步加剧了潜在的偏差。来自获得委员会认证的外科医生和专业协会的高质量内容可能会改善实践范围的蔓延和学生的兴趣。
