Allison Sophia G, Soltani Hannah, Chwa Emily S, Shuaibi Dana W, Allison Kevin R, Gosain Arun K
From the Division of Plastic Surgery, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2025 Jul 1;13(7):e6903. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000006903. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Due to limited funding available for students to attend conferences, we performed a comprehensive review of publicly provided information regarding medical school funding for academic conferences and surveyed medical students to assess accessibility and adequacy of funding.
The admissions website of all schools associated with American Association of Medical Colleges and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (220 programs) was reviewed to collect funding information. A REDCap survey was administered to students who registered for the annual Plastic Surgery the Meeting 2023 conference.
A total of 132 medicals schools (60%) had information regarding funding, and 125 (95%) reported that they provided funding for conference attendance. The average number of times that a student could receive funding during their 4 years was 4.1, and the average funding per year was $479. There was no difference in the 4-year total funding between public and private schools ($1924 versus $1992; = 0.88) or between allopathic and osteopathic schools ($1946 versus $2185; = 0.76). If the student had no supporting funding source, their average personal contribution was $738.
Given that there is already a large financial burden on students applying to competitive specialties from application and away rotation costs, it is important to identify areas where further support is needed. This study demonstrates the inadequacy of funding available for medical students to attend academic conferences. Providing funding for students to complete research will create more equitable access to competitive specialties such as plastic surgery.
由于学生参加会议的可用资金有限，我们对公开提供的有关医学院学术会议资金的信息进行了全面审查，并对医学生进行了调查，以评估资金的可及性和充足性。
对与美国医学院协会和美国骨科医学院协会相关的所有学校（220个项目）的招生网站进行审查，以收集资金信息。对注册参加2023年年度整形外科学术会议的学生进行了REDCap调查。
共有132所医学院（60%）有资金相关信息，其中125所（95%）报告称他们为学生参会提供资金。学生在4年中能够获得资金的平均次数为4.1次，每年的平均资金为479美元。公立学校和私立学校的4年总资金没有差异（1924美元对1992美元；P = 0.88），全科医学院和骨科医学院之间也没有差异（1946美元对2185美元；P = 0.76）。如果学生没有资助来源，他们的平均个人贡献为738美元。
鉴于申请竞争激烈专业的学生在申请和异地轮转费用方面已经面临巨大的经济负担，确定需要进一步支持的领域非常重要。本研究表明医学生参加学术会议的可用资金不足。为学生完成研究提供资金将使他们更公平地进入整形手术等竞争激烈的专业领域。
