Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Residency Program

Program Director Welcome

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School is the proud sponsor of an integrated plastic surgery residency program. The integrated residency is a 6 year ACGME accredited program. Our program is centrally located in Newark, New Jersey at University Hospital, a level 1 trauma center. In addition, rotations at other hospitals include the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, St. Peter's Hospital, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. The breadth and diversity of cases is second to none.

The Rutgers NJMS plastic surgery residency program is committed to the development of the next generation of leaders in plastic surgery. Our goal is to train residents to think independently and innovatively in order to provide excellence in patient care and cross-disciplinary research. Our residents have proudly presented at local, regional, national, and international meetings.

At the core of our program, of course, are the residents, faculty, and staff. We strive to create an egalitarian and open forum for discussion and learning. Creativity, initiative, tenacity, and compassion are promoted and celebrated in our program. And most of all, plastic surgery is and should be fun.

In the words of one of my mentors in plastic surgery - GID/GEI - get it done, good enough isn't.
-Ed

Division of Plastic Surgery

The Plastic Surgery residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) follows an integrated 6-year format. Prior to 2012, the program was a combined plastic surgery residency program in cooperation with the Department of Surgery. The combined program will be phased out as current residents graduate. This year, two applicants will match into the integrated plastic surgery program. The integrated residency format includes 3 years of preliminary training and 3 years of requisite plastic surgery training. Contracts at Rutgers NJMS are issued annually with progression contingent upon satisfactory completion of the prior year. Residents must pass all three parts of the USMLE examination before entering the third year of residency at Rutgers NJMS. Residents must obtain final confirmation of their prerequisite training from the ABPS prior to the beginning of their training in the requisite years.Residents at PGY6 or later are required to have an unrestricted New Jersey license.

Selection Criteria

The selection of the residents for entry into the Rutgers NJMS, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, currently takes place within the guidelines of the National Residency Matching Program. All applications are reviewed by the Program Director, Chief of Plastic Surgery and the other faculty members. Candidates selected for interview are personally interviewed by the program director, the full time faculty, and clinical faculty members. Each applicant is evaluated on his/her own merit; therefore no specific formula for selection can be delineated. However, the following criteria are considered when evaluating a candidate during an interview: performance in medical school, letters of recommendations, reputation of their medical school, USMLE scores, dedication to the field of Plastic Surgery, and evidence of academic achievement. Plastic surgery residents provide tours of the facility during the interview process. Other plastic surgery residents meet with applicants and discuss all aspects of their training. The interview committee and residents meet in an open forum and develop a rank order of the applicants based on the above criteria as well as the impression given during the respective interviews.

Accreditation Status

The combined and integrated programs were reviewed by the ACGME in August 2012, and awarded continued accreditation. The combined program will be phased out by 2017, and in 2019, the integrated will undergo a self-study review.