Practice Management in Plastic Surgery: A Survey Comparing Skills Acquired During Residency and Those Applied in Independent Practice.

[BACKGROUND] Understanding the extent of practice management education within plastic surgery residency may serve to enhance elements of current curricular training.

[METHODS] A survey was sent to private practice plastic surgeons who completed training between 2008 and 2020. The survey elicited opinions about their practice management training during residency and experiences as attendings.

[RESULTS] Forty-nine private practice plastic surgeons completed the survey with a mean of 5 years in practice. 96% of respondents entered private practice immediately following their final training program. 48% of respondents cited "autonomy" as the primary reason for pursuing private practice. Surgeon's narrative responses regarding practice management skills learned outside of residency revealed the most grouped into the following themes: "Finance, Marketing, Accounting, Human Resources (HR), Operations" (n = 19), "Hiring, Firing, Employee Management" (n = 17), "Insurance Coverage, Billing, Coding" (n = 13), "General Skills" (n = 12), and "Starting & Running a Practice" (n = 11). 71.4% of respondents reported that they learned practice management skills from on-the-job training. Almost all respondents felt that there should be formal training in practice management (n = 35), with "Finance & Accounting" and "Management" cited as the most important skills to learn as a plastic surgeon. 51% of current surgeons felt allowing senior residents additional opportunities to rotate in private practices was the best way to enhance residency curricula.

[CONCLUSION] Incorporating practice management skills into training curricula will address the demonstrated knowledge gap and accelerate plastic surgeons' career growth.

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