Teaching plastic surgery to medical students.

A plastic surgery syllabus for third-year medical students is described. It is intended for a teaching programme in which plastic surgery is integrated into the surgical teaching on the same basis as the other surgical specialties. The syllabus was designed to concentrate on aspects of plastic surgery relevant to the needs of undergraduates. An audit of the teaching showed that the students were readily interested and considered the teaching to be relevant to their examinations and to their future as doctors. A survey of all plastic surgery centres in the British Isles showed that similar teaching was being undertaken in 11 centres out of 51.