A student-led nationally coordinated model for scalable plastic surgery education: Addressing the decline of plastic surgery teaching in UK medical schools.

[BACKGROUND] Plastic surgery has historically been underrepresented within UK undergraduate curricula. This perpetuates misconceptions and limits informed career choice. Student-led initiatives may provide a pragmatic means of identifying and addressing these gaps.

[METHODS] The authors organised a national plastic surgery undergraduate conference. The programme combined lectures, poster presentations, and simulation workshops. Pre- and post-conference questionnaires assessed knowledge, awareness of professional organisations, confidence in surgical skills, and career interest using 5-point Likert scales. Data was analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

[RESULTS] 105 delegates from 34 UK medical schools completed paired surveys. Familiarity with BAPRAS (2.74 ± 1.41 to 3.98 ± 0.93; p = 0.01) and PLASTA (2.38 ± 1.27 to 4.12 ± 0.89; p < 0.01) improved significantly. Knowledge of global reconstructive surgery (2.26 ± 1.15 to 4.09 ± 0.76), innovations (2.17 ± 1.06 to 3.89 ± 0.90), and military trauma (2.11 ± 1.18 to 4.17 ± 0.72) also increased (all p < 0.01). Confidence in suturing (2.88 ± 1.20 to 4.34 ± 0.73), tendon repair (1.53 ± 0.94 to 3.76 ± 0.90), and microsurgical nerve repair (1.31 ± 0.70 to 3.69 ± 1.25) increased significantly (all p < 0.01). 80.0% (84) of delegates reported increased interest in plastic surgery as a career.

[CONCLUSIONS] This study highlights the lack of plastic surgery exposure currently provided to UK medical undergraduates. The conference significantly enhanced delegates' knowledge, practical skills, and career interest, highlighting the educational value of undergraduate initiatives in addressing gaps within undergraduate curricula and fostering early career development.