an unconventional focus.

According to the 2017 NRMP match statistics, of the 28,849 open residency positions, only 159 were offered for integrated plastic surgery (0.55%). There were 446 applicants for this uber-competitive specialty, meaning a match rate of 36% (about one-third) for those who applied. Only 9 of the 159 positions (5.7%) were filled by individuals who were not seniors in U.S Medical schools, such as myself. If you consider all 54,110 individuals applying for a PGY-1 position, I had a 0.017% chance of matching into this field from a purely statistical standpoint.. but obviously there’s more to the story. The term “Plastic Surgery” is often used synonymously and erroneously with the term “Cosmetic Surgery,” characterized in the media as a specialization dedicated to elective procedures like the Brazilian butt lift and breast augmentation. The term “plastic surgery” is derived from the Greek “Plastikos,” meaning to mold or to shape. While our specialty does offer various cosmetic procedure...

Introduction               Ever since my undergraduate days at the University of Virginia, I have been interested and engaged in biomedical research. However, it wasn’t until I matriculated to Meharry Medical College, the largest historically black medical school in the country, that I developed an appreciation for the immense scope of disparities that exist in research and the delivery medical care as it pertains to minority populations, and specifically, African-Americans in the United States. As I worked towards a Healthcare MBA at Vanderbilt University and served as the Health Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee Chair for the Student National Medical Association, I developed an even greater understanding for the need for top-down approaches to reducing these inequalities. At the writing of this essay, I am a surgeon-scientist in-training completing a Master’s degree in Biomedical & Translational Sciences ...