Plastic Surgery Independent Pathway

Written by Rami S. Kantar, M.D, M.P.H

The independent plastic surgery pathway is for applicants who have or will have completed pre-requisite surgical training (most commonly general surgery or other surgical specialties) by the start of plastic surgery training. Independent plastic surgery trainees in programs that have both the integrated and independent models of training, will join their integrated colleagues at the PGY-4 level.

Match Timeline
The Match takes place in May for all applicants who want to start their training in July of the following year.

Registration
There is a $150 non-refundable applicant registration fee that covers registration and matching. Once registered, applicants can manage their accounts by logging into their account profiles on the SF Match website (https://www.sfmatch.org/).

Eligibility
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) (https://www.abplasticsurgery.org/) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) (https://www.acgme.org/) provide the most current eligibility requirements for all applicants.

Central Application Service (CAS)
SF Match’s Central Application Service (CS) distributes applications to programs electronically. The use of CAS is mandatory for both programs and applicants.

Good luck, and feel free to reach out with any questions!

General Surgery Chief Resident, The University of Maryland Medical System/Shock Trauma Center

Incoming Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery Resident, New York University