Demographics, Trends, and Outcomes of Medical Student Presenters at National Plastic Surgery Conferences: A 10-year Analysis.

Background: Research is an increasingly substantial criterion for competitive applicants entering the plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) match. Presenting at conferences provides valuable networking opportunities, especially for students from schools without home-integrated PRS programs (no home program [NHP]). We sought to characterize the demographics and outcomes of student presenters at national PRS conferences.

Methods: Student presenters were obtained from annual meeting programs of 3 national PRS conferences from 2013 to 2022. Data were collected on demographics, presentation frequency, presenters' home and/or research institutions, and match outcomes using Doximity, residency webpages, and LinkedIn. The Pearson χ² test, unpaired t test, and the Pearson correlation coefficient were performed.

Results: Overall, 745 students delivered 1133 presentations with an approximate 13-fold increase during 10 years. Approximately 61% matriculated into an integrated PRS residency program. NHP presenters comprised 20%, with a 58% match rate, compared with 62% for students who had a home program (HP) (P = 0.41). Among NHP students, 53% researched externally at HP institutions, yielding a 70% match rate, compared with 44% for NHP students researching within their NHP institutions (P = 0.005). Delivering 1 presentation corresponded to a 50% match rate, compared with 76% for multiple presentations (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Presenting multiple times at national conferences is associated with a greater PRS match rate. NHP students have a higher likelihood of matching when collaborating with a separate HP institution. Rising volumes of student presentations at PRS conferences suggest that engaging in research, perhaps due to the importance of networking at conferences, may be integral to matching.