Academic and Clinical Background of Plastic Surgery Residents of the Saudi Training Program

Background: Plastic surgery residents are required to contribute to the scientific milieu, apart from honing their surgical skills. Data regarding their academic and clinical background are limited locally in comparison with their counterparts. This is the first study of its kind on the Saudi training program, with suggested potential solutions to shortcomings. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study based on an electronic, 27-element, self-administered questionnaire sent to a WhatsApp group gathering all 40 plastic surgery residents of the Saudi program, with the exclusion of a single participant. Results: The mean of overall residents' publications was 2.29 articles. No significant difference (P= 0.438) was found in the number of publications among residents of different levels. However, seniors have published significantly (P= 0.002) more articles (mean = 1.6; SD = 1.24) during residency compared with juniors (mean = 0.42; SD = 1). The group that had taken rotations in plastic surgery abroad published more articles (P= 0.02) than the group that did not. Using eta correlation, a positive correlation (eta= 0.36) was found between taking courses in research and publication. Conclusions: The Saudi plastic surgery residents are ahead of their colleagues in other local specialties but fall behind their counterparts internationally. The relatively poor contribution in terms of research, posters, and oral presentations could be remedied with measures such as providing protected research time and mentorship. They should be emboldened to pursue postgraduate studies, as only 3 residents had a Master of Science degree.