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Plastic Surgery Residency

World class academic training at the heart of Texas



Baylor Scott & White has been training plastic surgery residents since 1991. We are a large academic medical center, offering all subspecialty care. We are associated with Baylor College of Medicine, and have a strong trainee experience, accepting 2 integrated residents yearly.

As the only level one trauma center in central Texas, residents become well-versed in the treatment of hand, lower extremity, and craniofacial trauma. The Vasicek Cancer Center provides an abundance of experience with breast, head and neck, as well as extremity reconstruction, with particular excellence in microsurgery. Residents gain extensive congenital and pediatric experience in the freestanding McLane Children’s Hospital. Additionally, residents take a leadership role while serving our veterans at Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center, which is part of the VA Central Texas Healthcare System; one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 (VISN 17), which includes medical centers and clinics in Texas and New Mexico.

PGY 5 and PGY 6 residents spend one month each year learning from some of the most renowned cosmetic surgeons in a private practice setting in either Austin at the Walden Cosmetic Surgery Center or in Houston at Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery. In addition, chief residents have the opportunity to run their own cosmetic clinic. During their first 2 years of training, residents receive 11 months of plastic surgery training and will also rotate with Burn Reconstruction (Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio), Dermatology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Pediatric Surgery, the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Oncology, Transplant Surgery, and Trauma Surgery. The remaining 4 years of training are dedicated to plastic surgery training.

The plastic surgery residency at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center is participating as one of three plastic surgery residencies in an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved educational innovation along with Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The residency is competency-based as opposed to a time-based training program. Under the competency-based model, plastic surgery residency is a minimum of five instead of six years, and graduation is based on attaining the ability to practice plastic surgery independently and without supervision. The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) has approved this educational innovation; therefore, graduates of the residency are eligible for fellowships and to enter the board certification process.

Additional highlights

  • A dedicated microsurgery lab with protected 1:1 training time
  • Dedicated research months in PGY 1-3 years
  • Funding to present at one regional or national meeting yearly
  • Cadaver labs
  • Protected resident and staff-led didactics 4 days weekly
  • A low cost of living with an accessible real estate market
  • Close proximity to some of the nation’s largest cities including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston
  • All home facilities are within 5 minutes of each other

Curriculum

During the first two years of residency, residents’ time is divided between plastic surgery and supporting services, which include Burn Reconstruction (Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio), Dermatology, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Pediatric Surgery, the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Oncology, Transplant Surgery, and Trauma Surgery.

Residents spend their final four years exclusively working in the plastic surgery department. Rotations are selected that provide training in areas that can be utilized in a plastic surgery practice and provide insight into overlapping medical disciplines.

Craniofacial Surgery

This rotation provides residents with an opportunity to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with a full range of craniofacial abnormalities including aesthetic, congenital, traumatic facial fractures and iatrogenic deformities. A large part of the practice includes working with pediatric patients.

Cosmetic Surgery

Each rotation includes a component of cosmetic plastic surgery. Our physicians treat a full range of patients through our dedicated outpatient clinic. PGY 5 and PGY 6 residents spend one month each year learning from some of the most renowned cosmetic surgeons in a private practice setting in either Austin at the Walden Cosmetic Surgery Center or in Houston at the Aesthetic Center for Plastic Surgery.

PGY 6 residents have their own cosmetic surgery clinic one afternoon every other week throughout their final year to evaluate potential patients, diagnose problems, and provide treatment with staff supervision. In addition, residents gain exposure to non-operative modalities including laser treatment and injectable fillers.

Hand Surgery

Residents rotate with board-certified plastic surgeons with special certification in hand surgery. Maladies of bone, muscle, tendon and nerve including congenital, traumatic and iatrogenic deformities as related to the upper extremity are diagnosed and treated with resources available in the emergency department, operating room, outpatient clinic and our hand center – a collaborative clinic with our orthopedic colleagues.

Microsurgery

In preparation for microsurgery, residents will work with a murine model to achieve competency with vascular anastomoses to prepare for the operating room. A variety of defects, often of traumatic or iatrogenic nature, will be presented to the surgical team, allowing the opportunity to formulate a solution using advanced technologies and techniques. Among the frequently treated challenges are defects produced by excision of head & neck cancer and breast cancer.

Central Texas VA Health Care System

Practice at the hospital includes a full range of plastic surgical problems and techniques including abdominoplasty, rhinoplasty, breast reconstruction, and skin cancer excision.

AY 2024-2025 Block Rotation Schedule

In addition to clinical training, residents attend and participate in conferences that enhance their medical knowledge. These include areas of basic sciences as applied to surgery, critical care, trauma, diagnosis, pathology, and treatment of surgical diseases. During the first two years of residency, many of these conferences are held in conjunction with the off-service rotations and general surgery department.

From the first year of residency, residents attend weekly Selected Readings, The Basics, and Division of Plastic Surgery educational conferences. These conferences include diagnosis, pathology, complications, and administrative concerns specific to plastic surgery. They also attend the Department of Surgery Grand Rounds once a month.

Plastic Surgery Educational Weekly Conference Schedule

Monday, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. – Division Educational Conference

Tuesday, 6:50 - 7:50 a.m. – The Basics

Wednesday, 6:50 - 7:50 a.m. – Directed Readings

Thursday 6:30 - 8:00 a.m. – Division Educational Conference

Call is taken by Plastic Surgery residents covering the Temple VA Hospital, BSWH McLane Children’s Hospital, and BSWH Medical Center-Temple. All call is taken from home. Call is evenly divided between the plastic surgery residents in their last 3 years of training. We are in full compliance with the ACGME duty hour guidelines.

Specialty call for Hand Surgery is divided with Orthopedic Surgery. The chief residents are responsible for assigning residents to the call schedule.

Residents are required to conduct research during the residency, completing a minimum of two projects published in a peer reviewed journal. Regional, national, and international presentations are encouraged with financial support available for travel and publication expenses through GME and the Plastic Surgery Division. The scholarly environment is further enhanced by encouraging the residents’ participation in professional organizations (TSPS, ASPS, etc.).

During each of the first three years of training, residents are assigned to a one-month research rotation. In the final years of residency, a biweekly protected afternoon is available to each resident who is actively participating in research.

Each resident also completes a quality improvement (QI) project during training. These projects are designed to improve the quality of care provided to our patients. In past years, they have modified the protocols used at our institution for infection control and preoperative pregnancy testing.

The plastic surgery residents are supported with the resources of Baylor Scott & White Health and Baylor College of Medicine to assist with research. Assistance is available for statistics, Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Review Committee (IRC) submissions, and clinical photography.

  • A mission of healing

    Our residents have opportunities to use their skills to help patients in third-world countries receive much needed surgical care for cleft lip and palate as well as burn and scar repair.

  • Care that extends beyond the hospital walls

    Here, our residents are more than just co-workers. Our program cultivates a family atmosphere inside and outside of the program. That's why we host routine resident socials and family events.

  • Hands-on experience

    With access to simulation labs, our residents are able to practice and gain confidence in new techniques and microsurgery skills.

How to Apply

Applications for the Main Match and SOAP are accepted through the Plastic Surgery Central Application (PSCA) website.

The PSCA is a plastic surgery-specific application system designed to offer a streamlined application process for both applicants and reviewers while decreasing the financial burden to medical students by over 80% from traditional application systems. It is endorsed by The American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgery (ACEPS).

Our program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and adheres to its policies and guidelines.

  • Deadline for applications is Friday, September 13, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PST.
  • Virtual Program Meet and Greet
    • August 28, 2023, from 7-8pm CST.
    • Zoom meeting registration link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErd-6uqDkqH9ynbnu9PWsL7furYpkD3wP8

Application Requirements

Eligible candidates must also submit:

  • CV
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • USMLE Step 1
    • Score of 220 or more if taken before January 26, 2022
    • Pass for those who took it after January 26, 2022.

For further assistance contact the program administrator:

Stacy Brister
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Baylor College of Medicine
Plastic Surgery Residency Program
2401 S. 31st St.
Temple, TX 76508
Email: Stacy.Brister@BSWHealth.org
Phone: 254.724.0630 or 800.299.4463

Contact Us

Stacy Brister
Phone: 254.724.0630
Fax: 254.724.4650
Stacy.Brister@BSWHealth.org

Plastic Surgery Residency
Baylor Scott & White Health
2401 S. 31st St.
MS-01-E443
Temple, TX 76508

Working at Baylor Scott & White Health

Compensation and Benefits

In addition to competitive stipends, we offer our residents a full menu of employee benefits. We help offset the cost of many of these benefits; others are options you can choose to pay for yourself.

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Life in Temple

Temple uniquely offers a combination of access to big-city conveniences while maintaining a small-town atmosphere. Temple has also been ranked among the Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities in Texas and one of America's most affordable places of 2015.

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Why Baylor Scott & White

As the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States, Baylor Scott & White Health includes 48 hospitals, more than 900 patient care sites, more than 6,000 active physicians and more than 40,000 employees.

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