The First American Association of Plastic Surgeons Cannon Student Scholarship Experience

Sir: Students’ Perspective: From their first day, medical students are tasked with choosing their future field of study and simultaneously learning the art and science of medicine. Beyond basic anatomy, little to no exposure to plastic surgery exists in medical school. Exposure comes primarily from research, lectures, clinical rotations, and shadowing.1 When asked, the majority of medical students are not aware of the scope of plastic surgery, nor do they feel that their exposure to the speciality is sufficient.1 Interest in pursuing a residency position in plastic surgery for these students was driven primarily by the sheer competitiveness of the field.2 This year, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons—the oldest organization in the speciality—created the Cannon Student Scholarship. This scholarship was created in conjunction with, and funded by, the Cannon members, who are distinguished and senior members of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. The scholarship sponsored medical students to attend the annual American Association of Plastic Surgeons meeting, participate in small groups, and meet many of the most well-respected plastic surgeons. In all, 17 students from North America were chosen by the committee to receive the scholarship. As two of the medical students who were fortunate enough to receive this honor, the opportunity was truly unique and inspiring. As previously described in the literature, surgeons and students both agree that mentorship and opportunities to enhance involvement in the specialty are very important to the development of future surgeons.3,4 This opportunity afforded by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons to attend their meeting truly fits this description. As we listened to the academic program and discussed plastic surgery with some of the leaders in the field, our collective apprehension toward beginning our intern year morphed into excitement to start our training. This experience provided by the Cannon Student Scholarship will prove to shed more light on the specialty and imbue medical students earlier in their training with a newfound element of enthusiasm and drive to pursue training in our specialty. We sincerely hope the program continues to gain traction and attract more attention, especially among junior medical students with restricted exposure to the field. In a time when plastic surgery is often misunderstood and overlooked by medical students, we are so very proud to have been a part of this initiative and hope that it can continue for many years to come. American Association of Plastic Surgeons Perspective: One year ago, senior plastic surgeons in the Cannon Group of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons were asked to support the financial expenses for medical students to attend the American Association of Plastic Surgeons Annual Meeting in April of 2018. Without hesitation, the senior surgeons stepped forward with an outpouring of support, making it possible bring 17 students to the meeting. Members of the Cannon Group are American Association of Plastic Surgeons members older than 65 years, or those who have retired. The enthusiasm and generosity with which they supported these medical students is a remarkable affirmation of dedication to the future of the specialty of plastic surgery. They acted on the belief that fostering the career development of strong students in the pipeline to our specialty is the formula for sustainability. To our knowledge, this is the first time that senior and retired plastic surgeons have joined together to contribute in this way. Their enthusiasm and activism is to be applauded and is a model for a way for older surgeons to pay it forward. Applicants can access the scholarship application for the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland at: http://aaps1921.org/awards_cannon.cgi. Tyler Safran, M.D., is now an intern in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at McGill University in Montreal, Canada; Chief: Lucie Lessard, M.D. J. D. Luck, M.D., is now an intern in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland; Chief: W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D. DISCLOSURE The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article. Tyler Safran, M.D.Division of Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryMcGill University Health CenterMontreal, Quebec, Canada J. D. Luck, M.D.Department of Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimore, Md. Mary H. McGrath, M.D., M.P.H.Division of Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryUniversity of California, San FranciscoSan Francisco, Calif. David L. Larson, M.D.Department of Plastic SurgeryMedical College of WisconsinAccreditation Council for Graduate Medical EducationMilwaukee, Wisc.

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