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The protected training environment builds confidence and prepares them to manage complications early in their careers.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What challenges remain in Indian plastic surgery training after overall progress?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Exposure to subspecialties and advanced technology is uneven across centers, and research exposure varies. 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Despite demanding schedules, intense clinical work, and academic expectations, residency provides supervision, direction, and structure. It offers a protected environment in which students develop clinical judgment, procedural skills, and discipline. It shapes the professional identity, and moving beyond it introduces new responsibilities. Independent practice requires self-directed decision-making, planning, and accountability, often without the predefined structure of residency.  \nWe have often reflected on how the Indian plastic surgery training program equips residents for the transition to independent practice, its strengths, and areas for improvement.  \nPlastic Surgery Training in India  \nThe field of plastic surgery has evolved rapidly over the last few decades. What began primarily as a reconstructive specialty, has now grown into a remarkably diverse discipline adopting considerable technological advancement, beit microsurgery, supermicrosurgery, virtual surgical planning, regenerative medicine, or three-dimensional solutions. This diversity is something to be proud of, but it also challenges our training programs to keep pace.  \nOver the years, the number and quality of training centers have grown. From a handful of superspeciality institutes a couple of decades ago to numerous MCh and DrNB programs across the country, the expansion has been remarkable.  \nThe enormous caseload in most teaching institutes provides residents with a wide exposure to common conditions like trauma, diabetic foot, head and neck reconstruction, burns, pressure sores, and congenital anomalies. This also gives the confidence to deal with complications, hence equipping residents to be independent early in their careers. Indian trainees are also used to being adaptable and working efficiently, even with resource limitations. The teachers in  \nAddress for correspondence  \nManeesh Singhal, MS, MCh, FACS, FRCS (Glasgow), Department of Plastic Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India  \n(e-mail: [drmaneesh@gmail.com](drmaneesh@gmail.com)).  \nDOI [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)10.1055/s-0045-1814456 . ISSN 0970-0358.  \nmost institutes are deeply dedicated, and many are pioneers in their fields, allowing students to learn from their vast experience. These intangible elements prepare residents, far more for the realities of practice than is realized while in residency.  \nDespite the overall progress in resident training, exposure to some subspecialities remains uneven and may not fully reflect the expanding breadth of the specialty. The exposure to advanced technology is also not uniform across centers. Some residents graduate well-trained in certain domains of plastic surgery, but with limited exposure to others. Research exposure too varies between centers, depending on faculty engagement, infrastructure, and mentorship. Structured mentorship and longitudinal evaluation systems are limited, making it difficult for residents to identify areas requiring development early. Areas such as communication, financial literacy, private practice management, medico-legal awareness, and well-being receive relatively little formal emphasis during training.  \nMany young plastic surgeons step out of their residency, into a world that is very different from their training institute. Along with the inherent responsibility of providing patients with high quality care and having the skill enough to do that well, they realize that there are new challenges to surmount and new frontiers t","cbCaikNWqDdPO2a5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikNWqDdPO2a5","pdf",147713,"English","# Editorial\n## Transition from Residency to Independent Practice\n## Plastic Surgery Training in India\n## APSICON 2025 Residents’ Forum Topics","[{\"question\":\"How does residency support the transition to independent practice in plastic surgery?\",\"answer\":\"Residency provides supervision, direction, and structure, allowing residents to develop clinical judgment, procedural skills, and discipline. The protected training environment builds confidence and prepares them to manage complications early in their careers.\"},{\"question\":\"What challenges remain in Indian plastic surgery training after overall progress?\",\"answer\":\"Exposure to subspecialties and advanced technology is uneven across centers, and research exposure varies. Structured mentorship and longitudinal evaluation systems are limited, leaving some development areas less emphasized during training.\"},{\"question\":\"What practical concerns did the APSICON 2025 Residents’ Forum aim to address?\",\"answer\":\"The forum focused on anxieties of young plastic surgeons, including confidence in subspecialty-specific situations, financial considerations, fellowship choices, burnout and well-being, early setbacks, and coping when stepping into independent practice.\"}]","Residency to Reality - Editorial - Samreen Jaffar and Maneesh Singhal | PDF",1790580323]