I'm a DS 3 trying to get externships set up for next summer; we only get 2 months off, so I would like to do several short-term jaunts instead of 2 one-month sessions. Any suggestions?

I just finished 1 month in San Antonio; the program director at my dental school suggested for next summer I try some of the other Texas programs and maybe one out of state.

BTW, San Antonio was awesome...got to scrub in for several orthognathic cases and an orbital floor fx; lots of clinic time and conferences. Everyone was really cool to the lowly DS II!

Thanks for any input. :thumbup:

LSU-Shreve

Our last extern was an up-and-coming D3. He was slicking teeth left and right, suturing in the ER, wiring jaws, manning the Bovie in the OR, etc. He got to do way more than when I externed at UAB. This is somewhat dependent on your skill level, obviously, but we really like to get externs involved around here.

Definitely try doing externship in the southern schools (ie: texas or louisana) or any heavy-trauma programs. This gives the externs a feel of what oral surgery is really about.

Definitely try doing externship in the southern schools (ie: texas or louisana) or any heavy-trauma programs. This gives the externs a feel of what oral surgery is really about.
What he said.

What he said.

what my baby's step-father said.

what my baby's step-father said.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

what my baby's step-father said.
Haven't seen you around here in a while. Nice new avatar. We'll see how long it takes before you get a moderator private message about it like I did with my old one...the one with the girl in the bikini top flopping her dinners around.

He's been too busy watching me operate to post.

Damn OMFSRES, that'll teach you not to piss off your wife:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/usafmedic45/ouch.jpg

Bumping this thread!

What about the following places for externships (2 week)?

1. UNC
2. UKMC
3. Vanderbilt
4. Tennessee (Memphis or Knoxville)

Thanks all. :thumbup:

1. UNC
2. UKMC
3. Vanderbilt
4. Tennessee (Memphis or Knoxville)

Thanks all. :thumbup:

Probably won't get to do much at UNC, but I'm not sure. They are really fairly orthognathic and plastics heavy. There is little to no trauma in Chapel-Hill. Unless you want to go to a place for sure, I would recommend hitting some places where you will get a lot of trauma and dentoalveolar experience (Intern fodder :D ). The best for the combo here would be Parkland, LSU-Shreveport, LSU-NO (dunno what will be up with this, so count it out). If you have externed at San Antonio, you have probably gotten a lot of OR experience. I would suggest doing a Parkland or LSU-Shreveport, if possible. Parkland will always look really good on your CV and applications, and many people view LSU-Shreveport as the most well rounded program in the country.

I don't know anything about UKMC and little about Tennessee. A friend of mine from dental school went to Vandy and seemed to like it. There is no dental school and they rotate 4 year then 6 year spot, so you will have to try and figure out what year you will be applying and if that fits your desires. He had to do a one year intern at Vandy to get a four year spot there just because he had to wait. May not be the best option to wait. Medical school is 40 K plus there, too. University of Kentucky is a good externship and you will get to do a lot, both dentoalveolar and in the OR. University of Louisville is pretty good, too, particularly if you are thinking about going there.

It is difficult to weigh the "experience" factor versus the "I may want to go here" factor, and the best externship experience may not be anywhere you would want to go. I didn't want to go to Kentucky because they do the first year intern, then go to medical school for three years and then GS intern year. So you basically have your first year as an intern and your last year as chief and that is it, but I got a TON of experience taking out teeth and sewing up crazy stuff in the ER. Both are great experience for those 3AM forays to the pit. Also, when you put externships on your application, the directors/faculty know which ones are good and which ones are so-so. They will ask you about your experience and many will want to know what you learned there. So you can never go wrong with the well-known externship.

A little off topic, but what's Parkland like ie: what cases do they see the most of and how is life at that program. I would like to know because it is a program that I am interested in.

They see everything and do everything. Ed Ellis is the man, and does a lot of cool cases. You will see trauma, facial cosmetics, dentoalveolar, implants at the VA, etc. Can't go wrong there.

A little off topic, but what's Parkland like ie: what cases do they see the most of and how is life at that program. I would like to know because it is a program that I am interested in.

A little off topic, but what's Parkland like ie: what cases do they see the most of and how is life at that program. I would like to know because it is a program that I am interested in.
I heard that they have the highest divorce rate and they work you to death and the residents all hate each other.

and many people view LSU-Shreveport as the most well rounded program in the country.

Also, when you put externships on your application, the directors/faculty know which ones are good and which ones are so-so. They will ask you about your experience and many will want to know what you learned there. So you can never go wrong with the well-known externship.
I agree with both of these points.

I heard that they have the highest divorce rate and they work you to death and the residents all hate each other.

Looks like someone doesn't want any incoming externs or residents. :rolleyes:

I heard that they have the highest divorce rate and they work you to death and the residents all hate each other.
Actually, I don't want to perpetuate these rumors about my own program, even though I think they're funny as hell. These rumors have been going around for years and years for some reaason.

The clinical experience comes from 4 different hospitals/rotations, each with a different patient base. Parkland itself is the county hospital where we operate 4 days per week. It's mainly trauma/fractures. We do all of our own trauma...nothing gets handed to ENT/Plastics because "it's too complicated". Actually, the opposite is true...we get a lot of stuff from ENT/Plastics because they historically don't do as much trauma and they're frankly just not as interested in it. It's probably the way it should be because it's an absolute joke to watch the Plastics guys fumble their way through a facial fracture. Most Thursdays we do rhinoplasties with our fellowship-trained cosmetics faculty. We do some orthognathic surgery at Parkland, but it's mainly "gnathic" surgery because no orthodontist is involved. We still make splints and do the model surgery but we use arch bars instead of braces. It's not the most ideal outcome for patients, but we definitely learn how to cut on these.

The VA hospital is a lot of dentoalveolar, some implants, a fair amount of cosmetics (blepharoplasties, chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing) and a lot of skin cancer reconstruction with flaps. There's a lot of skin cancer in those old Gomers that come to the VA.

John-Peter-Smith Hospital in Fort Worth is the county hospital in the next county, and they do a good bit of orthognathics and a TON of skin cancer. There is no Plastics program there to compete with. We just hired a new fellowship-trained cancer faculty who will be doing his own microvascular free-flaps.

The 4th rotation is the "Private Service" which includes our faculty's private patients. There's a lot more cosmetics, implants, and orthognathics with these patients. Children's hospital has a lot of craniofacial deformities...OMFS and Plastics do the cases together usually. There's a lot of cranial vault reshaping, primary clefts, fistula closures, and stuff like that.

Here's the weaknesses of Parkland (in my opinion): there isn't much 3rd molar surgery and the implant experience is abysmal. Most of the implants are done by faculty on their patients. It's funny...they are very protective of their patients, but they will let us do anything we damn well please on Parkland patients.

toofache, parkland sounds like an awsome program and thank you for the insite.

toofache, parkland sounds like an awsome program and thank you for the insite.
Awesome...

Insight...

I'm not trying to be rude, but when time comes to send in your personal statement, use spell-check...

The other programs I interviewed/externed at which have a broad-scope are Alabama and LSU-Shreveport. I would have said New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure how that's gonna turn out at this point.

You can put San Antonio in the broad scope, too. I saw anything and everything there and got to cut a ton as an intern. It seems like less trauma than Parkland or LSU, but it really isn't. At least that is what I found out. Darnit, the gun and knife club was following me around. :D


The other programs I interviewed/externed at which have a broad-scope are Alabama and LSU-Shreveport. I would have said New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure how that's gonna turn out at this point.

You can put San Antonio in the broad scope, too. I saw anything and everything there and got to cut a ton as an intern. It seems like less trauma than Parkland or LSU, but it really isn't. At least that is what I found out. Darnit, the gun and knife club was following me around. :D
I agree...I somehow forgot to mention San Antonio even though it was #2 on my rank list.

Awesome...

Insight...

I'm not trying to be rude, but when time comes to send in your personal statement, use spell-check...


Sorry, I wrote it in a hurry but thank you for pointing out my errors. :)

Awesome...

Insight...

I'm not trying to be rude, but when time comes to send in your personal statement, use spell-check...


How vein of yew too pointe out they're arrows. :laugh:

How vein of yew too pointe out they're arrows. :laugh:
A good point...I should have said, "Before you write your personal statement, go back and remediate middle school English."

Sorry, I wrote it in a hurry but thank you for pointing out my errors. :)

mtheman, I apologize about my earlier comments. I'm just bored with my lame life. And, I just found out that Tx oms res has been sleeping with my girl.

mtheman, I apologize about my earlier comments. I'm just bored with my lame life. And, I just found out that Tx oms res has been sleeping with my girl.

and my mom????

And, I just found out that Tx oms res has been sleeping with my girl

...and my mom????
But that's just one girl, right?

mtheman, I apologize about my earlier comments. I'm just bored with my lame life. And, I just found out that Tx oms res has been sleeping with my girl.
Wow. You try to do something nice for your extern by leaving the computer on for him, and this is what I get for it. I think someone's PASS application just got lost in the mail. How unfortunate...

mtheman, I apologize about my earlier comments. I'm just bored with my lame life. And, I just found out that Tx oms res has been sleeping with my girl.


He's been sleeping with your girl too! Damn him :mad: :laugh: