Any advice for OMFS Intern year?

[TrevorwestDDS]

Hey all, graduation is in a few days which is wild. I'm starting an OS Intern year in a few months. Any advice to get the most out of it? Whether thats stuff to do while I'm off for the next 2 months in order to prepare, or tips on how to handle the incoming flood of information that I need to learn while I'm in the middle of it. I'd love any good resources that I should keep on me during the day or what to read at night. Thanks in advance.

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[DocMon16]

Did you match or doing a non-cat year?
If you matched - Maxwells pocket book ( I carried this around me last year and very easy to read), Petersons (currently reading), Fonseca trauma or regular fonseca, The Atlas, OMFS secrets, and Neville and Dams path book are all solid resources. I think any medicine book is good to pick up too so you can learn some clinical medicine.

If you're doing a non-cat - the above applies if you aren't studying to retake CBSE, if you are retaking CBSE - focus 100% on that until you take it and are done!

Good luck

 

[TrevorwestDDS]

Did you match or doing a non-cat year?
If you matched - Maxwells pocket book ( I carried this around me last year and very easy to read), Petersons (currently reading), Fonseca trauma or regular fonseca, The Atlas, OMFS secrets, and Neville and Dams path book are all solid resources. I think any medicine book is good to pick up too so you can learn some clinical medicine.

If you're doing a non-cat - the above applies if you aren't studying to retake CBSE, if you are retaking CBSE - focus 100% on that until you take it and are done!

Good luck

Awesome thanks! I didn't match so this is a non-cat year for me. I'm not planning on retaking the CBSE so I think I should have some time to get into those resources you mentioned. I'm sure the trauma ones are a must because we get so little training on it in dental school.

 

[DocMon16]

Awesome thanks! I didn't match so this is a non-cat year for me. I'm not planning on retaking the CBSE so I think I should have some time to get into those resources you mentioned. I'm sure the trauma ones are a must because we get so little training on it in dental school.

Nice! Good luck! I read Fonseca trauma last year - we had resident lectures on it weekly. I like Petersons now, it's detailed and sometimes a little tough to get through because its so in depth but nonetheless its an excellent source.

 

[OMSDoc]

I wrote this a year ago, and it still applies:

I was fortunate to have a great chief. He shepherded me through that year. This is leadership, and you will need to do the same thing when you are chief.

There were numerous things he taught me that still stick with me:

1. If you are not 15 minutes early to an assigned meeting time with your chief or the attending, you are late. I think they call this Vince Lombardi time.
2. Have a good attitude all the time. Residents are as happy as they make up their minds to be. The answer to the question, "How are you doing?" was always, "Super!" If he gave me a task, he would say: "Oral surgery baby scout...never sick, never tired." He knew when to jump in when I was overwhelmed, though.
3. Never complain above the chief. Do not go over his head to an attending or administration if you have a problem. Never.
4. Treat the assistants and support staff (clerical, nursing, etc.) very well.
5. Patients tend to be anxious when they see you, so you need to listen to them, and voice back to them what their complaints are.
6. Always think about patients in a systematic way, in the same order, starting with their chief complaint, history of present illness, review of systems, past medical history, family history, allergies, current medications etc. For example, don't jump ahead and get an x-ray before you know what medicines they take, what allergies they have, what surgeries they have had, etc.
7. Having said that, it is okay to have a shortened version of this depending on the presenting problem.
8. Verbally take a shortened history with the patient at the very beginning. Don't just rely on the form that the patient filled out. This goes a long way to establishing a positive rapport with the patient; they will have confidence that you know what you are doing and will trust you.
9. You need to do this workup to establish a diagnosis.
10. Never treat a patient without a diagnosis.
11. Never give or prescribe a medicine that you are unfamiliar with (half-lives, contraindications, interactions, etc.).
12. Most mistakes in medicine are mistakes of omission...you forget to do something. Create checklists.
13. If you are in a position to order blood products, know the indications and contraindications of each (i.e., whole blood, FFP, etc.).
14. Every night do not go to bed without reading at least one page of a journal, book, etc. Otherwise, you won't read.
15. Don't believe everything you read.
16. Make a list of things that each attending prefers. For example, Attending A likes to give his patients oxycodone after surgery, whereas Attending B prefers hydrocodone.
17. Don't hesitate to get advice from the chief.

As far as books go, I had several. These may be online now for all I know, but I find that I remember things better if I am forced to open a book and make notes. I liked the Washington Manual of Surgery. It was very practical when you had to do the admission for your first patient. If I had to pick just one now, I would go with Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Secrets, by Abubaker, Lam, and Benson.