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The best location for this is on the residency page where i posted it, but since many of the questions came from students here... i will post here also.
Choosing a Residency
There is no "perfect" program. Each program is different. What may be great for one person may be awful to another person.
Accreditation gives programs a lot of room to vary, and each does. I have done over 30 site visits and know many program directors. And we are all different, but we all try to help our students/residents/future colleagues reach their potential.
Some may love an AEGD with limited/no on-call but no OR. Some may like the prosthetics at the VA's (but limited/no children). Some will love a GPR and the on-call, OR, medically challenged.
Within the GPRs, which I know best, there are a lot of variations.
What is life as a GPR resident like?
Each program is different. It depends on the on-call, the # of residents, the activity of the emergency department, and how much learning you want to do. It also depends on your fellow residents
How many hours do work per week? Some one at the hospital residency is always on call--- so depends on how many residents and how many after hour consults/ calls you get.
Is as stressful as the first 2 years of dental school? You are learning real world dentistry so will be like your practice but you are working with supervision. The big stress may be some emergency you have not done before or a medically challenged patient.
Is there published literature? I would look at the info listed online at the ADA web site, but it is too general and too formal. Each program has info, ask for it. But, again ask the residents.
To find out what each program really focuses on (implants, operative, OR, OS, anesthesia...) look at the booklets and web site the program has but there is no way to get the inside scoop without speaking to the residents. Often a visit the site and speaking to the current residents there is best not only to learn about the program but also about the area. There is no way around speaking to the residents. Best time to visit is Feb-April. The first few months, the residents have not seen enough, last few months they are busy making plans for the future. Since programs have special seminars/plans for partial
days, it is always best to call ahead. Most programs have plans to allow visiting students for a day, even if the program director is not available on that day.
Speak to alumni of your school, to the faculty. Attend resident fairs like the Greater NY meeting has, or career day that many schools have (I recently attended one at Maryland, but could not make the one at NYU do to my surgery).
Start looking into programs early so you can visit them, spend a day, or do a rotation (this may be hard due to the paperwork/legal restraints- check with the dean for affiliations/rotations).
And ask questions .
If I can be of any help, just let me know.
Choosing a Residency
There is no "perfect" program. Each program is different. What may be great for one person may be awful to another person.
Accreditation gives programs a lot of room to vary, and each does. I have done over 30 site visits and know many program directors. And we are all different, but we all try to help our students/residents/future colleagues reach their potential.
Some may love an AEGD with limited/no on-call but no OR. Some may like the prosthetics at the VA's (but limited/no children). Some will love a GPR and the on-call, OR, medically challenged.
Within the GPRs, which I know best, there are a lot of variations.
What is life as a GPR resident like?
Each program is different. It depends on the on-call, the # of residents, the activity of the emergency department, and how much learning you want to do. It also depends on your fellow residents
How many hours do work per week? Some one at the hospital residency is always on call--- so depends on how many residents and how many after hour consults/ calls you get.
Is as stressful as the first 2 years of dental school? You are learning real world dentistry so will be like your practice but you are working with supervision. The big stress may be some emergency you have not done before or a medically challenged patient.
Is there published literature? I would look at the info listed online at the ADA web site, but it is too general and too formal. Each program has info, ask for it. But, again ask the residents.
To find out what each program really focuses on (implants, operative, OR, OS, anesthesia...) look at the booklets and web site the program has but there is no way to get the inside scoop without speaking to the residents. Often a visit the site and speaking to the current residents there is best not only to learn about the program but also about the area. There is no way around speaking to the residents. Best time to visit is Feb-April. The first few months, the residents have not seen enough, last few months they are busy making plans for the future. Since programs have special seminars/plans for partial
days, it is always best to call ahead. Most programs have plans to allow visiting students for a day, even if the program director is not available on that day.
Speak to alumni of your school, to the faculty. Attend resident fairs like the Greater NY meeting has, or career day that many schools have (I recently attended one at Maryland, but could not make the one at NYU do to my surgery).
Start looking into programs early so you can visit them, spend a day, or do a rotation (this may be hard due to the paperwork/legal restraints- check with the dean for affiliations/rotations).
And ask questions .
If I can be of any help, just let me know.
