Comparing OMFS Curriculums

[tommyjohns]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'm looking at putting my rank list together (all 6 year) and had a question on comparing curriculum across programs. Obviously, more months on service is better and all seem to have the same 5 months on Anesthesia and 12 months as Chief, but...

Does a shorter intern period in favor of heavier backloading in the senior years lend itself to better overall training?

How valuable (or not) are Gen Surg months? How much is too little or too much? I've heard about the 2 year vs. 1 year certificate issue for various states, but I'm expecting that to be a non-issue...am I wrong?

I guess all this boils down to the relative value of 1 month of: Intern vs. Med School vs. Gen Surg vs. Senior...how would you weight each of those?

Would love to get your thoughts and thanks in advance.

 

[DCRedskinsRule]

It all depends on what your priorities are: both in terms of how you want to train and how you want to practice. Those two are not always exactly lined up, so it's important to try and guess what you want to focus on during your residency.

For example, obviously most people finish residency and end up in private practice without having a huge role in a hospital. That's in spite of the fact that many residencies spend a majority of their time training in the hospital setting. If you want your training to be completely in sync with your level of practice, then how you weigh the different timings of the programs makes a huge difference.

More bluntly, if you know for sure you're going to do a ton of office based work when you finish, then unless you have a particular interest in learning a ton of random things and getting your ass kicked, more med school might be the way to go. The med school years tend to not be as difficult and taxing on both you and your family. A lot of people use it as an opportunity to get in shape, possibly moonlight depending on where they train, and enjoy life. Also, if the program requires going to the 2nd (and potentially even the 1st) year of medical school, most of that is dedicated to learning how to pass Step 1 anyway. So it can be a good break from the rigor of training.

Others specifically want a very diverse training experience and get the their asses kicked a little. Some may want the former but end up in programs like the latter. Either way, the extra time as an intern is certainly harder than time in medical school but a) you get paid and b) depending on where you are, it can be really valuable experience.

For me, I wanted to go to a place with a high intern : med school ratio (my program starts at MS3 after taking Step 1 during intern year), but that was by choice. I didn't get the chill year of MS2, but instead I get 8 months of MS4 where I can go on random electives like ent, plastics, occuloplastics, etc and learn/see a bunch of random things. That sounds terrible to a lot of people, but I wanted to train beyond whatever the scope of my practice would ultimately be.

I haven't been through it, but any place that has extra time as a senior vs Gen Surg is a place I would prioritize. For most places, Gen Surg you run around as an intern, which means you manage the floor and sparingly go to the OR. Time as a Senior is when you really become a surgeon and learn to truly operate.

Again, it just depends on what your priorities are for your training and whether or not you want a chance to have a little bit more of a relaxed time during an already difficult 6 year residency, or want something that may "over train" you and end up being beyond the scope of your likely practice.