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Hello all, I am currently entering my 6th year Dentistry DDS/PhD combined program. I have been fortunate to be fully supported by NIH T90 and F30 grants.
One of the special features of my combined program is to choose the specialty of my choice after completing it.
But because I am very passionate about academic career and research, I aim to combine the dental specialty residency and post-doc.
The combined Orthodontics + PostDoc program will take 5 years and will also be fully supported by NIH T32 and possibly be by NIH F32 or K23.
The reason I add post-doc in my residency is not only because of these NIH grants but also want to build a strong resume when i am applying for next NIH grants like K08 and K99/R00.
And of course, the dean and the chair of the orthodontics department are very supportive about my idea.
So I talked to my PhD mentor about this and he told me that I have the option to graduate either next year (in 6 years) or in 2 years (in 7 years).
If I graduate in 6 years, of course this is a good deal due to a year I save. However, my next year (2022-2023) will be pretty chaotic due to about 10% remaining dental school requirement, the licensing exam requirement, peer-reviewed publication for my PhD and also the PhD dissertation as well. And obviously this could also weaken my PhD training.
If I graduate in 7 years, this may sound like a bad deal cause I spend another year as a PhD student. However, my final year (2023-2024) will be a lot more chill due to having plenty of time for licensing exam and PhD dissertation. And obviously this could give me stronger PhD training.
Please let me know what you guys think.
Thank you!
DentistScientist
One of the special features of my combined program is to choose the specialty of my choice after completing it.
But because I am very passionate about academic career and research, I aim to combine the dental specialty residency and post-doc.
The combined Orthodontics + PostDoc program will take 5 years and will also be fully supported by NIH T32 and possibly be by NIH F32 or K23.
The reason I add post-doc in my residency is not only because of these NIH grants but also want to build a strong resume when i am applying for next NIH grants like K08 and K99/R00.
And of course, the dean and the chair of the orthodontics department are very supportive about my idea.
So I talked to my PhD mentor about this and he told me that I have the option to graduate either next year (in 6 years) or in 2 years (in 7 years).
If I graduate in 6 years, of course this is a good deal due to a year I save. However, my next year (2022-2023) will be pretty chaotic due to about 10% remaining dental school requirement, the licensing exam requirement, peer-reviewed publication for my PhD and also the PhD dissertation as well. And obviously this could also weaken my PhD training.
If I graduate in 7 years, this may sound like a bad deal cause I spend another year as a PhD student. However, my final year (2023-2024) will be a lot more chill due to having plenty of time for licensing exam and PhD dissertation. And obviously this could give me stronger PhD training.
Please let me know what you guys think.
Thank you!
DentistScientist
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