How important is connection for omfs

[OSgal]

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so basically, there's this person in my class whose father is a part-time instructor in OS in our home program. the person has done nothing but shadow the program director over the summer. basically implying that the acceptance letter is already in the mail.
how true is that? like should i just give up the program lol

 

[annonymousOFMS]

If grades, cbse, everything else is equal, they might take the person with the connection as long as they are a good fit.

If you’re a better applicant then I don’t think that’s the case though.

But definitely it’s worth competing for. There’s no guarantees.

 

[Jaa_]

BS exists everywhere. Just focus on yourself and what you can control. Make your own connections, get good letters and have your application speak for itself.

 

[OncePreDent]

I'd say it depends on the program. I know someone in dental school whose father is the program director of an Orthodontic program—he is guaranteed to get accepted without worries.

Additionally, I have talked to program directors, who were very proud that they were able to send their kids through the residency programs. It doesn't mean you wouldn't get accepted into the same program though.

For ortho at my school - last cycle 7 people got accepted into ortho programs. Of the 7 people (2 got accepted to school X, 2 in school Y, 2 in school Z, 1 in school A). Multiple people from the same school can get accepted into the same residency program. So don't let that stop you from trying if you like the program!

Edit: I do think shadowing the program director would be a massive plus at any program, but most program directors wouldn't allow it. If the individual has a good relationship with the program director and gets a decent CBSE score, I would be surprised if they didn't get in. For sure worth a shot to try - as long as there are multiple spots at the program!

 

[deleted1193423]

Nepotism doesn’t really work in omfs.
You need to get in with good grades, test scores and an overall good application including LORs

It makes it even harder for this to happen given that many programs the residents have a strong say in the creation of the rank list and can basically veto a candidate (not rank them at all) if they choose to do so.

Of course if there are similar qualified candidates it boils down to personal preferences etc like all things in life but it’s a rare event to see someone get in purely because of being well connected.
That just doesn’t happen.

In the above example just shadowing a program director isn’t impressive. How about taking call day after day with the interns doing closed reductions and suturing lacs in the er and having to retract for cases in the morning while falling asleep while standing ?
You can’t fool anyone in this profession and nothing comes easy getting into omfs.

 

[OncePreDent]

Nepotism doesn’t really work in omfs.
You need to get in with good grades, test scores and an overall good application including LORs

It makes it even harder for this to happen given that many programs the residents have a strong say in the creation of the rank list and can basically veto a candidate (not rank them at all) if they choose to do so.

Of course if there are similar qualified candidates it boils down to personal preferences etc like all things in life but it’s a rare event to see someone get in purely because of being well connected.
That just doesn’t happen.

In the above example just shadowing a program director isn’t impressive. How about taking call day after day with the interns doing closed reductions and suturing lacs in the er and having to retract for cases in the morning while falling asleep while standing ?
You can’t fool anyone in this profession and nothing comes easy getting into omfs.

There are a good amount of programs that are pass/fail now though so it makes it difficult to compare grades. That's where I would think the CBSE is more important & then you can never beat connections as well - that just goes throughout life.

If I were a program director and I really liked an individual, but they scored lower or ranked lower than someone random that I never met (I could only see their file/CV), I would choose the individual that I know personally/have a stronger connection with that I knew I liked. Even though they scored lower on the CBSE or GPA.

 

[Van Der Woude]

Nepotism doesn’t really work in omfs.
You need to get in with good grades, test scores and an overall good application including LORs

It makes it even harder for this to happen given that many programs the residents have a strong say in the creation of the rank list and can basically veto a candidate (not rank them at all) if they choose to do so.

Of course if there are similar qualified candidates it boils down to personal preferences etc like all things in life but it’s a rare event to see someone get in purely because of being well connected.
That just doesn’t happen.

In the above example just shadowing a program director isn’t impressive. How about taking call day after day with the interns doing closed reductions and suturing lacs in the er and having to retract for cases in the morning while falling asleep while standing ?
You can’t fool anyone in this profession and nothing comes easy getting into omfs.

Lets not pretend it doesn't exist though.

Dad an oral surgeon in the community with multiple offices and hires your grads regularly and his son is applying? Chairman said we should take the son. And so the program did.

There were better applicants, honestly.

 

[Txmaxface]

Nepotism doesn’t really work in omfs.
You need to get in with good grades, test scores and an overall good application including LORs

It makes it even harder for this to happen given that many programs the residents have a strong say in the creation of the rank list and can basically veto a candidate (not rank them at all) if they choose to do so.

Of course if there are similar qualified candidates it boils down to personal preferences etc like all things in life but it’s a rare event to see someone get in purely because of being well connected.
That just doesn’t happen.

In the above example just shadowing a program director isn’t impressive. How about taking call day after day with the interns doing closed reductions and suturing lacs in the er and having to retract for cases in the morning while falling asleep while standing ?
You can’t fool anyone in this profession and nothing comes easy getting into omfs.

Doesn't work in OMFS? I've known people who have gotten in with subpar scores because the chair is friends with their dad or their donated equipment, etc.

 

[Txmaxface]

Lets not pretend it doesn't exist though.

Dad an oral surgeon in the community with multiple offices and hires your grads regularly and his son is applying? Chairman said we should take the son. And so the program did.

There were better applicants, honestly.

Yeah all the hype of things being a meritocracy is BS quite often. The good ol' boys club is still working hard to keep nepotism alive and thriving

 

[Van Der Woude]

i thought the same thing when I was an applicant. Now i'm on the other side. its all BS.

My cousin is a well renowned spine surgeon and we have that conversation regularly...

 

[deleted1193423]

i thought the same thing when I was an applicant. Now i'm on the other side. its all BS.

My cousin is a well renowned spine surgeon and we have that conversation regularly...

in my time during residency (at my particular program) not a single resident got in that wasn’t a top caliber applicant. I can’t think of one resident in our department that didn’t have stellar grades/scores etc. None of them had personal connections to the attendings/chair/pd.

If what you’re saying is true I would have seen it. At least one or two residents in the department.

Sure there are exceptions to every rule but your making it sound commonplace.

How many omfs residents do you know got in due to nepotism ? Why don’t you share with all of us such programs and the alleged connections ?
Again I’m not saying it doesn’t happen at all, but it is more of a rarity.

 

[deleted1193423]

Lets not pretend it doesn't exist though.

Dad an oral surgeon in the community with multiple offices and hires your grads regularly and his son is applying? Chairman said we should take the son. And so the program did.

There were better applicants, honestly.

Your hypothetical scenario doesn’t really hold any value.

One - it’s extremely rare for such a scenario to even exist.

Two - it’s the other way around. Practices can’t even hire associates.
If anything a pd or chair would be doing the group practice a huge favor by recommending the residents to work in such practices as an associate.

 

[Van Der Woude]

I won't share my experience on the otherside on a public forum any further. The "hypothetical" I used actually happened. Not all training programs are the same. Nor are matriculating residents exactly the same in terms of competence. you only need the bare minimum CODA cases and your chairman's and PD's blessing to finish a program.

 

[yappy]

Doesn't work in OMFS? I've known people who have gotten in with subpar scores because the chair is friends with their dad or their donated equipment, etc.

100%. It exists everywhere. But one can only control what one can control.