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For those of you interested in a residency in OMFS I am posting this thread to help you based on my experience and to offer my advice for what it is worth. I am currently an OMFS intern at JPS hospital in Fort Worth, TX. I did not apply to match last year but did apply to this internship and am extremely glad that I did. My intern year has been extremely rewarding both as a learning experience and aiding me in matching to a residency. Whether you are planning to apply to Oral Surgery, or have applied and did not match here are some points to remember:
1. Get great letters of recommendation. The departmental secretaries may have class rank and board score cut off requirements given to them by the Program director so it is often difficult to get your application past the secretary's desk, but if you do, you want your application to stand out as much as possible. Most programs want to have letters from the Chair of OMFS and/or Program Director at your school. I have heard horror stories about people getting burned by poor or mediocre letters of recommendation so spend as much time as possible with these guys so that they feel comfortable taking the time to write you a good one. You need someone to be your advocate and I found that at JPS. At JPS, the faculty is well respected and will write good letters for you if you work hard. I received outstanding letters from each of the JPS attendings (after they knew me). One program I interviewed with made no misconception about the fact that the reason I was granted an interview was because they knew and respected Dr. Stella.
2. Interview is key. Your class rank and board scores are what they are. You would not have gotten the interview if they did not think you were smart enough to make it through residency. So once you have been selected for an interview, you are on an even playing field with the other applicants. I find that this is most likely the case, but I think it depends on the program. For instance, if a program liked two applicants equally and one applicant has better scores, class rank, rec's, etc. I think that information might be used as a basis for ranking one applicant above another, so it is imperative that you interview well. Have someone (preferably OMFS faculty at your school) mock interview with you to expose your interviewing weaknesses. At JPS, Dr. Stella holds mock interview sessions with you as many times as needed in order to prepare you for your interviews. I found this extremely helpful and I feel this is one of the main reasons I matched at my number one ranked program. Have rehearsed answers to the obvious questions and be prepared for some curve balls (just to see how you do under pressure). It is also a good idea to have several intelligent questions to ask about the program to the interviewers. These questions need to be appropriate and avoid things like pay, call schedule, or anything negative (especially about other places you have interviewed), these are questions best asked to residents.
3. Do an Internship if you do not match! A lot of guys get some advice to do a GPR if they do not match and I am not downing a good GPR experience, but I do feel that an OMFS specific internship shows commitment to Oral Surgery and gives you outstanding preparation for your first year of residency that you would not get in a GPR. That said, all internships are not created equal. Some internships will place you in extraction clinic with the dental students and you will receive virtually no OR time and not get much exposure to full scope OMFS. This is an area I have been extremely pleased with during my internship at JPS hospital. It is a level one trauma center where you take face call every other week. The faculty is outstanding and you get good exposure to almost every facet of our profession from orthognathic surgery and TMJ arthroscopy to head and neck cancer. Dr. Stella does a ton of orthognathic surgery and is an amazing teacher who truly enjoys interacting with future residents. Interns do full orthognathic workups including: Ceph tracings, model feasibility surgery, prediction tracings, and case presentations. Interns have a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of orthognathic treatment planning that will serve you during your entire residency. Dr. Warner is another incredible attending who staffs clinic Wednesday morning and afternoon. The afternoon clinic is a TMD/Facial Pain clinic and interns learn a lot about Myofacial Pain Disorders and Internal derangement presentations. Dr. Warner shuts down afternoon clinic one Wednesday a month for arthroscopy cases which interns get to attend. Dr. Warner does several procedures with the arthroscope that are usually done open joint and gets amazing results. Dr. Williams is the newest full time attending, he recently finished a two year head and neck cancer fellowship and staffs Thursday clinic. The afternoon clinic is a facial lesion clinic where interns take skin as well as intraoral biopsies, review pathology results, and see recall patients. Dr. Williams is a tremendous role model and is relentlessly patient and eager to teach. Dr. Kao is the full time attending who covers clinic on Tuesdays (which is the main OR day) so you get to operate with Dr. Kao and Dr. Williams a lot. Dr. Kao is an amazing surgeon who does just about everything and, in my humble opinion, will become one of the future leaders of our field. There are always two upper level residents from Parkland Memorial that are invaluable to have around. They are your direct supervisors and are an amazing resource to learn from. Each one that we have had has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful and will contribute different perspectives on case management.
As far as cases, there is no split with another service as far as trauma is concerned, so any case that comes in while our service is on call is our case that we take to the OR. There is also a residency implant program where patients can have implants placed be interns for a large discount. JPS is a county funded hospital who takes great care of house staff, the facilities are new and there is a food plan given to residents. There is a cell phone allowance and even reimbursement for textbooks. You are given professional development days on top of regular vacation days which you can use for interviews. Aside from the tangibles, JPS is a great hospital where OMFS has a good, well respected presence. It is a great place to learn and I would not regret my time here even if I was not fortunate to match.
P.S. There were four interns at JPS this year and all of us matched. We all had varying board scores, class ranks, and recommendations. There is a strong history of matched OMFS residents from JPS.
4. Consider a research project/get published. Many of us are not interested in research, but I did one while at JPS and I must say there is tremendous learning that comes from investigating a subject thoroughly enough to write a paper about it. If you are able to get published, that is one more leg up you can have on the other guy. It is one more thing that you have to discuss about yourself at interviews and I feel shows you have a desire to give back to the profession.
In general each program has its own "feel" that is dictated by the residents and the attendings. This encompasses the intangibles that a program is looking for that you have no way to prepare for. You cannot be everything to everyone so the best advice is to be yourself, it sounds weak but it is true. By that, I mean, be your best self and do not take it personal if you did not hit it off with the residents or attendings. Some programs you will like more than others and likewise they will like some applicants over others. This is why the match works, the best strategy is to rank the programs you want to attend in the order you want to attend them. YOU CANNOT RANK YOURSELF OUT OF A PROGRAM. Read the match website for a detailed explanation and example of how it works.
I know some of this is very obvious but I hope it benefits someone who does not know a lot about this. If you find yourself in a position that you are looking for an internship, I strongly recommend JPS. Like I mentioned earlier, I matched as of January 31, 2011 and have no reason to promote my internship other than I attribute a large portion of my success matching to the knowledge, experience, and help I received from all of the attendings and residents at JPS.
Contact info:
John Peter Smith Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas
Please call 817-920-6936 or email [email protected]
Good Luck,
FatOwen
1. Get great letters of recommendation. The departmental secretaries may have class rank and board score cut off requirements given to them by the Program director so it is often difficult to get your application past the secretary's desk, but if you do, you want your application to stand out as much as possible. Most programs want to have letters from the Chair of OMFS and/or Program Director at your school. I have heard horror stories about people getting burned by poor or mediocre letters of recommendation so spend as much time as possible with these guys so that they feel comfortable taking the time to write you a good one. You need someone to be your advocate and I found that at JPS. At JPS, the faculty is well respected and will write good letters for you if you work hard. I received outstanding letters from each of the JPS attendings (after they knew me). One program I interviewed with made no misconception about the fact that the reason I was granted an interview was because they knew and respected Dr. Stella.
2. Interview is key. Your class rank and board scores are what they are. You would not have gotten the interview if they did not think you were smart enough to make it through residency. So once you have been selected for an interview, you are on an even playing field with the other applicants. I find that this is most likely the case, but I think it depends on the program. For instance, if a program liked two applicants equally and one applicant has better scores, class rank, rec's, etc. I think that information might be used as a basis for ranking one applicant above another, so it is imperative that you interview well. Have someone (preferably OMFS faculty at your school) mock interview with you to expose your interviewing weaknesses. At JPS, Dr. Stella holds mock interview sessions with you as many times as needed in order to prepare you for your interviews. I found this extremely helpful and I feel this is one of the main reasons I matched at my number one ranked program. Have rehearsed answers to the obvious questions and be prepared for some curve balls (just to see how you do under pressure). It is also a good idea to have several intelligent questions to ask about the program to the interviewers. These questions need to be appropriate and avoid things like pay, call schedule, or anything negative (especially about other places you have interviewed), these are questions best asked to residents.
3. Do an Internship if you do not match! A lot of guys get some advice to do a GPR if they do not match and I am not downing a good GPR experience, but I do feel that an OMFS specific internship shows commitment to Oral Surgery and gives you outstanding preparation for your first year of residency that you would not get in a GPR. That said, all internships are not created equal. Some internships will place you in extraction clinic with the dental students and you will receive virtually no OR time and not get much exposure to full scope OMFS. This is an area I have been extremely pleased with during my internship at JPS hospital. It is a level one trauma center where you take face call every other week. The faculty is outstanding and you get good exposure to almost every facet of our profession from orthognathic surgery and TMJ arthroscopy to head and neck cancer. Dr. Stella does a ton of orthognathic surgery and is an amazing teacher who truly enjoys interacting with future residents. Interns do full orthognathic workups including: Ceph tracings, model feasibility surgery, prediction tracings, and case presentations. Interns have a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of orthognathic treatment planning that will serve you during your entire residency. Dr. Warner is another incredible attending who staffs clinic Wednesday morning and afternoon. The afternoon clinic is a TMD/Facial Pain clinic and interns learn a lot about Myofacial Pain Disorders and Internal derangement presentations. Dr. Warner shuts down afternoon clinic one Wednesday a month for arthroscopy cases which interns get to attend. Dr. Warner does several procedures with the arthroscope that are usually done open joint and gets amazing results. Dr. Williams is the newest full time attending, he recently finished a two year head and neck cancer fellowship and staffs Thursday clinic. The afternoon clinic is a facial lesion clinic where interns take skin as well as intraoral biopsies, review pathology results, and see recall patients. Dr. Williams is a tremendous role model and is relentlessly patient and eager to teach. Dr. Kao is the full time attending who covers clinic on Tuesdays (which is the main OR day) so you get to operate with Dr. Kao and Dr. Williams a lot. Dr. Kao is an amazing surgeon who does just about everything and, in my humble opinion, will become one of the future leaders of our field. There are always two upper level residents from Parkland Memorial that are invaluable to have around. They are your direct supervisors and are an amazing resource to learn from. Each one that we have had has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful and will contribute different perspectives on case management.
As far as cases, there is no split with another service as far as trauma is concerned, so any case that comes in while our service is on call is our case that we take to the OR. There is also a residency implant program where patients can have implants placed be interns for a large discount. JPS is a county funded hospital who takes great care of house staff, the facilities are new and there is a food plan given to residents. There is a cell phone allowance and even reimbursement for textbooks. You are given professional development days on top of regular vacation days which you can use for interviews. Aside from the tangibles, JPS is a great hospital where OMFS has a good, well respected presence. It is a great place to learn and I would not regret my time here even if I was not fortunate to match.
P.S. There were four interns at JPS this year and all of us matched. We all had varying board scores, class ranks, and recommendations. There is a strong history of matched OMFS residents from JPS.
4. Consider a research project/get published. Many of us are not interested in research, but I did one while at JPS and I must say there is tremendous learning that comes from investigating a subject thoroughly enough to write a paper about it. If you are able to get published, that is one more leg up you can have on the other guy. It is one more thing that you have to discuss about yourself at interviews and I feel shows you have a desire to give back to the profession.
In general each program has its own "feel" that is dictated by the residents and the attendings. This encompasses the intangibles that a program is looking for that you have no way to prepare for. You cannot be everything to everyone so the best advice is to be yourself, it sounds weak but it is true. By that, I mean, be your best self and do not take it personal if you did not hit it off with the residents or attendings. Some programs you will like more than others and likewise they will like some applicants over others. This is why the match works, the best strategy is to rank the programs you want to attend in the order you want to attend them. YOU CANNOT RANK YOURSELF OUT OF A PROGRAM. Read the match website for a detailed explanation and example of how it works.
I know some of this is very obvious but I hope it benefits someone who does not know a lot about this. If you find yourself in a position that you are looking for an internship, I strongly recommend JPS. Like I mentioned earlier, I matched as of January 31, 2011 and have no reason to promote my internship other than I attribute a large portion of my success matching to the knowledge, experience, and help I received from all of the attendings and residents at JPS.
Contact info:
John Peter Smith Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas
Please call 817-920-6936 or email [email protected]
Good Luck,
FatOwen
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