Non-cat OMS year prep

[SaberToothTigre]

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Starting my non-cat OMS year in July (should Coronavirus allow) - any advice of how to best prepare (suggested texts, articles, advice, etc)? Obviously there will be a big learning curve from dental school extractions to being on-call for trauma.
Also... should I be worried about potential lack of funding for interns with everything going on right now?

 

[BlackThought]

Its the calm before the storm bud.
Just chill and enjoy your free time.

 

[DocMon16]

Are you planning on retaking the CBSE in August? If so, I would highly recommend you bust out some serious studying now, believe me, its very difficult to find time to study for it when you hit the ground running and working some long hours. It can be done, I did it, many others have on here too but I would really put it in overdrive with studying now. If not, then enjoy your time, do some reading (especially facial trauma).

 

[OMSDoc]

I did one of these interships, and it was really helpful preparing me for the eventual residency.

I was fortunate to have a great chief. He shepherded me through that year. This is leadership, and you will need to do the same thing when you are chief.

There were numerous things he taught me that still stick with me:

1. If you are not 15 minutes early to an assigned meeting time with your chief or the attending, you are late. I think they call this Vince Lombardi time.
2. Have a good attitude all the time. Residents are as happy as they make up their minds to be. The answer to the question, "How are you doing?" was always, "Super!" If he gave me a task, he would say: "Oral surgery baby scout...never sick, never tired." He knew when to jump in when I was overwhelmed, though.
3. Never complain above the chief. Do not go over his head to an attending or administration if you have a problem. Never.
4. Treat the assistants and support staff (clerical, nursing, etc.) very well.
5. Patients tend to be anxious when they see you, so you need to listen to them, and voice back to them what their complaints are.
6. Always think about patients in a systematic way, in the same order, starting with their chief complaint, history of present illness, review of systems, past medical history, family history, allergies, current medications etc. For example, don't jump ahead and get an x-ray before you know what medicines they take, what allergies they have, what surgeries they have had, etc.
7. Having said that, it is okay to have a shortened version of this depending on the presenting problem.
8. Verbally take a shortened history with the patient at the very beginning. Don't just rely on the form that the patient filled out. This goes a long way to establishing a positive rapport with the patient; they will have confidence that you know what you are doing and will trust you.
9. You need to do this workup to establish a diagnosis.
10. Never treat a patient without a diagnosis.
11. Never give or prescribe a medicine that you are unfamiliar with (half-lives, contraindications, interactions, etc.).
12. Most mistakes in medicine are mistakes of omission...you forget to do something. Create checklists.
13. If you are in a position to order blood products, know the indications and contraindications of each (i.e., whole blood, FFP, etc.).
14. Every night do not go to bed without reading at least one page of a journal, book, etc. Otherwise, you won't read.
15. Don't believe everything you read.
16. Make a list of things that each attending prefers. For example, Attending A likes to give his patients oxycodone after surgery, whereas Attending B prefers hydrocodone.
17. Don't hesitate to get advice from the chief.

As far as books go, I had several. These may be online now for all I know, but I find that I remember things better if I am forced to open a book and make notes. I liked the Washington Manual of Surgery. It was very practical when you had to do the admission for your first patient. If I had to pick just one now, I would go with Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Secrets, by Abubaker, Lam, and Benson.

At least you have some time before July 1. Best of luck!