non traditional ortho applicant

[IHO]

Hello, I am considering applying to ortho.

I graduated dental school in 2001, mid 90s part I, high 80s part II. no official class ranking, but dean's letter= top 10%.

I finished a 6 year OMS program 2007. As and Bs in med school, good to excellent comments in all faculty evals. well above average to excellent USMLEs I-III. ABOMS certification process completed 2009.

I have been in private practice 4 yrs, with plans for 2 more to finish financial obligations.

My ? 1. I will be 41-42 when applying...do any current residents know of succesful "older" applicants? Age does'nt bother me...I would still have 20+ years to practice.
2. would I have a reasonable chance of acceptance? I was involved in 2 journal articles as a resident (lit reviews, no "real" research)
3. Is there anything to do over the next 2 years to enhance odds of acceptance...ortho CEs ect

Thanks for any input

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[BlueToothHunter]

There were a couple of OMS folks who switched to ortho either during their residency or afterwards. There is a giy in TX who did the same thing as you are planning but he may have been earlier in his career. Are you married with kids? Spouse is on board with this idea too?

 

[BlueToothHunter]

There were a couple of OMS folks who switched to ortho either during their residency or afterwards. There is a guy in TX who did the same thing as you are planning but he may have been earlier in his career. Are you married with kids? Spouse is on board with this idea too?

 

[IHO]

yes, married with kids. All are very suportive.

 

[billythekid]

What don't you like about OS?

 

[Sublimazing]

What don't you like about OS?

Apparently the S

 

[IHO]

It's not so much what I dislike about OS; it's more what I like about ortho. In dental school I realy liked both and was a bit torn my jr/sr year. I found the instant gratification of surgery more appealing at that time and ultimately pursued OS. I do enjoy surgery, and if I wind up finishing my career in surgery, I would not be disappointed.

In school and residency, I always enjoyed the study of craniofacial growth and development, which is the biologic foundation of ortho. The concept of designing biomechanical systems to manipulate that growth is quite fascinating. And although instant gratification is appealing, I do miss the relationship that would develop with patients over years of treatment.

 

[Kobe08]

I hope I am not speaking out of place, but if it's not too personal, why the change in specialties?

 

[IHO]

not too personal, I touched on that a bit in my previous post.
I began to have doubts about my OS career choice in my 4th and 5th years of residency, but at that point I had made a commitment to the department and my coresidents; I did not feel it would be right to jump ship. When I finished residency, I was not financialy prepared to delay work another 2-3years. After 4 years in private practice, I am still feeling the call of ortho. I still need to wait a couple of more years to tidy up the financial picture, but I am giving cosideration to pursuing the career change; I just want to know if it is feasible to be accepted with my background.
Thanks

 

[smogdodger]

IHO,

I recently resigned from OMS following my PGY-1 year prior to 3rd year med school. I also had a great interest in both fields throughout dental school and chose surg. Ultimately, I decided that I wanted to enjoy coming to work each day and ortho seemed a far better way to achieve that goal. Its hard to let go of things after passing Step I so I can hardly imagine what it is like for you to shift gears after finishing gen surg and everything else you went through. I wanted to finish my medical degree but I figured that by the time I got through residency, I would be too deep in debt to apply immediately and be in the financial conundrum that you are in. It isn't as easy to just switch as people seem to think when they aren't going through it. Regardless, you clearly have a solid background to apply to programs. I don't see why you shouldn't shoot for that goal. Plus, you can probably work later in you life more comfortably in ortho than OMS. Some people seem to want to retire early but I don't see why you would need to retire as long as you enjoy coming to the office each day. An orthodontist could very conceivably work until at least 70, barring non-work related health issues. That gives you almost 30 years of practice.

Best of luck to you. I am applying to ortho this year so hopefully things will go well.

 

[Cusp Tip]

I know couple of residents above 42 yrs , since you are a specialist and working now , just continue the work and apply every year for ortho. It will not hurt

 

[IHO]

thanks for your comments.
IHO