Hey.
I’m going to be doing my externship at UMN in January. I was wondering if you could reflect on your experience their if you’ve already done it?
I’m really nervous and would really like an insight to the experience. Thanks
Just remember the following to make a good first impression:
In all seriousness, I rarely post advice without at least a hint of sarcasm but here's a few pointers stripped of all of that:
1. Prepare yourself, somewhat: No one is going to expect you to know everything, that's why you're seeking an education, right? But it's a good idea to have a basic handle on what's going on, so you can ask more relevant questions about what you don't understand. OMS Secrets is an easily digestible place to start. OMS residency is tough, and some people are short, but no one should get upset with you because you're learning something for the first time:
xkcd: Ten Thousand
2. It's OK, and even desirable to be inquisitive. If you ask a question that's too broad of a topic to quickly answer, answer it yourself that night and show anyone who cares that you learned it. Hell, it's 2017, make a little Slides presentation on your phone. When I did my first externship I got to give a little presentation on nasal soft tissue injury repairs at their grand rounds (I just asked if I could). I even made a little graphic in MS paint. It was silly, way too shallow on content, and mostly wrong. I still have it saved, remember the name of every single person sitting in that room though by now they've long forgotten me* , and it's fresher in my memory than the presentation I gave last week.
3. Remember, even though they might seem like academic giants, everyone from the chairman down to the interns are just regular people. If you show them you're worth spending some time on, they will. I'll never know for sure what I did to get the residents on my first externship to light me a path towards success, but if I had to guess it would be genuine excitement and interest.
*The only person who might legitimately remember me from that externship is the senior resident at the time. The reason being that I got invited to the resident graduation, and being a dumb, shiny, new dental student, I didn't bring any dress pants. This upcoming chief resident swung by the store on the way to graduation and bought me a pair so I wouldn't look like an idiot. Remembering this was the main reason I replied to this post. In short, bring scrubs and a suit. You'll never go wrong being the best dressed person in the room:
