OMFS match list factors

[Motown]

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Many of us are finishing up our interviews and are starting to finalize our match order. When applying for the 6 year OMFS programs there are so many factors to consider when making a list - Faculty, patient population, medical school quality, medical school cost, respect, scope of practice, resident satisfaction, personal goals, program reputation......and the list goes on forever. etc. To OMFS residents - if you were doing it over again what would you consider vital? what would you consider irrelevant/peripheral?

 

[gary_ruska]

Many of us are finishing up our interviews and are starting to finalize our match order. When applying for the 6 year OMFS programs there are so many factors to consider when making a list - Faculty, patient population, medical school quality, medical school cost, respect, scope of practice, resident satisfaction, personal goals, program reputation......and the list goes on forever. etc. To OMFS residents - if you were doing it over again what would you consider vital? what would you consider irrelevant/peripheral?

Gary Ruska here,
GR would say that the priorities should be as follows:

These four are all inter-related and should be the primary factors:
1. Scope of things that YOU want to learn (i.e. if you hate cancer, don't rank highly a program that does a lot of cancer)
2. Resident satisfaction AND (equally important) how well you feel you are like the residents personally
3. Faculty (this is closely related to scope, but learning expanded scope stuff from a prick is still an unpleasant experience).
4. Program reputation

These things should be weighed moderately:
1. Medical school cost and financial aid program
2. Time spent in medical school

These things should carry little or no weight in your decision:
1. Medical school prestige
2. Medical school quality

 

[tx oms]

Okay, I'm in my fourth year of residency. If I had it to do all over again, I would still be in my program. Here, though, are the things I think are most important in hindsight:

1. Scope
2. Amount of surgery done by residents--why go somewhere with a fellowship trained faculty if he only lets the chief hold sticks?
3. Relationships--staff with residents, residents with residents
4. Time in medical school--THIS IS HUGE, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH MEDICAL SCHOOL SUCKS
5. Cost of medical school--you're crazy if you spend $40,000/yr

Program and faculty reputation are pretty much meaningless. You're going to be an oral surgeon no matter what and no patient cares where you trained. Faculty reputation often comes from how well someone promotes themself; again, meaningless.

Pick the scope you like, make sure the residents cut, then ask yourself, "Did I like that place?" Were the residents friendly? Did they get along with each other? Finally, cross off everyone that wants more than ~$11,000/yr for med school or sends you to school more than 2 years.

 

[shabu2]

Not to hijack your thread, but if you don't match does an email come saying tough luck, or do you not get an email at all? "knock on wood"😳

 

[shabu2]

Not to hijack your thread, but if you don't match does an email come saying tough luck, or do you not get an email at all? "knock on wood"😳

 

[Doggie]

I think you get a "tough luck" email and a kick in the pants.