Peds 2018

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ElPedorro

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Making this thread to commiserate with other peds 2018 hopefuls. Who else is applying this cycle? Anyone doing externships over the summer? Anyone worried about their grades or rank? Share your experiences here and let's work together to compile information about programs that we're interested in. Once I start visiting programs in few weeks I'll share information that I learn.
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ElPedorro said:
Making this thread to commiserate with other peds 2018 hopefuls. Who else is applying this cycle? Anyone doing externships over the summer? Anyone worried about their grades or rank? Share your experiences here and let's work together to compile information about programs that we're interested in. Once I start visiting programs in few weeks I'll share information that I learn.
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I am applying for Pedo and I did one week externship. Practicing dentist for past 7 yrs now
 
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Also applying this cycle. Did 3 one day externships. I have been practicing in the military for the past 7 years.
 
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I'll be applying this cycle as well. I have also been practicing for the past 7 years, 4 of those have been in FQHCs as well as private practice for the past 3 years seeing lots of patients on state insurance (lots of kids). My class rank is not good, as I was in the bottom half of my class with a 3.33 GPA, and my NBDE scores aren't very competitive. I took the ADAT last year and did very well, so hopefully that helps to show that I'm not a *******. I have done three 3-day externships and two 1-day externships. The application process will be stressful I'm sure, but hopefully it works out.
 
DentPETE said:
Best Pediatric Residency Programs 2017

Has some good info I posted a while ago, I matched at my number 1 choice in for the 2017 cycle and had a few friends that applied/matched so feel free to ask any questions.
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How important is externship experience? Does residency director prefer someone who has been in practice for 8-9 years. I have worked at a non profit community health clinic primarily treating kids. Will that be a plus?
 
Applying this summer as well. Decent grades, but straight out of school. No research experience, a few externships, handful of pediatric related extracurricular and work experience. Good luck to all!
 
Learn2live16 said:
How important is externship experience? Does residency director prefer someone who has been in practice for 8-9 years. I have worked at a non profit community health clinic primarily treating kids. Will that be a plus?
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Hey - externships were extremely important both from an interview perspective and for your own benefit so you know what you want. I did 3 total and I felt that was a sweet spot. A few of the places mentioned they did not extend many interview offers to people who did not extern (For example, at Boston children's, out of the 20 interviews last year, I believe 18-19 externed). I think it shows interest in the program and also really helps you decide if you like that program. Part of residency is finding the best fit, not just matching somewhere, so I think externing helps you figure out what you like and what you don't. Just so you know, a lot of programs understand that travel/time off in dental school can make externships difficult so I wouldn't kill yourself trying to do a ton of them but I would definitely recommend going to visit your top 1-2 choices. Do it in August when the new residents are there so you can meet them (as they will be your co-residents next year) and at a lot of places they have say in who gets interviews.

I came fresh out of dental school and matched at my top choice; I had friends who were early 30's, worked a few careers (not even pedo related) and matched at their top choice so your second question is a bit difficult to answer. That's probably a program by program kind of thing; I can't see how pediatric experience would be negative in any way though.

Another question I got inboxed but might help some people out:

"how many programs did you apply to?"
I think the average I heard was around 7-10 for most people. I think some people overshot it and did 15+ because they weren't sure if they'd get any invites. You'll run into people that only applied to 2-3 because of location/family so it all really depends. If I was doing it all over again, I think I'd aim for about 10 if I thought I was a weaker candidate, and around 6-7 if I thought I was a strong candidate. Just know some of their interview dates will coincide so if you get a couple invites you might have to skip 1-2 just because they are the same date as others.
 
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DentPETE said:
I think some people overshot it and did 15+ because they weren't sure if they'd get any invites.
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Let's say you apply to 15 programs and you're a decent candidate (nothing too stellar), what are the odds you interview and eventually match (i.e. how hard is it to match to peds)?
 
Let me also add that the number of programs one applies to should also be impacted by the competitiveness of the programs on your list.
Some programs have historically been difficult to match into because they are just that awesome/great sedation experience/have reknowned faculty in the field of Pediatric Dentistry (people who have written the Handbook/published a hundred times over, etc)
For example, places like Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Cincinnati, to name a few, have historically been very strong programs. I would craft a list based on my preferences but also include some programs that may be fairly newer, just to broaden your reach a bit.
I applied to 13 places. In retrospect, I probably could have gotten by with 8. But I knew it was Peds or Bust for me, and I would've gone anywhere to make it happen.
 
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DentPETE said:
Hey - externships were extremely important both from an interview perspective and for your own benefit so you know what you want. I did 3 total and I felt that was a sweet spot. A few of the places mentioned they did not extend many interview offers to people who did not extern (For example, at Boston children's, out of the 20 interviews last year, I believe 18-19 externed). I think it shows interest in the program and also really helps you decide if you like that program. Part of residency is finding the best fit, not just matching somewhere, so I think externing helps you figure out what you like and what you don't. Just so you know, a lot of programs understand that travel/time off in dental school can make externships difficult so I wouldn't kill yourself trying to do a ton of them but I would definitely recommend going to visit your top 1-2 choices. Do it in August when the new residents are there so you can meet them (as they will be your co-residents next year) and at a lot of places they have say in who gets interviews.

I came fresh out of dental school and matched at my top choice; I had friends who were early 30's, worked a few careers (not even pedo related) and matched at their top choice so your second question is a bit difficult to answer. That's probably a program by program kind of thing; I can't see how pediatric experience would be negative in any way though.

Another question I got inboxed but might help some people out:

"how many programs did you apply to?"
I think the average I heard was around 7-10 for most people. I think some people overshot it and did 15+ because they weren't sure if they'd get any invites. You'll run into people that only applied to 2-3 because of location/family so it all really depends. If I was doing it all over again, I think I'd aim for about 10 if I thought I was a weaker candidate, and around 6-7 if I thought I was a strong candidate. Just know some of their interview dates will coincide so if you get a couple invites you might have to skip 1-2 just because they are the same date as others.
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Thanks DentPETE for your time and answering my question
 
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I am in the same boat. Been practicing for 8 yrs. Any feedback on what the program directors look/expect from candidates with experience?
 
Learn2live16 said:
I am applying for Pedo and I did one week externship. Practicing dentist for past 7 yrs now
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PEDDENT84 said:
Also applying this cycle. Did 3 one day externships. I have been practicing in the military for the past 7 years.
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BigTurk said:
I'll be applying this cycle as well. I have also been practicing for the past 7 years, 4 of those have been in FQHCs as well as private practice for the past 3 years seeing lots of patients on state insurance (lots of kids). My class rank is not good, as I was in the bottom half of my class with a 3.33 GPA, and my NBDE scores aren't very competitive. I took the ADAT last year and did very well, so hopefully that helps to show that I'm not a *******. I have done three 3-day externships and two 1-day externships. The application process will be stressful I'm sure, but hopefully it works out.
Click to expand...

virus1 said:
I am in the same boat. Been practicing for 8 yrs. Any feedback on what the program directors look/expect from candidates with experience?
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For all the folks who have been out practicing for a while, would you mind sharing why you're making the switch to pediatrics and how your time as a GD was? Thanks!
 
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My experience as an Army dentist is probably a lot different than those in private practice. I did a one year AEGD after dental school and was really enjoying the Army so applied and completed a two year AEGD (need a specialty to progress and in the Army a two year aegd is considered a specialty). I didn't get to work with kids until I did this program and enjoyed my pedo experience so much that I'm ready to make a change and hopefully do it full time. It is slightly nerve wrecking to give up a decent paying job and no student loan debt to pursue this, but if I get in, I'm confident it will be worth it.

I do enjoy general dentistry but my experience has given me plenty of time to figure out the parts of dentistry I really enjoy (pedo) and the parts I will be happy to never deal with again.
 
PEDDENT84 said:
My experience as an Army dentist is probably a lot different than those in private practice. I did a one year AEGD after dental school and was really enjoying the Army so applied and completed a two year AEGD (need a specialty to progress and in the Army a two year aegd is considered a specialty). I didn't get to work with kids until I did this program and enjoyed my pedo experience so much that I'm ready to make a change and hopefully do it full time. It is slightly nerve wrecking to give up a decent paying job and no student loan debt to pursue this, but if I get in, I'm confident it will be worth it.

I do enjoy general dentistry but my experience has given me plenty of time to figure out the parts of dentistry I really enjoy (pedo) and the parts I will be happy to never deal with again.
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Kind of same reply here...I did not know which specialty to choose and did my one year AEGD. Then got into general dentistry. I love being a general dentist but I feel more comfortable seeing kiddos and love to being trained as a pediatric dentist. Did molar root canals, implants and all phases of general dentistry.
 
For those currently in Pedo, how important do you consider board passage rate? Would a program that historically has all of their residents pass in the top 10% of the country be of any more interest than a program that has passage rates in the mean of the country. Is board certification even a real consideration? Curious.
 
setdoc7 said:
For those currently in Pedo, how important do you consider board passage rate? Would a program that historically has all of their residents pass in the top 10% of the country be of any more interest than a program that has passage rates in the mean of the country. Is board certification even a real consideration? Curious.
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Future applicant here. I don't think a higher than average pass rate would make that much of a difference in my preferences, but a below average pass rate certainly would.

Big Hoss
 
BigTurk said:
I'll be applying this cycle as well. I have also been practicing for the past 7 years, 4 of those have been in FQHCs as well as private practice for the past 3 years seeing lots of patients on state insurance (lots of kids). My class rank is not good, as I was in the bottom half of my class with a 3.33 GPA, and my NBDE scores aren't very competitive. I took the ADAT last year and did very well, so hopefully that helps to show that I'm not a *******. I have done three 3-day externships and two 1-day externships. The application process will be stressful I'm sure, but hopefully it works out.
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Hello Can you tell me about ADAT and where I can get study material for this exam
 
I don't think a higher than average pass rate would make that much
 
setdoc7 said:
For those currently in Pedo, how important do you consider board passage rate? Would a program that historically has all of their residents pass in the top 10% of the country be of any more interest than a program that has passage rates in the mean of the country. Is board certification even a real consideration? Curious.
Click to expand...

The written portion of boards is a complete crap shoot of information to know and has a lot of info that is not applicable to real life pediatric dentistry. The oral boards are significantly more relevant, and I would be more interested in the pass rates of the oral boards. However, programs may not know that rates given you take the oral boards after residency.
 
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The program at my home hospital seems to have a 100% pass rate on oral and written boards. One of our residents scored highest in the country on the written. Not sure anyone thought board prep or certification was that important. I suppose if one were to pursue an academic career it would be. A strictly clinical practice might not be relevant or required.
 
Applying this cycle as well! Will be fresh out of DS (I'm a rising DS4). Doing 4 externships and think they are super helpful. Taking ADAT later this month. Any other ADAT takers?
 
Also a D4, taking ADAT in Aug, have done two (rather short, but still valuable) externships. How are you going about deciding which programs to apply to? I've pretty much decided to zero-in on hospital/hybrid programs, tuition free, and then go by location. Any tips?
 
Just graduated from residency 3 weeks ago. I would definitely prioritize stipended programs/no tuition, if you are fortunate enough to interview at those programs. Depending on what part of the country you are planning on practicing in, sedation experience may be more or less important to you. What medications will you be able to train with? Triple cocktail? Demerol/Phenergan only? Etc. How many GA cases do their residents typically complete? Its 2-3 years of your life, it will fly! Quality > Location for sure.
 
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kidsaremypassion said:
Just graduated from residency 3 weeks ago. I would definitely prioritize stipended programs/no tuition, if you are fortunate enough to interview at those programs. Depending on what part of the country you are planning on practicing in, sedation experience may be more or less important to you. What medications will you be able to train with? Triple cocktail? Demerol/Phenergan only? Etc. How many GA cases do their residents typically complete? Its 2-3 years of your life, it will fly! Quality > Location for sure.
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Thanks for your feedback! A lot of this sounds like great info to find out during the interview process... I'm not sure how much of this I'll be able to find prior to that step (unless via externship). How else would you suggest choosing where to apply?
 
Personally, my list was a mix of hybrid programs(hospital/school based), as well as hospital only. I mostly applied to programs located within regions with a reasonable cost of living. There are also some programs that have an excellent population nationwide, with faculty who have written some of the standard texts on pediatric dentistry, Ohio State, Cincinnati, etc. There should be some old threads floating around on sdn here with some more info on these programs.
 
Anyone heard from the programs yet? Is it too early ?
 
DentPETE said:
Best Pediatric Residency Programs 2017

Has some good info I posted a while ago, I matched at my number 1 choice in for the 2017 cycle and had a few friends that applied/matched so feel free to ask any questions.
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Hi DentPETE
I was wondering if you could tell me how Match works ? Do you submit a certain amount of programs in rank ? Do you ever get an idea from programs if they will
Rank you high ?
 
I think I will take a stab at it. I know you asked DentPETE for input

I found this link that was posted by Periogirl in another thread.

 
You can rank as many as you interviewed at.
 
Hey everyone hope the application process is going well! I'm curious what number of people applying decided to take the ADAT. Personally I have not, mainly because almost all of the programs I am applying to are not requiring the exam at this point. What is everyone else's opinion on this topic?
 
arlmay said:
Hey everyone hope the application process is going well! I'm curious what number of people applying decided to take the ADAT. Personally I have not, mainly because almost all of the programs I am applying to are not requiring the exam at this point. What is everyone else's opinion on this topic?
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I have not taken ADAT and I am GP with experience so hopefully they will consider my application
 
Learn2live16 said:
I have not taken ADAT and I am GP with experience so hopefully they will consider my application
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Haven't been on SDN since dschool days, but I graduated a while back. Did a GPR and have work experience in both private practice and community health peds clinic for a few years. I took the ADAT not too long ago, but not expecting much from it tbh. It's a pretty random test esp for anyone who's been out of school for a bit. Many programs still don't know how to feel about the limited data they have from the small group that actually takes it, thus not many programs requiring it. I took it personally b/c although I have work experience, I felt by taking the test regardless of result, helped express my interest and seriousness in applying for peds. Not sure how sending scores out works, but if it is $36/program as listed on ADA, it can definitely add up.
 
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ddsbruin said:
Haven't been on SDN since dschool days, but I graduated a while back. Did a GPR and have work experience in both private practice and community health peds clinic for a few years. I took the ADAT not too long ago, but not expecting much from it tbh. It's a pretty random test esp for anyone who's been out of school for a bit. Many programs still don't know how to feel about the limited data they have from the small group that takes it, thus not many programs requiring it. I took it personally b/c although I have work experience, I felt by taking the test regardless of result, helped express my interest and seriousness in applying for peds. Not sure how sending scores out works, but if it is $36/program as listed on ADA, it can definitely add up.
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Like ddsbruin said, I took it last year because I've been out of school for 7 years and figured it may help convey my interest and show dedication. I'm sure a lot of programs won't care that much but I figured taking it and doing well definitely wouldn't hurt my application, but it seems as if it's not a major factor for this upcoming cycle...
 
I've been out of school for 7 years as well. I did not take the ADAT. I'm hoping the AEGDs I did while in the Army and my other experience will help my application. Getting anxious for (hopefully) hearing about interviews soon.
 
arlmay said:
Hey everyone hope the application process is going well! I'm curious what number of people applying decided to take the ADAT. Personally I have not, mainly because almost all of the programs I am applying to are not requiring the exam at this point. What is everyone else's opinion on this topic?
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4th year student, taking ADAT in a few short weeks, because one program I'm highly interested in listed it as "required." Strongly considered avoiding the test all together, because its $350 I didn't want to spend.
 
kstoothfairy said:
4th year student, taking ADAT in a few short weeks, because one program I'm highly interested in listed it as "required." Strongly considered avoiding the test all together, because its $350 I didn't want to spend.
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I doubt it's a "hard" required...
 
BigTurk said:
Like ddsbruin said, I took it last year because I've been out of school for 7 years and figured it may help convey my interest and show dedication. I'm sure a lot of programs won't care that much but I figured taking it and doing well definitely wouldn't hurt my application, but it seems as if it's not a major factor for this upcoming cycle...
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I am scheduled to take it next month and I am I just wondering how difficult the exam is?
 
2009dentist said:
I am scheduled to take it next month and I am I just wondering how difficult the exam is?
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Honestly, I thought it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Maybe it was luck though, who knows.
 
kstoothfairy said:
4th year student, taking ADAT in a few short weeks, because one program I'm highly interested in listed it as "required." Strongly considered avoiding the test all together, because its $350 I didn't want to spend.
Click to expand...
I haven't taken it for the reasons you listed. The great majority aren't requiring it, however there are a couple programs I would've liked to have applied to that are requiring it.
 
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I have a few years private practice experience. Half a year of that was in a paediatric clinic. Not too long ago I decided I would like to apply for this cycle. I'm working on my letter now and hopefully will have everything done within 2 weeks. I was under the impression schools wait until the deadlines to get all applicant files in before reviewing, but have since heard otherwise. Is applying mid August going to be much of an issue in terms of getting invites etc?
 
Any updates from any schools? My check to UCHC was just posted.

Anyone got any interviews?
 
I've been only heard back from a few that my app was complete. Makes me nervous. I think the earliest anyone heard about interviews last year was the second week of august. Fingers crossed.
 
PEDDENT84 said:
I've been only heard back from a few that my app was complete. Makes me nervous. I think the earliest anyone heard about interviews last year was the second week of august. Fingers crossed.
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Hi
Just wondering if you know which schools were the ones that notified applicants last year in August ?
Fingers crossed :)
 
2009dentist said:
Hi
Just wondering if you know which schools were the ones that notified applicants last year in August ?
Fingers crossed :)
Click to expand...
Check out the "peds 2017" thread or something similar to that.
 
I took ADAT about a week ago - not a bad exam, I think because its only 200 questions. I studied for part II (since I scheduled them around the same time) with decks, reviewed my part I materials for about a day, and reviewed stats. ADAT Hero app was great for studying the stats part. There were some super random Q's that you only would have known if you somehow dug it out of your brain from first year of dental school. I took ADAT because one of my top choice schools were requiring it last year, then changed their mind to "not required" this year. But, since I paid my money and was studying for part II anyways... figured I'd take a shot at it!
Sounds like we should be hearing about interview invites mainly in Sept/Oct timeframe, per that "Peds 2017" thread BigTurk was talking about.
 
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