Preparing for OMFS Residency

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carabelliscusp

carabelliscusp

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D4 student who matched here. I want to make sure I’m ready to be a half decent intern (while also enjoying my free time for the next 5 months). Anyone have any advice for materials to read or what to do to prepare for intern year? My head and neck anatomy is pretty bad if I’m being perfectly honest so i was looking for some materials to study

Thanks !
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Don’t worry about pre reading. Show up early everyday. If something needs to be done, volunteer to do it. If your chiefs ask you to do something, just do it and don’t give them a hard time. If you don’t know how to do it, find out. Be a team player. If you have a coresident who is being swamped, give them a hand. See that extra patient or consult for them. Be honest and never lie. Go in everyday with a smile on your face and don’t complain. Remember how much you wanted this spot and how fortunate you are to have it when the days get hard or long. Be grateful and kind in all that you do. Treat members of other services with respect and never be rude to them. Treat everyone in the hospital from the janitors to the difficult late night ER patients to the CEO with the same high level of respect. Work hard consistently and be humble. And above all, chose the harder right over the easier wrong. If you do all of those things, you will be more than a half decent intern. You will gain the respect of your coresidents, chiefs, and attendings
 
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I didn't really prep for residency and don't really recommend it, but some things that a good intern at a full scope program should at least be familiar with by the end of the yr ( not intangibles like social skills or being humble or making friends with the support staff)

Trauma- Dental/DA fractures (if you don't have GPR), mandible, NOE, ZMC, Le fort, ocular injury classifications and surgical approaches ( ex risdon, retromandibular, coronal, transconj, etc.) How to assess a patient
Soft tissue injuries - how to close lacs, types of sutures, suturing techniques
Infection- cellulitis, abscess, fascial spaces of the head and neck, common abx for different infx
Pathology-MRONJ vs ORN classification, common path like ameloblastoma, OKC, osteomyelitis, SCC staging and levels of neck dissection. Vein, artery, and soft tissue of common free flaps
TMJ-Wilkes, common treatments like conservative-arthroscopy/arthrocentesis-discectomy-TJR
Anesthesia- learn the basic MOA of common IV sedation drugs like propofol,ketamine, versed, fentanyl, precedex
Internal medicine- pretty broad but know your basic cardio,pulm, GI, kidney stuff at least
Orthognathic- basic concepts like what is a BSSRO vs IVRO, how to evaluate a pt clinically
Surgery- Know basic things like PEG vs G-tube, NG tubes, trach care, vent settings, SBO, all that good stuff


Nobody expects you to know anything, but if you have background info, when you see it in real life it's more likely to stick. Additionally, as an intern your main job is to report info to upper levels, not to do the surgeries themselves, but anytime you see a pt you should try to imagine what you would do if you were a chief and see how their treatment plans differ. Taking ownership of patients is how you learn.
 
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Don't do anything until maybe June. You will forget almost all of it - enjoy your D4 year. In June, you could start reading up on "common" ED procedures (lac repairs, splinting/arch bars, bridal wiring, etc.). You will also get more info from your chiefs/senior residents by June.
 
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piratewow said:
I didn't really prep for residency and don't really recommend it, but some things that a good intern at a full scope program should at least be familiar with by the end of the yr ( not intangibles like social skills or being humble or making friends with the support staff)

Trauma- Dental/DA fractures (if you don't have GPR), mandible, NOE, ZMC, Le fort, ocular injury classifications and surgical approaches ( ex risdon, retromandibular, coronal, transconj, etc.) How to assess a patient
Soft tissue injuries - how to close lacs, types of sutures, suturing techniques
Infection- cellulitis, abscess, fascial spaces of the head and neck, common abx for different infx
Pathology-MRONJ vs ORN classification, common path like ameloblastoma, OKC, osteomyelitis, SCC staging and levels of neck dissection. Vein, artery, and soft tissue of common free flaps
TMJ-Wilkes, common treatments like conservative-arthroscopy/arthrocentesis-discectomy-TJR
Anesthesia- learn the basic MOA of common IV sedation drugs like propofol,ketamine, versed, fentanyl, precedex
Internal medicine- pretty broad but know your basic cardio,pulm, GI, kidney stuff at least
Orthognathic- basic concepts like what is a BSSRO vs IVRO, how to evaluate a pt clinically
Surgery- Know basic things like PEG vs G-tube, NG tubes, trach care, vent settings, SBO, all that good stuff


Nobody expects you to know anything, but if you have background info, when you see it in real life it's more likely to stick. Additionally, as an intern your main job is to report info to upper levels, not to do the surgeries themselves, but anytime you see a pt you should try to imagine what you would do if you were a chief and see how their treatment plans differ. Taking ownership of patients is how you learn.
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And you'll forget it all during the morning rounds pimp session, after being on call and not sleeping for the past 24 hours.
 
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carabelliscusp said:
D4 student who matched here. I want to make sure I’m ready to be a half decent intern (while also enjoying my free time for the next 5 months). Anyone have any advice for materials to read or what to do to prepare for intern year? My head and neck anatomy is pretty bad if I’m being perfectly honest so i was looking for some materials to study

Thanks !
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Excellent post! Thank you for doing this!
 
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stealyoface said:
Don’t worry about pre reading. Show up early everyday. If something needs to be done, volunteer to do it. If your chiefs ask you to do something, just do it and don’t give them a hard time. If you don’t know how to do it, find out. Be a team player. If you have a coresident who is being swamped, give them a hand. See that extra patient or consult for them. Be honest and never lie. Go in everyday with a smile on your face and don’t complain. Remember how much you wanted this spot and how fortunate you are to have it when the days get hard or long. Be grateful and kind in all that you do. Treat members of other services with respect and never be rude to them. Treat everyone in the hospital from the janitors to the difficult late night ER patients to the CEO with the same high level of respect. Work hard consistently and be humble. And above all, chose the harder right over the easier wrong. If you do all of those things, you will be more than a half decent intern. You will gain the respect of your coresidents, chiefs, and attendings
Click to expand...

I second this, this will get you very far.
The other comments are great in terms of reading and all but the CT read one of the guys mentioned is awesome, do that in June.
 
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Great advice above. I agree with all of them.

Once you start, you'll hear terms in the hospital that doesn't make sense when you look up in the dictionary, or even urban dictionary, I guess this would be a non-exhaustive list of terms OMFS residents use...

Trolls - people who live under a bridge and only come out to the hospital at 2 AM in the morning to make sure you don't sleep at night, and you'll be draining their recurrent vestibular abscesses, or dealing with their recurrent facial fractures

Troll tags - for infection patient, it means the drains with non-dissolvable suture like silk, to make sure they come back in the morning to clinic to remove the offending tooth/teeth, but they only come to remove that drain in their mouth

Citizens - just regular people who just had bad luck - these are less than 1% of your trauma/infection patients

Mental dental - autistic/mentally handicapped patient that would not tolerate a procedure under local and it has to be under sedation/operating room

Rocks - patients that will stay on your list for weeks, if not months, because they are not able to leave the hospital, mostly due to no facilities accepting them because of their insurance or lack thereof

Mandible - A patient with mandible fracture

Submandy - a patient with a submandibular infection, likely a submental and sublingual too

Thirds, wizzies, treasure chests behind the second molars - wisdom teeth

Ludwig's angina - a term the Emergency department likes to throw around a lot, 99% of the time it's just a vestibular abscess

Soft non-chew diet - for your mandibular fracture patients after repair, it means steak

Malignant person - just like the cancer, senior residents, fellows or attendings that make the people under them a living hell, usually because they were treated that way when they were interns (continuing the forever vicious cycle)

Intard - Intern + ******

Hope it will clarify some of the lingo you'll be hearing!
 
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Anyone having difficulty accessing CTRead? It’s not showing up on my dashboard when clicking on the register link
 
CookieDentist said:
Anyone having difficulty accessing CTRead? It’s not showing up on my dashboard when clicking on the register link
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Has anyone been able to get on this? The register link now works, but when I’m going to register it keeps saying RECO error. Anyone else gotten it to work?
 
Travel, party, live your life with the few remaining months of dental school. Some of my fondest memories of dental school were from the latter half of D4 year.
 
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Superdentist 07 said:
Has anyone been able to get on this? The register link now works, but when I’m going to register it keeps saying RECO error. Anyone else gotten it to work?
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Still no luck on registering. Says registration error. Anyone had any luck?
 
I posted this before, but it is germane.

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!
 
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OMSDoc said:
I posted this before, but it is germane.

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!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to put all of this together!
 
So the CTRead registration is working now. However, it is still not showing up on my dashboard. Is anybody else experiencing this issue?
 
Harlem Hospital Center Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery has openings for 2 non-categorical intern positions to start July 1, 2024.

The Harlem Hospital OMFS program is an accredited 4-year OMFS Program in Harlem, New York. We practice full scope OMS and offer our residents the opportunity to serve patients in an exciting, fast-paced, and highly diverse environment. Harlem Hospital is a busy Level 2 trauma center that still accepts the majority of level one traumas in the area. The service covers facial trauma of the hospital 24/7/365. The program has a history of matching its own non-categorical interns, and an overall very high match rate for residents in the last 4 years. We participate in the Match and offer 1 categorical position each year. We are looking for hard-working, self-motivated individuals to join our team this upcoming 2024-2025 year.


The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Harlem Hospital Center will offer 2 non-categorical intern positions starting July 1st 2024

Please note: Eligible candidates must have completed a 1-year residency with valid certificate or have / be eligible to obtain a valid NY state dental license prior to starting.
(see NYS Dentistry:License Requirements)



Primary responsibilities will include the following:

1. Dentoalveolar surgery in a busy outpatient setting

2. Participation in the call schedule, responding to consults for maxillofacial trauma, orofacial infections, and additional emergent conditions

3. Pre-/peri-/post-operative management in the inpatient setting



Educational opportunities provided by the internship program will include:

1) Weekly didactic lectures and journal club covering the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery

2) Participation in weekly Grand Rounds

3) History and Physical Examination course

4) Exposure to the management of oral and maxillofacial surgery disease and deformities in the operating room setting



Interns will receive the salary and benefits at the PGY 2 level.

If interested in applying for the position, please email the program director Dr. James R. King ([email protected]) with your CV or PASS application. Feel free to private message me for any questions!
 
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Do we have to buy surgical headlight? If yes, what would be your recommendation? Thanks
 
Gladiator2020 said:
Do we have to buy surgical headlight? If yes, what would be your recommendation? Thanks
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It depends on the program. Most programs have lights in the clinic and ORs have lights you can use.

Your loupe light is good enough to start. You can demo lights from companies such as KLS, Enova, Designs for vision, bilumix, surgitel etc... then make a decision based on what you like and receive a resident discount, which pretty much all companies offer in some capacity.

Good headlights are $$$$ you don't want to jump into buying one without knowing what your preferences are.
 
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Did anyone manage to work out consistently during intern year or should I expect my BMI to steadily increase :cryi:
 
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TeethAreKewl said:
Did anyone manage to work out consistently during intern year or should I expect my BMI to steadily increase :cryi:
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I would assume most intern years are similar program to program with some variations but you will start your pre-rounds around 5am depending on how many patients that could change about 30 minutes earlier or later. But the good news is that you can have a huge breakfast before you go in if you want…lol. Lunch will be replaced with a quick protein/meal bar (sometimes you will have to miss that too…but, as your speed increases you might be able to squeeze in a quick sandwich here and there). Dinner will be after 8pm for most nights…especially if you are completing your notes before you leave (going home eating and than doing them at home will help you to eat earlier) Yup, for pretty much the entire year. But, if you are in a good program with a strong healthy culture, in some weird crazy way, you will convince yourself that it’s actually fun! 😉

A short version of this is that @Ivy.ch is correct…15 pounds sounds about right! 😀
 
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