U.Conn OMFS

[Tbone10452]

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Can anyone that has externed or had any experience with this program give me his impressions ? You can PM me if you want.

Thanx,

T

 

[Holy Thursday]

Can anyone that has externed or had any experience with this program give me his impressions ? You can PM me if you want.

Thanx,

T

You have to put up with one of the biggest attending jerks Otherwise, I know very little.

 

[EuroOMFS]

Looking at their website:

http://sdm.uchc.edu/departments/oralmaxillo/OMFS Website/MainHomePage.htm

it looks like a pretty decent program, with a fair amt of trauma cases (211 pr. year) and a lot of CLP, TMJ and orthognathic cases.

 

[OMFSdoc]

I interviewed there a few years ago and liked the program so much that I ranked it second. I heard through the grapevine that it went through some rough spots shortly after that, but it may have bounced back. One negative was that you have to do something like 16 months of general surgery which really sucks. Other than that, it seemed like a good place at the time. If you don't mind the suburbs, it's a nice and affordable place to live. They covered 3 hospitals and were full scope except cosmetics. You would have to take the USMLE step 1 before the program starts.

 

[LordLister]

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.

In particular, the program director and full time faculty are self serving and not terribly knowledgeable. Dr. Shafer (the PD and chairman) is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than improving the program. The program used to be a powerhouse in OMFS during the 1970's until the early 90's. Dr. Goldberg (of Topazian and Goldberg fame) started the program from scratch. He's still a part time attending, and likely the programs greatest resource. He's in is 70's, and still at the top of his game. He still does cases at UCONN, and will teach you more than anyone else there. The golden years of the 80's were lead by Dr. Topazian at the helm. He supposedly ruled the department with an iron fist. Dr. Peterson (of the text book fame) was also around at this time (and left to go to Ohio a few years later), as well as Dr.'s Piecuch and Lieblich (who are now part time faculty, and again outstanding surgeons). Leon Assel took the helm after Dr. Topazian for a few years, and things started to go down hill at this point. Although he's a prominent and recognized figure in the OMFS community, his political prowess could be likened to that of a bull in a china closet. Before UCONN, he was head of the program at LICH. When offered the chairmanship of the program at UCONN, he brought along a fresh graduate from his program as a new attending (Dr. Shafer). Dr. Shafer was not terribly knowledgeable, nor was he a gifted surgeon, but he was quite likeable and agreed with everything Dr. Assel had to say. In a few short years, Dr. Assel created enough enemies to get him thrown out of the university, and with this sea change Dr. Shafer was left as the only man standing (and thus he was offered the position of PD by exclusion).

When Dr. Assel left, most of the other attendings left or went into private practice. Dr. Shafer has since hired a handful of attendings with little or no experience, and in some cases, criminal records. A few years back, one of the full time attendings was caught stealing 100+ vials of demerol from the Hartford Hospital clinic, as well as several other occasions involving the theft of Fentanyl from various clinics. This attending was hired by Dr. Shafer after he had lost his dental license TWICE previously for siphoning off narcotics from his private practice. Still, it took almost ½ a year for the dept. to “find the perpetrator”. While the residents were complaining about this attendings volatile, bizarre and erratic behavior, Dr. Safer actually defended this guy. On top of that, Dr. Shafer was angry at us for complaining.


With Dr. Shafer at the helm, the program has gone from bad to worse. Dr. Shafer has no backbone, and he’s subsequently given away any gains the department made previously. The ortho dept supplies few surgical cases. Any craniofacial case you will be sucking spit for a plastics attending while they lambaste your department. There are no cosmetics cases to be had. We lost a good deal of the implant surgery to the perio dept. Even worse, the periodontists at UCONN are now performing wisdom tooth surgery and sedation. I graduated with less than 5 orthagnathic cases, no major craniofacial trauma or frontal sinus cases, only a handful of implants, and an inadequate number of generals.

The majority of UCONN graduates go into private practice and end up as dentalveolar surgeons. The last graduate to go onto a fellowship was over 10 years ago. Even if this is your goal, there are many programs that will provide better training.

 

[TiggerJSA]

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.

In particular, the program director and full time faculty are self serving and not terribly knowledgeable. Dr. Shafer (the PD and chairman) is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than improving the program. The program used to be a powerhouse in OMFS during the 1970's until the early 90's. Dr. Goldberg (of Topazian and Goldberg fame) started the program from scratch. He's still a part time attending, and likely the programs greatest resource. He's in is 70's, and still at the top of his game. He still does cases at UCONN, and will teach you more than anyone else there. The golden years of the 80's were lead by Dr. Topazian at the helm. He supposedly ruled the department with an iron fist. Dr. Peterson (of the text book fame) was also around at this time (and left to go to Ohio a few years later), as well as Dr.'s Piecuch and Lieblich (who are now part time faculty, and again outstanding surgeons). Leon Assel took the helm after Dr. Topazian for a few years, and things started to go down hill at this point. Although he's a prominent and recognized figure in the OMFS community, his political prowess could be likened to that of a bull in a china closet. Before UCONN, he was head of the program at LICH. When offered the chairmanship of the program at UCONN, he brought along a fresh graduate from his program as a new attending (Dr. Shafer). Dr. Shafer was not terribly knowledgeable, nor was he a gifted surgeon, but he was quite likeable and agreed with everything Dr. Assel had to say. In a few short years, Dr. Assel created enough enemies to get him thrown out of the university, and with this sea change Dr. Shafer was left as the only man standing (and thus he was offered the position of PD by exclusion).

When Dr. Assel left, most of the other attendings left or went into private practice. Dr. Shafer has since hired a handful of attendings with little or no experience, and in some cases, criminal records. A few years back, one of the full time attendings was caught stealing 100+ vials of demerol from the Hartford Hospital clinic, as well as several other occasions involving the theft of Fentanyl from various clinics. This attending was hired by Dr. Shafer after he had lost his dental license TWICE previously for siphoning off narcotics from his private practice. Still, it took almost ½ a year for the dept. to “find the perpetrator”. While the residents were complaining about this attendings volatile, bizarre and erratic behavior, Dr. Safer actually defended this guy. On top of that, Dr. Shafer was angry at us for complaining.


With Dr. Shafer at the helm, the program has gone from bad to worse. Dr. Shafer has no backbone, and he’s subsequently given away any gains the department made previously. The ortho dept supplies few surgical cases. Any craniofacial case you will be sucking spit for a plastics attending while they lambaste your department. There are no cosmetics cases to be had. We lost a good deal of the implant surgery to the perio dept. Even worse, the periodontists at UCONN are now performing wisdom tooth surgery and sedation. I graduated with less than 5 orthagnathic cases, no major craniofacial trauma or frontal sinus cases, only a handful of implants, and an inadequate number of generals.

The majority of UCONN graduates go into private practice and end up as dentalveolar surgeons. The last graduate to go onto a fellowship was over 10 years ago. Even if this is your goal, there are many programs that will provide better training.

Certainly makes me feel better for turning down that interview last year

 

[toofache32]

Damn. I liked UCONN at my interview about 5 years ago, but I guess they really pulled the wool over my eyes.

 

[IcedOMFS]

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.
Dr. Shafer has no backbone, and he’s subsequently given away any gains the department made previously. .

Why don't you tell us how you really feel?

 

[GatorDMD]

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.

In particular, the program director and full time faculty are self serving and not terribly knowledgeable. Dr. Shafer (the PD and chairman) is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than improving the program. The program used to be a powerhouse in OMFS during the 1970's until the early 90's. Dr. Goldberg (of Topazian and Goldberg fame) started the program from scratch. He's still a part time attending, and likely the programs greatest resource. He's in is 70's, and still at the top of his game. He still does cases at UCONN, and will teach you more than anyone else there. The golden years of the 80's were lead by Dr. Topazian at the helm. He supposedly ruled the department with an iron fist. Dr. Peterson (of the text book fame) was also around at this time (and left to go to Ohio a few years later), as well as Dr.'s Piecuch and Lieblich (who are now part time faculty, and again outstanding surgeons). Leon Assel took the helm after Dr. Topazian for a few years, and things started to go down hill at this point. Although he's a prominent and recognized figure in the OMFS community, his political prowess could be likened to that of a bull in a china closet. Before UCONN, he was head of the program at LICH. When offered the chairmanship of the program at UCONN, he brought along a fresh graduate from his program as a new attending (Dr. Shafer). Dr. Shafer was not terribly knowledgeable, nor was he a gifted surgeon, but he was quite likeable and agreed with everything Dr. Assel had to say. In a few short years, Dr. Assel created enough enemies to get him thrown out of the university, and with this sea change Dr. Shafer was left as the only man standing (and thus he was offered the position of PD by exclusion).

When Dr. Assel left, most of the other attendings left or went into private practice. Dr. Shafer has since hired a handful of attendings with little or no experience, and in some cases, criminal records. A few years back, one of the full time attendings was caught stealing 100+ vials of demerol from the Hartford Hospital clinic, as well as several other occasions involving the theft of Fentanyl from various clinics. This attending was hired by Dr. Shafer after he had lost his dental license TWICE previously for siphoning off narcotics from his private practice. Still, it took almost ½ a year for the dept. to “find the perpetrator”. While the residents were complaining about this attendings volatile, bizarre and erratic behavior, Dr. Safer actually defended this guy. On top of that, Dr. Shafer was angry at us for complaining.


With Dr. Shafer at the helm, the program has gone from bad to worse. Dr. Shafer has no backbone, and he’s subsequently given away any gains the department made previously. The ortho dept supplies few surgical cases. Any craniofacial case you will be sucking spit for a plastics attending while they lambaste your department. There are no cosmetics cases to be had. We lost a good deal of the implant surgery to the perio dept. Even worse, the periodontists at UCONN are now performing wisdom tooth surgery and sedation. I graduated with less than 5 orthagnathic cases, no major craniofacial trauma or frontal sinus cases, only a handful of implants, and an inadequate number of generals.

The majority of UCONN graduates go into private practice and end up as dentalveolar surgeons. The last graduate to go onto a fellowship was over 10 years ago. Even if this is your goal, there are many programs that will provide better training.

WOW.😕
I am glad i turned down the UCONN interview

 

[MsPurtell]

I'm waiting to see if they accept the idiot from my class who literally couldn't identify the ramus on a drawing of the mandible. Seriously.

There are profs I adore in that dept....then you have the folks referred to in Lord Lister's post. 🙁

 

[MsPurtell]

Wow. The individual who is mentioned over and over again in your post was so lackluster with us undergrads that we thought he must have been devoting all of his time to the residency program!

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.

In particular, the program director and full time faculty are self serving and not terribly knowledgeable. Dr. Shafer (the PD and chairman) is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than improving the program. The program used to be a powerhouse in OMFS during the 1970's until the early 90's. Dr. Goldberg (of Topazian and Goldberg fame) started the program from scratch. He's still a part time attending, and likely the programs greatest resource. He's in is 70's, and still at the top of his game. He still does cases at UCONN, and will teach you more than anyone else there. The golden years of the 80's were lead by Dr. Topazian at the helm. He supposedly ruled the department with an iron fist. Dr. Peterson (of the text book fame) was also around at this time (and left to go to Ohio a few years later), as well as Dr.'s Piecuch and Lieblich (who are now part time faculty, and again outstanding surgeons). Leon Assel took the helm after Dr. Topazian for a few years, and things started to go down hill at this point. Although he's a prominent and recognized figure in the OMFS community, his political prowess could be likened to that of a bull in a china closet. Before UCONN, he was head of the program at LICH. When offered the chairmanship of the program at UCONN, he brought along a fresh graduate from his program as a new attending (Dr. Shafer). Dr. Shafer was not terribly knowledgeable, nor was he a gifted surgeon, but he was quite likeable and agreed with everything Dr. Assel had to say. In a few short years, Dr. Assel created enough enemies to get him thrown out of the university, and with this sea change Dr. Shafer was left as the only man standing (and thus he was offered the position of PD by exclusion).

When Dr. Assel left, most of the other attendings left or went into private practice. Dr. Shafer has since hired a handful of attendings with little or no experience, and in some cases, criminal records. A few years back, one of the full time attendings was caught stealing 100+ vials of demerol from the Hartford Hospital clinic, as well as several other occasions involving the theft of Fentanyl from various clinics. This attending was hired by Dr. Shafer after he had lost his dental license TWICE previously for siphoning off narcotics from his private practice. Still, it took almost ½ a year for the dept. to "find the perpetrator". While the residents were complaining about this attendings volatile, bizarre and erratic behavior, Dr. Safer actually defended this guy. On top of that, Dr. Shafer was angry at us for complaining.


With Dr. Shafer at the helm, the program has gone from bad to worse. Dr. Shafer has no backbone, and he's subsequently given away any gains the department made previously. The ortho dept supplies few surgical cases. Any craniofacial case you will be sucking spit for a plastics attending while they lambaste your department. There are no cosmetics cases to be had. We lost a good deal of the implant surgery to the perio dept. Even worse, the periodontists at UCONN are now performing wisdom tooth surgery and sedation. I graduated with less than 5 orthagnathic cases, no major craniofacial trauma or frontal sinus cases, only a handful of implants, and an inadequate number of generals.

The majority of UCONN graduates go into private practice and end up as dentalveolar surgeons. The last graduate to go onto a fellowship was over 10 years ago. Even if this is your goal, there are many programs that will provide better training.

 

[OMFSdoc]

Holy crap! I didn't know all of that. Dr. Schafer seemed like a nice guy to me and they really had me fooled 3 years ago. I mean to the point where I almost ranked them #1. I'm glad I didn't.

 

[rrc]

Even worse, the periodontists at UCONN are now performing wisdom tooth surgery and sedation.

In my state a periodontist lost his license for doing this. Reported the indication was perio on the distal of the second molar but this did not fly with the board.

 

[uncfinley]

what about the new attending Dr. Ibanez?

 

[MsPurtell]

Personally, I love the guy.

what about the new attending Dr. Ibanez?

 

[FireDancer]

Personally, I love the guy.

I like Carlos Ibanez very much.....then again I like David Shafer very much as well....I'm speaking personally....I have no idea about the quality of the program or what it's like to be a resident in the program.

 

[carlosiba]

I like Carlos Ibanez very much.....then again I like David Shafer very much as well....I'm speaking personally....I have no idea about the quality of the program or what it's like to be a resident in the program.

Apparently someone had a bad experience at UCONN!

That may not be the general consensus, however. I have been the new faculty member for a year now, and when I arrived, I was fresh out of residency at UNC-Chapel Hill. To name drop--Tim Turvey, Ray White, John Zuniga, Ramon Ruiz, Ray Fonseca, and George Blakey are only a few of the people who taught me full scope OMFS. Enough to not feel the need for a fellowship. Pick a topic, and it was covered in my training. This is why I was hired at UCONN, and I am passing along the knowledge, as the residents here will tell you.
If you are going to operate in my case, we will have a pre-op conference and if you show me that you know your stuff, you cut the case and I will "suck spit" and "hold hooks" for you. Show me the opposite, and the opposite will happen. This is my way of saying that if someone had little exposure to surgery, there may be reasons for it, not just that there were no surgeries going on. Attendings have different ways of dealing with residents. The residents I have worked with for the past year are a good group that will graduate with a well rounded training experience. What they choose to do with it, is up to them.

All programs have dirty laundry, it just happens that ours has been aired out in public, which by the way, is just that. It is public record that a previous faculty member was caught doing something illegal, and it is sad. Drug abuse is something that affects our specialty both in academics and in private practice. In private practice, it is maintained private. Once this was identified as a problem at UCONN, the problem was addressed in minutes. This is not the only case that has happened in academics as a whole, so dont think that it is exclusive to UCONN. There are others out there!

As for Dr. Shafer's surgical abilities, he is more than capable, and I would operate with him any day. He is the reason this program exists and any graduate of this program should appreciate that. He also stepped up to the plate when asked, and is improving the program in ways that are not always obvious to the residents.

This program has the benefit of very involved private practice groups, so you get a very diverse exposure to surgery, and hopefully when you graduate, you remember the good things, filter out the bad, and you can establish your own way of doing things.

I would advise anyone who is interested in OMFS, to take any and all advise with a grain of salt, and then make up their own mind. If you want to talk about this some more, feel free to email me directly. you know where I am, and how to find me.

 

[omfsprofessor]

I am currently a resident here at UConn, and can definitely tell you that the dark and gloomy picture painted by LordLister is not at all representative of the state of affairs. Furthermore, there are blatant lies in what he stated:

1) A number of recent graduates have continued on to fellowship training. These include Matt Goldschmidt and Frank Paletta, both of whom went on to cosmetics fellowships. I myself am considering a fellowship in pediatric craniofacial surgery.

2) Not all UConn graduates become "dentoalveolar" surgeons. In fact, of the ten residents who have graduated since my intern year, only two are in what I would term pure "dentoalveolar" practices. Heera Chang is in full-time academics at Columbia. Matthew Goldschmidt does full-scope OMFS and full-scope cosmetics. We are properly trained in all aspects of OMFS, and most recent residents continue to practice what they trained for.

3) I doubt that there are many programs with a greater exposure to craniofacial surgery than ours. I was involved in 15 or so pediatric craniosynostosis cases last year. Sure, I wasn't the primary surgeon on these cases, but precious few programs allow residents to get really actively involved in the cases. After the first couple of cases, I was generally allowed to do about 20% of the case. But more importantly, the plastics (and OMFS - Bevilacqua) attendings actually care about teaching you, if you are hard working and show interest. In fact, I am considering a fellowship, which is how positively the exposure influenced me.

4) We do have a limited cosmetics experience within the department. We have one attending (Dr. Martin) who is cosmetics trained, and if you have an interest, he will cover clinic-derived cases. We also have a FANTASTIC relationship with our plastics attendings, and have "first dibbs" on all their cases. Again, if you are hard-working and have an interest. You can graduate with 1-2 cosmetics cases, or you can seek it out and graduate with 20-30 cases. It' purely up to you.

5) 5 orthognathic cases? The real number is 20-30 orthognathic cases your chief year, and another 10-15 your 5th year. That is just flat wrong, and I would urge anyone interested to ask for the program's actual case log; ours is proudly listed on: http://sdm.uchc.edu/departments/oralmaxillo/OMFS Website/ProgramNumbers.htm

6) I agree that I would like to place more implants, but a "handful" is misleading. Most residents place somewhere around 75 implants by the time they graduate. And as opposed to the "doom and gloom" picture painted by LordLister, Dr. Shafer has actually done quite a bit to boost those numbers. ITI has agreed to provide about 40 implants free yearly to Hartford Hospital. The UConn clinic has two sets available, and the clinic has actually become much more "implant friendly" than in the past. I actually see the implant numbers improving significantly over the next couple of years.

7) Sedations: just look at our numbers - http://sdm.uchc.edu/departments/oralmaxillo/OMFS Website/ProgramNumbers.htm. I feel VERY comfortable with my anesthesia training. We also have an excellent relationship with the anesthesia department, and I was given my own room to run my last two months of anesthesia, treated no differently than a mid-level anesthesia resident.

8) As for LordLister's personal attacks on Dr. Shafer, I find it somewhat disturbing that he/she has chosen to vent their personal frustrations in such an unprofessional manner. Dr. Shafer, in fact, is well-liked by the majority of residents, and is very easy to get along with. While he can't be everybody's "best friend," he is typically fair and will always listen to a resident's complaints. He NEVER gets angry about complaints; he actually is very patient about dealing with lots of minor quibbles. Dr. Shafer actually has a very well-rounded knowledge base. More importantly, however, he is very down-to-earth, and you can actually talk to him about cases. I prefer that to a more "famous" attending who has a God-complex and is unapproachable.

9) Dr. Ibanez is our newest full-time faculty member. I cannot state enough how much of an asset he is to the program. While he is young, he was well-trained at UNC, and is VERY resident-friendly. If he knows that you know what you are doing, he will let you plan a case and execute it pretty much 100%. Doesn't matter how big the case is. He will always sit and discuss the case ahead of time, and is very involved in making sure that everyone actually gets something out of the case. His cell phone is always on, and he WANTS to know what is going on. I enjoy every case that I have done with him.

10) With respect to our former attending with the substance abuse problem, it is estimated that about 10% of OMFS surgeons abuse substances. As far as I'm concerned, people should be given a second chance in life. This man was given one by the department here, and he abused that chance. No question. The moment this was discovered, his privileges were pulled within 24 hours. Instead of finger-pointing, we should use this as an opportunity to reflect on just how dangerous substance abuse is, and how it can ruin your life, and that of your family. I just hope that he has found peace with himself.

11) Part-time attendings. We have about 20 part-time attendings, each with different strengths. Some are more active in the OR, such as Dr. Bevilacqua, who performs full-scope trauma, orthognathics, distraction, craniofacial surgery, etc. Some are active in the OR, but can teach you about leadership potential, such as Dr. Piecuch. Some have an interest in anesthesia, such as Dr. Lieblich. Dr. Martin is cosmetics-trained. Some are excellent dentoalveolar surgeons. Not every attending is the same. The trick is to realize what each attending's strengths are, and to gain from them what you can.

In summary, LordLister is obviously a very disgruntled ex-resident, not typical of UConn grads. While no program is perfect, UConn is still very well-rounded, and I would urge interested candidates to look at the numbers, look at the didactics (at least 2x/week), and come and make up your own minds.

 

[Docomfs]

I am really surprised by some of the comments. I am the chief resident at this program and I can tell you that I couldn't be at a better training program than UConn. We do full scope Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. We are the only program in town and hence take all the trauma call. We have great pathology cases referred every year. At the same time most of the private practitioners in town are affiliated with our program and hence we get to operate with them when they bring cases to OR. You should be HARDWORKING and INTELLIGENT to treatment plan cases and the faculty backs you up. The advantage of having a faculty like Drs Shafer, Ibanez and Goupil is that they provide you the freedom to plan cases and do them while they assist you. Trust me you would much rather be at this kind of program than at a military style program.

Like in Biology we have exceptions too. Some of the ‘recent’ graduates are not well trained because they were lazy and dumb. Residency program is not a place to be lazy and if you are, you shouldn’t be surprised if treated unfairly. It is very simple; if the attendings don't trust you then they won't trust you with a knife.

For the students applying this year, concentrate on your interviews and try to make it to as many programs as you can. Be careful on the information you get. I understand that everyone is anxious but hopefully you will not be foolish enough to rely on some loser's post.

 

[FireDancer]

We do full scope Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

I would hate for any of your residents to feel like they don't get enough pedo cases so I have a few gems to discuss with you next week 😉

 

[Fentonious]

Some comments to level the field concerning the UCONN rep, and some general advice.

First of all, I am new to the UCONN OMFS residency. I had issues with the match service that I dont even want to get into it in this forum. However, that is what brought me to UCONN, from Detroit, and I can truly say that I was in shock when I first arrived. All of the full time attendings were super nice and extremely welcoming. I was expecting the harsh pimping, and separation by status that I have seen at some other programs. So as far as the history of the residency goes, I can not comment much, but in so much as the present and future: this is an excellent program for didactics, clinical exposure and scope, attending attitude and ratio, and first hand/guided experience. Every program may have its faults, but the bottom line is you are going to residency to become a surgeon. You have to determine what kind of surgeon you want to be.

I definitely dont think this program will corner you into dentoalveolar only. Just look at the OR log book (at any program for that matter). Cosmetics are always sparse, but if you are so concerned you should do a fellowship anyways. Cancer is mostly at specific centers, but then it is usually somewhat exclusive. There is a ton of implant exposure, from surgical placement, to CE courses, seminars and conferences. Especially with the close relationship with the AEGD, Prost and the Dental school; even those that place implants refer out the grafting and difficult ones. On that note, sure perio gets a lot of the implants, but that is the state of OMFS in this country. That's reality, you have to start earning referrals in residency. The difference is, in residency your referral base is also in training. Some residents may not make such relationships and lose the influx of implant patients. Trauma is definitely not an issue here. Youll get sick of waking up in the middle of the night to go diagnose and admit some drunk guy "that 2 dudes out of nowhere jumped him while he was minding his own business ." Pathology comes in all the time. And TMJ surg is frequently seen.
Another thing I like about the program is the diversity of the experience. Your time is split between a beautiful, modern, suburban, academic hospital and a busy, downtown, urban level 1 center. Its not all point and pull, but there unarguably is plenty of dentoalveolar.

As far as the med school and general surgery goes, that is what the 6 yr thing requires. You should have your own feelings on that one. some programs make you do 3 yrs, or more of med school, 19 months isnt so bad. And you get a 2 yr cert in gen surg for 16 months, gotta look at the brighter side, it is broken up a little. More surgical management experience cant be bad, right?

Generally speaking:
Always keep in mind your source. I never looked at this site when I was applying, I wanted to make my own, uninfluenced opinion of each program. I have heard horror stories of people giving known poor advice, just to decrease others' chance of success. All programs have their ups and downs. It is about picking the best pick for you, ie the place that will train you to be the surgeon you desire to be. When considering a positive attribute of a program, you have to consider if any sacrifices have been made. For example, in some programs you may get amazing 1st assistant experience on a bunch of cases during PGY1, but are you sacrificing the teaching, guiding and study time to do so. Not a big deal if you dont mind your patients being your guinea pigs. Personally, I would rather operate knowing that I was well prepared and ready. Another example, When evaluating didactics, are residents or attendings teaching you? Are you being sent to a review course as a bonus, or to make up for lack of coverage throughout the year? Probably one of the most imprtant factors: Who will be your chief? They are going to be guiding the majority of you training, education and experience first year. Their influence will greatly mold you as a surgeon, whether you agree with them or not. You must fit in with the residents or your life will be miserable. Lets face it, residency sucks, we all are going to be depressed, overworked, underappreciated, sleep deprived, etc at times. But we love it, because we want to be surgeons, and that is what it takes.

I know I pretty much only said good things, and of course there are some things that I would change. For the most part, they are all petty and do not compare to the points I have already made. I hope to answer any questions I can at the interviews, and the ones i cant, I'll think of a funny reply🙄

Good luck

 

[FireDancer]

"that 2 dudes out of nowhere jumped him while he was minding his own business ."

No, no.....it's three guys jumped him while he was walking home from church to take care of his sick mother, he took out two of them, but the third finally got him with the baseball bat.

 

[Bifid Uvula]

"that 2 dudes out of nowhere jumped him while he was minding his own business ."

No, no.....it's three guys jumped him while he was walking home from church to take care of his sick mother, he took out two of them, but the third finally got him with the baseball bat.

My guy last year had his mandible broken in 3 places because EIGHT dudes jumped him and he fought off 6 of them...

 

[cutntie]

It's unfortunate that Lordlister had a bad experience at Uconn. I can assure you as a current resident, he was an exception. Regardless, he is entitled to his opinions.
I do not agree with his unprofessional bashing of our attendings, the same people that sucked spit for him and TAUGHT him how to operate not to mention accepting him into the residency. The ONLY way you don't get to operate at Uconn is if you continuously fail to show competence in surgical planning and execution.
Here at Uconn we believe in giving people a second chance as proven perhaps by our decision to hire an attending with a resolved "drug problem". He had taken all the proper steps to gain his licence back. He was hired with a valid licence to practice. I'm sure LordLister was also given many chances.
Incomming residents: I know the application process can be very stressful. We encourage you to ask questions, go to many interviews, hang out with the residents (especially your chief), then rank your schools accordingly. If you're interested in UConn, we invite you to come and spend time with us and evaluate the program for yourself. We have a busy program covering all trauma in four hospitals. The residents work hard, have fun, and learn from attendings who teach in a civilized nonmalignant manner.
U can contact me anytime with any questions.
Good Luck
http://img.studentdoctor.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

[Holy Thursday]

I'm waiting to see if they accept the idiot from my class who literally couldn't identify the ramus on a drawing of the mandible. Seriously.

There are profs I adore in that dept....then you have the folks referred to in Lord Lister's post. 🙁

Uh, they did accept that "idiot" at the last minute.

Just to clear up some stuff: The attending that I was speaking of (and called a jerk) is not Drs. Ebanez, Topazian, shafer, mark, or many others. It was a certain Dr. G who thinks the whole world should bow down before him. Other than my opinion on Dr. G, I don't know anything else about that program. From what I hear, the current students like Dr. ebanez. They say he is fair and down to earth. It's just what I hear from friends still there.

 

[OMFS W101]

I went to Dental School at UCONN and now I’ am doing the OMFS internship here. Just want to clear couple of things about this program. As far as getting to cut in the OR in this program, if you know what U R doing the attending lets you cut the whole case on your own from start to finish. So if any former resident didn’t get to do much that means two things, either they were lazy or they didn’t know what they were doing and the attending didn’t trust them enough to let them cut. As for the 3 full time attendings here at UCONN, they are great. They are so resident friendly, and trust me they know a lot, and love to teach. So I don’t know what that Lord guy is talking about. I would love to stay at UCONN for my residency.🙂

 

[IcedOMFS]

My guy last year had his mandible broken in 3 places because EIGHT dudes jumped him and he fought off 6 of them...

Jeez, you're patients are so dishonest... At our program we routinely have patients admitting that they were flirting with/chatting up/porking some random guy's/their neighbor's/their brother's girlfriend/date/wife... Or that they were being a complete jerk/mouthing someone off and got what was coming to them...

 

[GatorDMD]

Jeez, you're patients are so dishonest... At our program we routinely have patients admitting that they were flirting with/chatting up/porking some random guy's/their neighbor's/their brother's girlfriend/date/wife... Or that they were being a complete jerk/mouthing someone off and got what was coming to them...

I had a guy this weekend with left periorbital ecchymosis, Left NOE fx, Left Max Sinus Anterior Wall fx and Right Comminuted Mandibular Body-Angle-Ramus Fx.... He said he got light headed (without LOC) and fell and hit a counter🙄 he also said no tobacco no drugs... later after his "partner" left he admitted getting punched and kicked in the face by someone "close" to him.... niagara falls! 😕 Also when I was on anesthesia there was this guy with a necrotic black johnson ( he was W.A.S.P. looking guy)... he said it just happened while he was at work... no drug history... no significan systemic diseases... labs come back Hep C, cocaine(+)... cant trust these gomers!

 

[GatorDMD]

I went to Dental School at UCONN and now I’ am doing the OMFS internship here. Just want to clear couple of things about this program. As far as getting to cut in the OR in this program, if you know what U R doing the attending lets you cut the whole case on your own from start to finish. So if any former resident didn’t get to do much that means two things, either they were lazy or they didn’t know what they were doing and the attending didn’t trust them enough to let them cut. As for the 3 full time attendings here at UCONN, they are great. They are so resident friendly, and trust me they know a lot, and love to teach. So I don’t know what that Lord guy is talking about. I would love to stay at UCONN for my residency.🙂

My chairman speaks highly about the program, hospital and attendings at UCONN. Also I had a few friends interview there last year and really liked it. One ranked it #1 and didnt get it... thats not cool to not rank your interviewees... that unmatched spot could have been someone who really wanted it.

 

[tx oms]

I'm a recent UCONN OMFS grad, and I would not recommend the program at all. There are significant problems permeating every facet of the program.

Damn!! And I thought I was disillusioned with dental school.

 

[crackah]

what about the new attending Dr. Ibanez?

i was at unc dental when carlos was a resident, and i always found him to be one of the most helpful residents there. i am assuming that you knew him uncfinley?

anyone from uconn, does he still wear sweatpants under his scrubs?

 

[carlosiba]

i was at unc dental when carlos was a resident, and i always found him to be one of the most helpful residents there. i am assuming that you knew him uncfinley?

anyone from uconn, does he still wear sweatpants under his scrubs?

Only if I'm not if I'm not wearing longjohns! Ha!

 

[Holy Thursday]

Only if I'm not if I'm not wearing longjohns! Ha!

I'd double up on the longjohns! It's f'in cold there in the winter.

 

[omfsprofessor]

To Holy Thursday. Dr. G. extends his deepest apologies for any stress he may have caused you or any of your friends.

 

[Holy Thursday]

To Holy Thursday. Dr. G. extends his deepest apologies for any stress he may have caused you or any of your friends.

This clearly must be a sarcastic post because anyone who knows Dr. G (who is not a resident, but full-time faculty..at least when I was there) knows that he has never apologized in his life for anything and will never apologize in the future no matter what. The man is psychologically demented and thinks his behavior is always okay no matter what. Man, I am so glad I avoided him like the plague...just smiled and said "hello" anytime I passed him in the corridors...the man thought I liked him. In actuality, everytime I passed him, I would say "hello" which was code for "hey jackass...still single and hated by your ex-wives & kids & all the ppl here? I mean, nobody likes you and it's f'in sad but you will die alone...that is why you teach, so you have some power and ppl have to pretend to like you."

 

[GatorDMD]

This clearly must be a sarcastic post because anyone who knows Dr. G (who is not a resident, but full-time faculty..at least when I was there) knows that he has never apologized in his life for anything and will never apologize in the future no matter what. The man is psychologically demented and thinks his behavior is always okay no matter what. Man, I am so glad I avoided him like the plague...just smiled and said "hello" anytime I passed him in the corridors...the man thought I liked him. In actuality, everytime I passed him, I would say "hello" which was code for "hey jackass...still single and hated by your ex-wives & kids & all the ppl here? I mean, nobody likes you and it's f'in sad but you will die alone...that is why you teach, so you have some power and ppl have to pretend to like you."

Damn Holy, simma down. The way you talk about this cat it almost leaves the impression your a victim of a one night stand.🙄

 

[Docomfs]

This clearly must be a sarcastic post because anyone who knows Dr. G (who is not a resident, but full-time faculty..at least when I was there) knows that he has never apologized in his life for anything and will never apologize in the future no matter what. The man is psychologically demented and thinks his behavior is always okay no matter what. Man, I am so glad I avoided him like the plague...just smiled and said "hello" anytime I passed him in the corridors...the man thought I liked him. In actuality, everytime I passed him, I would say "hello" which was code for "hey jackass...still single and hated by your ex-wives & kids & all the ppl here? I mean, nobody likes you and it's f'in sad but you will die alone...that is why you teach, so you have some power and ppl have to pretend to like you."

Dude Holy, I don't know what your problem is, seems like you don't like to respect elders!! I guess you are trying to act cool!! In this world your act is called 'immaturity'. Learn to correct yourself before talking about others. I am just concerned about your well being.

 

[munnabhai-DDS]

Hey everyone,
I am a first year OMFS resident at UConn.

I think this is a wonderful OMFS program. I am very confident that at the end of 6 years, UCONN will provide me with the skills required to perform full scope OMFS.

When I was interviewing for positions last year, I checked this site out like 3 times a day looking for the latest scoop on programs. What I realized from my experience is that just like anything on the internet, you cannot take one person's comments or opinions as gospel. To all the applicants considering OMF, I urge them to go to each interview and check out the program for themselves. See how the residents are, see how the faculty are and make their mind up for themselves. Don't let someone else's opinions sway your decision. Being with the attendings and the fellow residents, I can tell you first hand that we have a good group of people here. We hang out together, go out for lunches, have BBQ's or potluck's at each other's houses regularly. We are a close knit group that supports each other on and off the workplace.

I feel that I have learnt a great deal at UConn here. I love working with our attendings at UConn. They are very nice and non-malignant. I don't feel scared or uncomfortable approaching them about a certain topic. We also cover four hospitals. UCOnn is a great hospital, because it mimics private practice very nicely. I feel that if one works hard and is willing to learn, one can be trained to become an excellent oral surgeon here in CT. Our didactics is also great. OUr attendings as well as our chief residents take out time to teach us and give us talks and we discuss different topics on a weekly basis.

I look forward to seeing all the new applicants during the interview process.

 

[cutntie]

Dr. G happens to be one of my favorite attendings. He's an awesome person and a great teacher. He always has all the answers no matter how complicated the case or situation. He has more OMFS experience than anyone I know. I suggest you think twice before writing bad comments about people you clearly know nothing about.

 

[SPM531]

Lord lister's attack on this residency is unfounded....The UCONN residency still ranks as one of the best for didactic and surgical experience...As we have all recently graduated from this program our surgical skills and knowlege far exceeds most of our peers.. This is evident from our performance on the OMSSAT and success on the written and oral ABOMS examinations...There has not been a resident in at least the past 10 years that has not successfully negotiated the ABOMS exam...most likely that will probably change when Lord lister tries to challenge this examination. A little history regarding this individual...He was brought in to fill a spot of a resident who left for other pursuits...His arrival was not a pleasant one...from the beginning he was uncooperative and lacked surgical and didactic knowlege that any dental student would know. The numbers that he states regarding operative experience is completely false.. all of the chief residents in the past 5 years have done well over 20 complete orthognathic surgeries and also multiple trauma cases. The number of implants that you do is up to you...your referrals are based on your personality and surgical skill which Lord Lister obviously lacked... When nobody believes in your surgical and didactic ability nobody is going to trust you with their patients, whether they be dental students, attendings and as he will soon find out private practice referrals. Lord Listers attacks on Dr. Shafer are a farce... Dr Shafer bent over backwards for this guy..despite multiple calls from the Residency academic committe to dismiss him from the residency program.. As for the General Surgery commitment in this program...You perform approximately 16 months of GS and receive a two year certificate...this is unheard of in any other residency program. On GS you are treated as a General Surgery resident and not as a "Dentist"... We personally in our collective six years of general surgery experience(3 residents) performed well over 900 cases in our rotations.(Surgeon not first assistant). This training on general surgery is essential to your surgical ability and the knowledge gained is priceless.... As for our friend lord lister...He did not even complete one full year of the General surgery rotation.... In conclusion, don't believe everything that you hear regarding a program...you need to look at it collectively. In our experience UCONN provided us with excellent surgical and didactic training. Yes there are things that we would like to change to improve the program, but all programs have weaknesses. You need to look at both the pros and cons of each program you visit. And as for our friend...when you have the surgical ability of a dead monkey...nobody is going to allow you to operate on their patients.

 

[Holy Thursday]

Dude Holy, I don't know what your problem is, seems like you don't like to respect elders!! I guess you are trying to act cool!! In this world your act is called 'immaturity'. Learn to correct yourself before talking about others. I am just concerned about your well being.

Age isn't what earns a person respect. Everyone ages, including ppl like Hitler, Manson and the like. Good behavior and treating others with respect will earn you my respect. Thus, no, I do not respect Dr. G, at least not as a person nor as an educator (remember: you can be well-educated but not be good at educating others), but I do respect his opinions on oral surgery b/c he does know a lot about that topic.

Who do you think you are fooling? You are in no way concerned about my well-being.

 

[Holy Thursday]

Dr. G happens to be one of my favorite attendings. He's an awesome person and a great teacher. He always has all the answers no matter how complicated the case or situation. He has more OMFS experience than anyone I know. I suggest you think twice before writing bad comments about people you clearly know nothing about.

There is no doubt he is very educated in the area of oral surgery, and for that, I respect him. However, that is as far as my respect for him goes. Even though he is highly knowledgable, I do not consider him "a great teacher." Also, unethical, condescending, crude and harrassing behavior is what I have no respect for. Being a good oral health care provider is more than just about knowing your stuff...it is about treating other human beings as human beings. I know him better than you probably do, so that is why I made the very smart decision not to show my true feelings to him but instead let him think I liked him. (My guess is that you are probably doing this too--you are probably someone who has some reason to kiss up to him so you are letting him think you like and admire him--smart move!) I kept my enemies closer than my friends.😉

 

[SPM531]

How is he unethical??

 

[aphistis]

Easy on the personal attacks, please. You can communicate a point without using somebody else as a punching bag.

 

[north2southOMFS]

Easy on the personal attacks, please. You can communicate a point without using somebody else as a punching bag.

No, forget about what he just said above me. Attack away! This is starting to get good.

 

[esclavo]

Easy on the personal attacks, please. You can communicate a point without using somebody else as a punching bag.

Way to spoil my entertainment....

 

[aphistis]

Way to spoil my entertainment....

I know. Count on me to be the wet blanket. 🙁

 

[Holy Thursday]

How is he unethical??

Insulting the intelligence of patients (right to their face and behind their backs),
making fun of their weight,
making fun of patients with psychiatric illnesses that aren't within their control (like schizophrenia),
yanking ppl around by the shirt collar or neck tie (technically, a form of assault which surprisingly is illegal),
making statements that coerce or threaten ppl into doing what he wants them to do (both considered a form of harrassment as well as a violation of the hippocratic oath because coercion and threats interfere with patient autonomy)...

These things have gone on multiple times and in multiple situations. When confronted with these things, he seems to exhibit no remorse/conscience/shame about his poor choice of words or bad behavior.
Further, I know him on a more personal level than that and I know that he does this kind of stuff in his non-work/non-academic relationships, like with his kids. Further making me more disgusted with his behavior. Thus, I make no apologies about my original, sound, evidence-based judgment that, yes, he is highly knowledgeable in the area of OMFS and for that I respect him, but no, I do not respect his choice to behave unethically and immorally.

Point of all of this: I do not propose to know much about the OMFS program at UConn, but I do know a lot about one of the very prominent attendings. Should ONE unethical attending be the reason you don't attend the UConn OMFS program? Yes and No. No, if that's the worst you can say about the program; yes if he runs the entire program or if his behavior is indicative of the attitude of the bulk of attendings and residents in the program. If I had to wager a guess, I would say that this prof is the exception to the rule.

 

[IcedOMFS]

Insulting the intelligence of patients (right to their face and behind their backs),

****... I do that all the time... Hell, why stop at patients. Why not throw in other residents, services, attendings, nurses, or those douche bags that work at the hospital cafeteria.

[/QUOTE] making fun of their weight, [/QUOTE]

Ha! I do that all the time too!

[/QUOTE] making fun of patients with psychiatric illnesses that aren't within their control (like schizophrenia), [/QUOTE]

Hey, three for three!!!!

[/QUOTE] yanking ppl around by the shirt collar or neck tie (technically, a form of assault which surprisingly is illegal), [/QUOTE]

But not slapping them upside the head? Sounds like a bit of a pu$$y, to me...

[/QUOTE] making statements that coerce or threaten ppl into doing what he wants them to do (both considered a form of harrassment as well as a violation of the hippocratic oath because coercion and threats interfere with patient autonomy)... [/QUOTE]

lol... You mean you don't try to steer patients towards certain treatments? You really need to read The House of God... Learn all about MRB, buddy.

[/QUOTE] unethically and immorally [/QUOTE]

Pffft. Funny how people who take the high ground always throw about buzzwords like ethics and morals... Do morals really have a place in medical decision making? Ethics, perhaps, but I am not sure any of the above things you have mentioned REALLY push the envelope on contemporary ethical thinking...

 

[esclavo]

I know. Count on me to be the wet blanket. 🙁

you know you can treat that little problem.... there are treatments for nocturia...besides diapers 🙂 but wet the blanket if you must