Absolutely,
I hope that OS will not forget its roots.
...and I hope that you will stop posting on the OMS resident pages.
MY GOD...I have never heard someone so overtly bitter in my life. You obviously have no ground to stand on to back your opinion regarding:
- oral surgery residencies (as you have not been accepted into one),
- the potential advantages of having an MD as an oral surgeon (because you will neither be an OMS nor an MD),
- or the nature of why someone else makes a decision (because you can't possibly know how someone else feels or thinks...only what they tell you or your much-too-often-expressed opinion about it stated as fact)
I will tell you as a current dual degree resident that there are several reasons I have a desire to obtain this extra degree. First off, let me say I am a dentist, am proud to be a dentist, and am happy to be perusing a career in a dental specialty. It just happens that my dental career requires some additional training in medicine. So, rather than get an abbreviated version during a 4yr residency, why not get the entire volume of medical knowledge gained by obtaining an MD in a 6yr residency. Much like the hygienists currently doing operative and basic extractions, doesn't it seem logical that a dentist (having additional training) would be a better choice? Particularly if the work was to be done on your family member?
Secondly, some of us are fueled by a thirst for knowledge. Med school has given me the understanding of the "why" rather than just learning the "what" necessary to treat a particular patient. You mention that "...a DDS OMS is just as qualified to do bread and butter OS..." and I think every here agrees with that. The point is not "can you function in a private practice office with a 4yr OMS cert", the point is how do you manage the other stuff? The harder, more complicated, and possibly emergent stuff? Some of us perusing the MD feel we are better equipped for the non-bread-and-butter oral surgery procedures and complications. It's a personal preference which, in some places, is being echoed by the hospitals we are seeking to operate out of. I know many practicing oral surgeons with both 4yr and 6yr degrees and I don't know ANY that go home at night thinking "Well, I didn't need to know 'X' today...what a waste of knowledge." I have heard from 4yr guys how glad they were they didn't do the extra schooling because they finished quicker and don't practice outside of their office anyway. However, I have heard from some of the MD's how glad they were they went to med school, who are all doing surgeries on a weekly if not daily basis.
Additionally, who knows where the field is headed in the future but I certainly won't be able (realistically) to return to obtain the MD if it turns out I need it later. So the prospect of getting it now seems the obvious choice. Why take a chance on reducing the surgical variety available to me due to the potential inability to get credentialed without an MD?
Sure, the OB/GYN rotation isn't directly used
but neither is endo, operative, fixed, etc. and I went through all that too...even after I matched OMS when the possibility of being a general dentist had been removed. That's just life and sometimes we have to do things "just because" they are part of the journey towards a goal.
Just that you felt it necessary to mention you "almost became cool...except for personal reasons" tells me a great deal about you're insecurities regarding NOT getting into an OMS residency. It is quite clear you are atop the list of dental school OMS wannabe's that now blast it and talk about how you "coulda" or "woulda" but didn't because you chose not to. I agree, it was probably by choice...only not yours. I guess that's why your now repping the Ortho 2012 banner.
I'll start looking for your anti-ortho posts next Jan after their match.