AF OMFS vs. civilian OMFS

[bnducd]

I was hoping that someone could give some thoughtful pros/cons in comparing AF OMFS programs with civilian programs, preferably from an AF dentist/OS. I am a D3 and am going to be applying for residency in a couple months and would like to weigh my options of going AF or trying to obtain an AFIT slot and go civilian. I simply want the best possible education and will do whatever it takes to get it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[umkcdds]

all military residencies are top notch! you would get tons of experience - mainly because the patients don't have to pay for treatment, eliminating a big hurdle present in civilian residencies.

 

[AFDDS]

I was hoping that someone could give some thoughtful pros/cons in comparing AF OMFS programs with civilian programs, preferably from an AF dentist/OS. I am a D3 and am going to be applying for residency in a couple months and would like to weigh my options of going AF or trying to obtain an AFIT slot and go civilian. I simply want the best possible education and will do whatever it takes to get it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Go AF. The way this works is you apply to the AF. We have a ceratain number of slots in AF programs and a certain # of AFIT slots. All the AF slots get filled then the AFIT slots. In short, you may not have a choice.

Personally, I don't think you can beat the AF programs.

 

[bnducd]

Thanks for the replies. More specifically, I was wondering about the extent and diversity of procedures that I would see in the AF vs. a public county hospital, ie. trauma. I imagine in the other branches, especially with our current situations abroad, trauma is not hard to come by but how much trauma do the residents in the AF get? I know the residents at Travis rotate through Fresno hospital for trauma, what about Lackland? Is there any opportunity during the residency to be educated abroad?

Does the ADO change between the AF slots and the AFIT slots?

I had talked with a Col. at Travis regarding when the board would meet to decide on applicants for the 2011 class. AFDDS, do you know if they are going to meet earlier this year in order to allow those accepted for the AFIT slots to then apply into the PASS/MATCH system?

Thank you in advance for any information

 

[AFDDS]

Thanks for the replies. More specifically, I was wondering about the extent and diversity of procedures that I would see in the AF vs. a public county hospital, ie. trauma. I imagine in the other branches, especially with our current situations abroad, trauma is not hard to come by but how much trauma do the residents in the AF get? I know the residents at Travis rotate through Fresno hospital for trauma, what about Lackland? Is there any opportunity during the residency to be educated abroad?

Lackland is/was a trauma hospital. They also work with Brook Army Medical Center. As of now, no training abroad.

Does the ADO change between the AF slots and the AFIT slots?

I had talked with a Col. at Travis regarding when the board would meet to decide on applicants for the 2011 class. AFDDS, do you know if they are going to meet earlier this year in order to allow those accepted for the AFIT slots to then apply into the PASS/MATCH system?

Not sure. We moved the date up to September last year (usually meet in Oct). It may be a little earlier in Sep, but I wouldn't expect it too much earlier than that.

Thank you in advance for any information

Our program directors are in tune with the match. I don't think this has been a problem in the past

 

[BCDS2011]

Hi AFDDS,
I want to do OMFS, but I am leaning toward the 6-year program. I heard rumor that the Air Force might be bringing the 6-year program back. Have you heard any thing similar to this? Also I know it has been mentioned before in the forums (I just cannot find it again). How likely will the Air Force allow an HPSP student attend a private 6-year institution?

thank you in advance

 

[AFDDS]

Hi AFDDS,
I want to do OMFS, but I am leaning toward the 6-year program. I heard rumor that the Air Force might be bringing the 6-year program back. Have you heard any thing similar to this? Also I know it has been mentioned before in the forums (I just cannot find it again). How likely will the Air Force allow an HPSP student attend a private 6-year institution?

thank you in advance

Good timing on this question. I just talked to someone about this today. I haven't heard anything about bringing back the 6 year program. I wouldn't think it's likely, but who knows.

As far as how likely you would be allowed to complete a residency following dental school, you need to keep in mind that you will have to get permission to do this. It has been done before. It is more likely to be allowed for a specialty where we are short, like OMS. I can't say for sure you will get to do it, but if you had good letters of recommendation and good grades, you would have a better chance since you want to be an Oral Surgeon.

 

[pretzeldude66]

I am a D4 on the 4-year USAF HPSP. I have been granted a deferment of my HPSP payback to pursue an OMFS residency. I started the process around March of my 3rd year (2008) and was granted the deferral in early July. I had to go through the normal application process (references, transcripts, etc.) and interview down in San Antonio. Apparently the Air Force has to determine (1) that in the future they will need more surgeons than they can produce, and (2) that they will have enough applicants to meet the board (meaning that there is no way they are going to grant a deferral if they feel they might not be able to fill their own spots).

From what I've been told, deferrals are not too common - guess I asked the right questions at the right time in the right year.

 

[AFDDS]

I am a D4 on the 4-year USAF HPSP. I have been granted a deferment of my HPSP payback to pursue an OMFS residency. I started the process around March of my 3rd year (2008) and was granted the deferral in early July. I had to go through the normal application process (references, transcripts, etc.) and interview down in San Antonio. Apparently the Air Force has to determine (1) that in the future they will need more surgeons than they can produce, and (2) that they will have enough applicants to meet the board (meaning that there is no way they are going to grant a deferral if they feel they might not be able to fill their own spots).

From what I've been told, deferrals are not too common - guess I asked the right questions at the right time in the right year.

We're short of OMS personnel right now and now is the time to ask to do this.

 

[preOMFS]

When exactly do you ask for deferment? Do you have to obtain the HPSP scholarship first and then make this request late in your third year like pretzeldude66, or can you make the deferment request at the same time as you apply for the HPSP? I want to specialize in OMS but I definitely want the MD. Since the military currently does not offer an MD option (as far as I know) I have to do a civillian 6-yr program. Should I make this clear when I apply for the HPSP or should I hold it back until I get accepted??

Thanks

 

[AFDDS]

When exactly do you ask for deferment? Do you have to obtain the HPSP scholarship first and then make this request late in your third year like pretzeldude66, or can you make the deferment request at the same time as you apply for the HPSP? I want to specialize in OMS but I definitely want the MD. Since the military currently does not offer an MD option (as far as I know) I have to do a civillian 6-yr program. Should I make this clear when I apply for the HPSP or should I hold it back until I get accepted??

Thanks

You will make the request late in your third year. You don't have to worry about this until you would be applying to residencies at the end of dental school.

Wait until you get accepted to dental school. It's good to know up front what you want to do, but I have known several people that changed their minds once they were in dental school.

 

[esclavo]

Deferring the HPSP commitment to pursue OMFS training was accomplished for me when I interviewed for the AEGD position. This was at the end of third year. Essentially, I scheduled the AEGD "interview" within a week of receiving the packet. I believe it was like May. I made it known in my interview and through my CV that my orientation was to do OMFS training. I had externships, research, and letters of recommendation from OMFS faculty. The AEGD director at the academy at the time must have made a note about my orientation to surgery and I received a call from Randolph Air Force base about the option to apply to civilian residency while I was applying to the military AEGD residency. If I didn't get in, they had an AEGD spot waiting. If I got in they would forget they every knew me for a few years and then get back in touch with me my chief year of residency. The rules were NO six year residencies-four years only and no funding, no sponsorship, no acknowledgement of my existence hardly. This is different than an AFIT spot which is Air Force sponsored at a civilian program which process is essentially the same as applying for an Air Force residency.