Endo residency straight out of school chances

[endoguy202]

Hello,
Posting for a friend..
Current DS3 and thinking of applying to endo residency next cycle but I feel a bit defeated reading on SDN that its impossible to get in straight out of school.
What should I be doing to stand out? Any straight out of school friendly program?

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[ToothyMctoothface]

I have met a few straight from school, they had made it known in their respective programs and showed interest in the field including spending time on the floor in the residency and possibly attending the AAE as well. Helps to have great references from endo faculties also. I was told by endo faculty that they want to see interest/enthusiasm in the field for them to stand out. Let them know it is not all doom and gloom it definitely is possible to get in straight from school.

 

[FutureDent020]

Interest and enthusiasm are the easy part. You also need to show competency, maturity, and skill. That’s the hard part for applicants straight out of school. It’s definitely possible, but rare.

 

[pma96]

It's uncommon but at the program in my school every year I've seen one resident that came straight out of school. Probably great ranking, great connections, a lot of involvement in the field of endodontics, etc. Make it known at your program by shadowing the residents a lot, going to their meetings and classes, assisting them with their research, being a TA if possible, etc. I've also heard the residents' opinions have a huge weight on who they accept, so make sure to get to know them and if you get an interview to be on your A game all the time.

 

[nobeldds]

A lot of programs simply will not take someone straight out school, regardless of their grades and other accolades. One year GPR/AEGD with 1 year private practice seems to be the minimum for a lot of programs. It is still possible to get in straight out of school though, I just wouldn’t be too upset if it doesn’t work out for you. I think you get a lot more out of residency with a couple of years behind you. Doing high quality endo is very hard, and you don’t want to be fumbling the basic aspects of dentistry while you try to learn this.

 

[redchesus]

A lot of programs simply will not take someone straight out school, regardless of their grades and other accolades. One year GPR/AEGD with 1 year private practice seems to be the minimum for a lot of programs. It is still possible to get in straight out of school though, I just wouldn’t be too upset if it doesn’t work out for you. I think you get a lot more out of residency with a couple of years behind you. Doing high quality endo is very hard, and you don’t want to be fumbling the basic aspects of dentistry while you try to learn this.

The way it seems is that most programs want a mix. If there are 3-4 slots then at least ONE of those likely be straight out of school, though usually top 10% and heavy research. I think programs want this for statistics purposes as well as that person who is likely to do a real research project (because let's be real... bench top and lit review studies don't really add much to the literature).
The other slots will usually go to residents with more experience due to the faculty not wanting to hand hold EVERY resident through restorative / patient management / professional maturity (a real thing since endo programs are like a small family)

Though I did interview at one program that 75% of the residents were fresh grads (0-1 years out) but the PD also went straight from residency into academia so that made sense.

 

[endoguy202]

It's uncommon but at the program in my school every year I've seen one resident that came straight out of school. Probably great ranking, great connections, a lot of involvement in the field of endodontics, etc. Make it known at your program by shadowing the residents a lot, going to their meetings and classes, assisting them with their research, being a TA if possible, etc. I've also heard the residents' opinions have a huge weight on who they accept, so make sure to get to know them and if you get an interview to be on your A game all the time.

Am I at a disadvantage going to a school without an Endo program?

 

[DrJeff]

Honestly, it makes much more sense to go work in a GP setting (residency/private practice) before doing an endo residency, since ultimately when it comes down to it, the tooth needs to be restored after the endo is done, and there's so much clinical experience you get in seeing what is reasonable to restore verses what can't/shouldn't be restored because of likely failure of the remaing tooth structure post restoration or the exacerbation of a potential perio issue post restoration if crown lengthening is needed, and those things are important from a diagnosis and treatment planning standpoint, and the reality is there isn't a great substitite for seeing it and trying to restore it firsthand than what spending time on the restorative side of things gives you.

I strongly feel that this is one of those situation where the clinical experiences that practice over time gives you, is just as important as the informational technical knowledge that an endo residency gives you, and that the vats majority of endodontists SHOULD have both, even if it takes the want to be endodontist a little longer to get into endo residency and the eventually into private practice

 

[Lemillion]

Had a classmate that went straight from DS to residency. Few things I remember her doing that helped.

1. "Visited" Endo clinic quite a bit. Assisted residents when needed (hard since you don't have an Endo program)
2. Did Endo related research/assisted someone with theirs
3. Went to AAE and networked with faculty members. She met a PD and they hit it off. Applied and she got into that program.
4. Completed her Endo requirements early and on time. (I.e. can't say you want to do Endo when all you have done is one anterior tooth)
5. Completed externships at other dental schools that had Endo programs (1-3 day visits)

*I agree with the above poster, interest/enthusiasm are easy to show but demonstrating competency/maturity/skill is important too.
*It's also not uncommon for people to do a 1 year AEGD/GPR and have a lot more options available afterwards due to increased experience.

 

[allDAT]

It’s not impossible. In endo though, when you look at all the available spots, there are more slots reserved for residents with experience than spots reserved for students with none. That being said, there are spots unofficially reserved for new or newish (straight from residency) grads at many programs. Looking through current resident webpages should give you some clues.

 

[Babitzo]

It's also not a bad idea to get involved (in any way) in endo research while in dental school, and then applying to endo programs that offer a Master's degree in addition to the certificate. Those are typically more research focused and love applicants who are into research.