I WAS training at San Antonio. I did three years but have now resigned and am applying for orthodontics (whole different story). UAB has a very good reputation, but you spend a lot of time holding sticks for the faculty from what I understand. My friends that went there for dental school mostly had bad things to say about it. Parkland is very good in all aspects, but be very careful there as there is no dental school affiliation and they have had some trouble with faculty and money issues lately. No dental school =no or few implants. They do a lot of cosmetic procedures, for what that is worth. All of the 6 year texas schools are really excellent. They all have power in the hospital and do a lot of cosmetics/trauma. San Antonio and Baylor are the most well rounded, as Houston does a lot more trauma. If you like a four year, then Galveston is very nice and they have a good lifestyle during residency. Florida you know about. Nothing above the mandible unless it is a lefort. Not such a bad thing, though, because the lifestyle is good. The guy at Jacksonville is the bomb (Fattahi), but it is a four year at a trauma hospital. UNC is a lot of bluster about orthognathics, but they really don't do that much more than San Antonio or Baylor. LSU shreveport is probably the best program in the country, but there are some drawbacks. Dr. Ghali is awesome, but if he leaves......... Also, you have to live in Shreveport. LSU NO is also very good, but you really get worked and you have to live in NO. The year I interviewed there were four shootings in the ER. I chose a lot on lifestyle issues and well rounded program. I was less than enthused about the prospects of doing cancer, and I was lukewarm about cosmetic procedures. If any of the programs tell you that you will be fully trained to do all cosmetic procedures when you get done, they are giving you a load of crapola. Trauma load is important, but only in the sense that you need full scope trauma. It really isn't that important how much you do. At all of the programs I listed you will get more than your fair share of chief cases. Really, they don't care too much about research or other experiences. Grades and board scores are the most important things. I would recommend doing three to four weeks for externships. The longer you are there, the more you get to do. I did five months total, and was getting to cut at various places. At Parkland I got to do half a blepharoplasty and a full laser skin resurfacing because I hung around and appeared interested. When you go, plan on living at the hospital pretty much. Be the first person at the hospital and the last to leave, that will give a good impression. Make sure you have a meeting with the director and the chairman before you leave, and wear a suit. Wear a suit your first day. You will feel like a weenie, but it makes a good impression. If you hate the place you are externing DO NOT leave early. Word gets around. Offer to do a presentation to the faculty/residents (not at parkland if appropriate) For dentoalveolar experience, I would recommend externing at Kentucky or Parkland. There you will get to do whatever you want in the mouth. For overall experience, I would also recommend LSU (either). I wouldn't necessarily extern at UAB, UNC, Florida, San Antonio or Baylor, even though these are some of the better programs. Externing where you want to go can definitely help you, but it can also hurt you really bad if you don't do a good job. If you follow my advice above, you will most likely get an interview if you grades and board scores are good enough. When you are looking at programs, you have to think about what you are interested in. If you want to get a well rounded education, but not get totally worked over, look at San Antonio, Baylor, Louisville, Florida, UNC. If you want all out surgery and want to get worked over, try UAB, Parkland, LSU NO, LSU Sh, or Ky. If you want cosmetics, go to Louisville, LSU NO, Parkland, Baylor or San Antonio. If you want Orthognathics, go to UNC, San Antonio or Baylor. If you want lifestyle (ie easier call), go to Florida, Louisville, Galveston. I ended up with this rank list: San Anonio, Baylor, Parkland, Florida, UNC, Louisville, LSU NO, LSU Sh, Kentucky. Everybody will have there own experiences at these institutions, and may tell you something different.
Whew, that is long. Any other preguntas?
