Scientific article
Massachusetts general hospital/Harvard medical school MD oral and maxillofacial surgery program: a 30-year review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2002.12.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

The first resident enrolled in the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard MD Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (MD/OMFS) program graduated from Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 1972. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the first 30 years of the program and to outline plans for its future.

Materials and methods

This was a retrospective cohort study and the sample was composed of the residents enrolled in the MD/OMFS program between 1971 and 2000. Study variables included the dental school from which the resident graduated, successful completion of the MD/OMFS program, performance on parts I and II of the United States Medical Licensing Examination/National Board of Medical Examinations (USMLE/NBME), HMS grades, and career trajectories (full- or part-time academic or private practice). Appropriate descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed for all study variables.

Results

During the study interval, 56 residents entered the MD/OMFS program and graduated from HMS. All members of the cohort, regardless of the dental school from which they graduated, performed well as evidenced by USMLE/NBME scores and medical school grades. Ninety-four percent of eligible graduates have completed the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery examination. The pass rate was 100%. Thirty-four graduates are involved in full- or part-time academic practice. Four trainees completed medical school but did not complete the OMFS program.

Conclusion

The overwhelming majority of trainees completed the program, became board certified, and currently practice OMFS or a related specialty. A disproportionate number entered academic careers.

Section snippets

Study design and sample

This was a retrospective cohort study with a sample consisting of residents enrolled in the MGH/Harvard MD/OMFS program between 1971 and 2000.

Overview ot the training program

The original MD/OMFS program (1971 to 1987) was 5 years in length and was limited to graduates of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). It consisted of 1 year as an OMFS intern, followed by 1 year as an enrolled medical student (HMS III, the principal clinical year), 18 months as a general surgery resident (postgraduate year 2), and 18 months as

Section 1—overwiew

Since 1971, a total of 56 individuals entered the MD/OMFS program and graduated from HMS. The cohort is composed of 44 men and 12 women. Seven members of the sample are still in the program and are scheduled to graduate in the next 24 months. Four individuals (7.1%) entered the program, graduated from HMS, did not complete the OMFS program, and chose non-OMFS career paths. Three other graduates of the MD/OMFS program pursued additional specialty training in related fields; 1 graduate is a

Discussion

The purpose of this report was to provide a summary of the first 30 years of the MGH/Harvard MD/OMFS program and to outline plans for its future evolution. The program has accomplished the goal of training dual-qualified oral and maxillofacial surgeons. A high percentage of graduates take (93.7%) and pass (100%) the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) examination. This percentage of board-certified graduates of the MGH/Harvard MD/OMFS program compares favorably with the

References (3)

  • W.C. Guralnick

    The combined oral surgery-MD programThe Harvard plan

    J Oral Surg

    (1973)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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