Curriculum

The first year consists of assignments in the oral and maxillofacial surgery service to provide the trainee with a basic background in oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesia.  During the first year, the resident is expected to successfully complete Part I of the National Boards in Medicine. The first-year resident is assigned to primary service call on afternoons and alternate evenings for two months of the first year. During this time, the resident is paired with an upper-level resident to learn how to properly function in the hospital setting.

After the first two months, the first-year residents take primary calls alone, averaging being on call every third night, with an upper-level resident as a secondary resident on call when needed. The first year residents' didactic time is spent with lectures on a variety of topics covering the spectrum of the specialty. Didactics are scheduled once or twice a week for approximately an hour.

Two months of the first year will be spent in the Anesthesia Department. Through the assignment to Anesthesia, the first-year resident will gain knowledge and experience in advanced forms of pain and anxiety control as well as patient assessment and management. During this period, the resident is with the Anesthesia Service in the operating room helping with pre-, intra- and post-operative functions of the service.

The first-year resident’s experience in patient assessment includes physical diagnosis, dentoalveolar surgery, biopsy and culture techniques, root resections and apicoectomy, removal of bone cysts and odontogenic tumors not requiring extensive resection and removal of benign tumors of the soft tissues. He/she will participate as surgeon or first assistant in the entire gamut of oral and maxillofacial surgery, including trauma, orthognathic, TMJ and reconstructive procedures, to ensure an appropriate bonding to the specialty.

The first-year resident (along with the fifth- and sixth-year residents) also attends and participates in all departmental lectures and seminars, as well as seminars and multidisciplinary conferences in craniomandibular disorders, implants, surgical/orthodontic diagnosis and treatment and comprehensive oral pathology review, differential diagnosis and histopathologic interpretation.

The second year of the Oral and Maxillofacial Residency program places the resident into the third-year clerkships of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. The year will consist of the following clerkships, which are required for all medical school students:

During this year, the trainee will function under the guidelines set by each department for their specific rotation. The trainee will attend lectures and seminars, see patients in the respective clinics, follow in-patients and take calls.  The trainee will learn the appropriate protocol for history and physicals, operative notes and charting and referrals.

The third year of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency program places the trainee into the curriculum for the fourth year of medical school.  This year will consist of four clerkships, elective time and taking the second medical board.  The trainee will attend lectures and seminars, see patients in the appropriate clinics, follow in-patients and take call.  The following is a listing of the rotations:

The details of the electives are individualized for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residents, but will usually include emphasis on rotations in diagnostic radiology and surgical specialties such as plastics, dermatology, oral pathology and ophthalmology.

During the second and third years of medical school, the resident will be assigned to the oral and maxillofacial surgery service for electives during vacation and break times. This will amount to two to four months over the two-year period the resident is in medical school. These assignments involving direct patient care justify the stipend paid throughout the medical school segment of the resident’s training.

To meet our required six months of training in anesthesia, the last two rotations during the fourth year of medicine and the weeks between medical school graduation and July 1st are taken on the Anesthesia Service, before starting the general surgery intern year.

This year is designed to fulfill medical licensure requirements as well as the surgical core year and oral and maxillofacial surgery training requirements. It is funded through the House Staff allotment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. It is consistent with all requirements established by the Department of Surgery for a surgical core year and includes the following rotations: The two months of anesthesia are in May and June, between medical school graduation and July.  During this, time the trainee receives a stipend equal to a PGY-1 resident. After July 1, the trainee is converted to a PGY-2 stipend.

The Senior (PGY-3) and Chief (PGY-4) Residents operate on all major oral and maxillofacial surgery cases and are responsible, under less direct supervision, for all aspects of patient care.  The Chief Residents spend six months as the Chief Resident for Trauma and the other six months as the Elective Chief. Senior Residents are first assistants to the Chief Residents in the OR and in the OMS clinic. Senior and Chief Residents assume teaching functions in relation to the oral and maxillofacial surgery first-year residents.  Working with the attending staff, these residents participate in the lecture series, the preparation of material for clinicopathological conferences and the presentation of cases at grand rounds and staff conferences.

The rotation on the private service (UofL Affiliated Hospitals) includes special emphasis on surgical correction of facial deformities and participation in the care of private oral and maxillofacial surgery patients.

The rotations at University of Louisville Hospital offer special emphasis on the management of facial trauma and surgery under ambulatory anesthesia and provide each resident with additional experiences in all phases of oral and maxillofacial surgery. The School of Dentistry provides an opportunity to participate in ongoing research activities. It is expected that during the sixth-year term, each resident will participate in a research project; residents are also encouraged to prepare scientific papers.

During the final two years of the program, the fifth-year and sixth-year residents become proficient in dentoalveolar surgery under ambulatory general anesthesia  -- deep sedation and dental implants -- as well as other forms of minor oral and maxillofacial surgery in the ambulatory clinic.

It should be noted that during the entire six-year program, including the medical school component and core surgical year, the resident is closely related to the clinical and academic aspects of the program.  During each year, a significant amount of time is spent on the oral and maxillofacial service. The resident is never far away in distance or in spirit from the discipline he/she has chosen.