CLINICAL OBSERVERSHIP
PROGRAM

First Cycle
Submission period: June 1 – August 1
Notification date is September 15

Second Cycle
Submission period: December 1 – February 1
Notification date is March 15

Please keep in mind that the longer lead time you give, the greater flexibility we will have with assigning mentors.

Also, please keep in mind that the mentors have been selected because they are committed to resident education and are experts in the OMFS field.  While we unfortunately are not able to take requests from residents for specific mentors, we will do our best to match you with a surgeon who has expertise that matches the interest of the resident, as per the essay in the application.  Residents will have a worthwhile experience with every mentor in the program.

Below is a list of activities that residents will experience, when applicable, during their observerships  While each resident experience will differ depending on the areas of expertise and focus of the individual clinician, most will address the areas below.  If there is a specific skill that is desired during the program, please address this in your application essay.

• • Orientation to the office, meet personnel, office scheduling, safety concepts, resources
  • Practice management concepts, including meeting with the practice manager and clinical manager
  • Lectures the mentor may have, and literature discussion
  • Treatment planning, especially the use of imaging, modeling, and multidisciplinary interactions
  • Patient care concepts, including patient interactions, patient safety, patient health evaluation, anesthesia case management
  • Methods used to reconstruct or regenerate hard and soft tissue deficiency
    • Socket grafts, Socket reconstruction, alveolar ridge reconstruction, Osteotomies, Interpositional grafts, space maintenance methods, GBR, onlay grafts, ridge splitting, etc.
  • Regenerative and reconstructive materials
    • Autogenous graft applications and procurement methods
    • Recombinant proteins applications and properties
    • Allogeneic graft applications and properties
    • Xenogeneic graft applications and properties
    • Membranes
    • Autogenous Soft tissue grafts
    • Soft tissue graft substitutes
    • Space maintenance devices
  • Dental implant methods and applications
    • Principles of effective dental implant placement
    • Delayed traditional implant placement
    • Immediate implant placement
    • Simultaneous implant and graft techniques hard and soft tissue
    • Single implants
      • Posterior and esthetic zone
    • Multiple implants
      • Posterior and esthetic zone
    • Implants for Hybrid full arch application
      • Traditional implant
      • Zygoma implant
      • Pterygoid implant

  Case Report

  If the mentor and resident agree, we would like each resident to prepare a case report of any treatment provided during the rotation.  OSF will develop a platform to share the reports, and when suitable they can be submitted for other publication.

Licensure

For an optimal hands-on experience, licensure is recommended.  Please do confirm with your mentor the level of hands-on involvement desired; some clinicians are more comfortable than others with residents performing surgeries.  At a minimum, all residents will have the opportunity to serve as first-assistant.  Licensure is not possible in Florida or Louisiana (unless you already have a license in these states).  It may be possible to obtain a medical license in these states.  In order to ensure adequate time before your observership, it is best to begin the licensure process at least six months prior to the observership.

Insurance

All residents must be insured, regardless of whether they have a license in the state of the observership.  If the residency program does not provide insurance during the observership, Osteo Science Foundation will obtain a policy through OMSNIC.

Travel and living expenses are covered by Osteo Science Foundation, including transportation during the observership (rental car or public transportation). Per diem rates for housing are as per the GSA Travel rates. OSF does not cover the cost of food during the observership. Residents will be provided with a credit card, so that no out-of-pocket expenses will be incurred, though receipts must be provided after the observership to support each expense. Housing and flights will be booked directly by OSF, once arrangements have been made with the resident.

If preferred by the resident or program, an educational grant can be made to the department, instead of reimbursing or pre-paying expenses. If you wish to pursue this option, please indicate as such on your application. Salaries will not be covered.

Applicants must be enrolled in an OMFS residency program in the United States or Canada in order to be eligible for the Clinical Observership Program.

Residents should apply to complete the Observership during their chief or penultimate year. Exceptions may be granted with a letter from the department chair, stating the necessity to complete the observership earlier and confirming that the resident’s skill level is appropriate for this level of advanced training.