Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School MD oral and maxillofacial surgery program: a 30-year review.
OBJECTIVE
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.


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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Dodson
Thomas B
TB
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Director of Resident Training, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. tbdodson@partners.org
Guralnick
Walter C
WC
Donoff
R Bruce
RB
Kaban
Leonard B
LB
D001900:Boston; D002321:Career Choice; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D011331:Private Practice; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012575:Schools, Dental; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000193:education*