My name is John and I am an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Resident. This is my story and it is similar to many others I have encountered during my training. I graduated summa cum lade with a bachelors degree in neuroscience. I finished top 20 in my dental class. I was a competitive applicant and matched to a strong residency program. But when I was an intern, I scored a 7% on the OMSITE. Literally….7%. What’s even better is my co-resident (who is far smarter than I) scored a 2%. Now at this point in my training, I was no stranger to standardized exams. Leading up to this point, I had taken and successfully completed the SAT, DAT, NBDE Part I & II, and NBME. So it got me thinking…what happened?

When I approached my mentor for advice, his answer was simple: read. The only problem was I had been reading. Every day. At least one chapter. Frustrated and disheartened, I figured it was just the stress of residency and work hours that was preventing me from learning what I needed to know. But then I began to study for the USMLE Step 1. As the test approached, all of my classmates asked each other what they were studying and how they were studying. It became clear that there was a tried-and-true method to preparing for this exam: Qbank and First Aid. Sure, there were many other methods and materials out there, but if you kept these at the heart of your studies, you would succeed. So I asked myself, what do we have for OMFS?

As I asked around, I found that certain texts kept coming up. But as I began to read each book, I noticed that each presented material in a different light and that no one source told you what you really wanted to know. Some focused on principles and concepts, others on surgical technique, and some didn’t seem to focus on anything at all. Suddenly, it made sense why I often felt overwhelmed when studying. Why I would miss questions on rounds despite reading the chapter the night before. We had no standardized curriculum. We had no Qbank or First Aid.

The PACS curriculum is a comprehensive lecture series meant to deliver high yield information and technique in a concise manner to residents. It is an accumulation of knowledge pulled from the most commonly used texts and resources for oral surgeons in training. It is a foundation of education that can continuously be built upon. Whether you are an intern scrubbing for your first case or a chief preparing for boards, this course will give you the tools you need to become a confident, competent, community surgeon.