The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) Residency is a four-year program (with an MD option) at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey (SJUMC). Three affiliated institutions play a role in resident education: the Veterans Administration New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS) – East Orange VA, Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) and Mountainside Hospital (MH). The program is approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), an accrediting body affiliated with the American Dental Association and the next accreditation site visit is now scheduled for 2027.
The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at SJUMC prepares its graduates to practice the full scope of the specialty. Our mission is to:
- Provide intensive training leading to competency, and after additional experience in practice, to proficiency in the core components of oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Provide comprehensive training in the full spectrum of oral and maxillofacial surgery so that program graduates are able to competently practice the full scope of the specialty and are well prepared to enter fellowships if they choose to sub-specialize
- Deliver a didactic program that is multifaceted and that integrates basic and clinical sciences at a level well above pre-doctoral education so that residents are prepared to utilize that knowledge in clinical practice and to succeed on standardized tests including the OMSITE and the written qualifying examination of the ABOMS
- Conduct a program with faculty members who provide mentorship and set appropriate examples for residents in their dedication to patient care, to the specialty and to lifelong learning, community service and teaching
- Ensure that residents are stakeholders in the program by giving them the opportunity to provide feedback anonymously as well as openly and by utilizing the input of current and past residents to help shape and refine the residency program
- Foster an environment conducive to learning and an open exchange of ideas, promoting scholarly activity and a thoughtful approach to clinical and philosophical questions related to the practice of the specialty.
Two residents per year are selected from a large applicant pool that spans the United States and Canada. Two non-categorical OMS interns are also selected annually and are an integral part of the service. The Department of Dentistry and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery at SJUMC sponsors two other advanced education programs: a one-year general practice residency and a two-year residency in pediatric dentistry. The Department’s residents function collaboratively and work together in an environment designed to be conducive to learning while providing high quality care. Beyond educating its own residents, the Department of Dentistry/OMS provides educational opportunities for dental residents from other hospitals and for students from Touro College of Dental Medicine.
Residents are oriented to physical diagnosis upon enrollment in the program. After an introductory course within the department, first year residents rotate at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center family practice facility to acquire basic skills in history taking and physical examination. Later, residents are assigned to the Department of Medicine for six weeks to function as part of a team following patients admitted to the hospital for medical care followed by two weeks in the MICU. The general surgery rotation includes four weeks in the SICU. Each resident also spends 22 weeks on the anesthesiology service functioning as an anesthesia resident. The rotation includes four weeks of pediatric anesthesiology and extensive exposure to pre-anesthesia assessment. There are two additional off-service rotations, one in head and neck surgery and the other in facial cosmetic surgery.
At SJUMC, residents participate in team meetings of the Regional Craniofacial Center and operate with the center’s craniofacial surgeon, gaining experience in the evaluation and management of clefts and other craniofacial anomalies, craniosynostosis, swallowing disorders and velopharyngeal incompetence. Since SJUMC has no ENT residents and a collaborative relationship with the plastics division, senior oral and maxillofacial surgery residents are utilized to support the plastic surgery, oculoplastics and otolaryngology/head & neck surgery services. The VA Medical Center in East Orange provides additional experience with head and neck oncologic surgery as well as with dentoalveolar, preprosthetic and reconstructive surgery including implant site preparation and placement. Residents also rotate at Monmouth Medical Center and an affiliated ambulatory facial cosmetic surgery center and senior residents spend two days each month performing dentoalveolar surgery at Mountainside Hospital’s dental clinic under the supervision of a faculty member.
The large number of surgical procedures performed by graduating residents spans the full spectrum of oral and maxillofacial surgery. The well-rounded and extensive clinical experience along with a very robust didactic program prepares graduates to enter a practice or fellowships for the process of board certification. Residents who are interested in acquiring an MD degree, may sit for USMLE Step 1 with conditional acceptance from an affiliated medical school. With satisfactory performance on Step 1, and upon successful completion of the OMS program, residents are eligible to enter medical school with advanced standing.
