North Memorial Hospital and Hubert Humphrey Cancer Center
Program Director: Ketan Patel, DDS, PhD
Contact: ketan.patel@northmemorial.com
Program Coordinator: Erika Weis, Erika.Weis@NorthMemorial.com
Number of Positions Available Each Year : 1
Required Application Materials:
-
A copy of your current Curriculum Vitae, if not already received.
-
A letter describing your interests and your future plans after completion of your training. We are particularly interested in how you plan to utilize the experience the fellowship would offer you.
-
Two letters of reference. One from your residency chairman or program director, and another from a colleague or mentor.
Eligibility Requirements:
-
Graduation from an accredited dental school. A medical degree is desirable.
-
Completion of residency training in an accredited program in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
-
Foreign education and training equivalent to above.
-
Eligibility for either an institutional permit or regular license in medicine and/or dentistry in the State of Minnesota.
Program Description: Our 12-24 month fellowship program is primarily clinical in nature and is affiliated with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of North Memorial Hospital and the Hubert Humphrey Cancer Center and with an affiliation with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University of Minnesota. The program is based at North Memorial Medical Center (NMMC) and Hospital in Robbinsdale, MN, USA. NMMC is a 381-bed hospital that serves as one of three Level I trauma center for the state and as a tertiary care referral center for a variety of head and neck and other disorders.
The clinical experience is derived from working primarily with an academically orientated board certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr Ketan Patel, DDS, PhD. and Dr Jacob Yetzer, MD, DDS. The caseload focuses on surgical oncology of the head and neck and associated reconstruction including microvascular transfer. Other non-oncologic cases include full spectrum of maxillofacial trauma and reconstruction, orthognathic and temporomandibular joint surgery. Based on the case logs of previous fellows, it would be reasonable to expect to be involved in about 200 surgical cases; these include neck dissections, microvascular free flaps, a variety of maxillary and mandibular resections, parotidectomy, maxillofacial trauma, orthognathic and TMJ surgery. Clinical experience is provided in the area of microvascular flap reconstructive surgery under the direction of Dr Jacob Yetzer.
The fellow works interactively with rotating residents, and medical and dental students. The service is supported by an OMS physician assistant to facilitate with the daily clinical operations of the department. The head and neck fellow’s primary responsibility is to run the OMS service including the head and neck surgery patients. As the service is busy, the fellow will need to have organization and develop leadership skills and be an effective communicator and team leader. The fellow will be responsible for the presentation of all cases at Head and Neck Tumor Board.
Both basic science and clinical research opportunities are available and the fellow will be expected to complete at least one clinical research project suitable for publication, in addition to various case reports and book chapters. The fellow will also conduct a self-directed reading program throughout the fellowship to advance his fund of knowledge. Due to the time restraints of the busy schedule, no other outside academic endeavors from other institutions are allowed during the fellowship year.
The fellowship was established in 2012 at the University of Minnesota and transitioned to NMMC in 2014. The annual stipend is at the appropriate PGY level with a benefit package of health, dental and malpractice coverage. There will be some limited opportunities for travel and overseas surgical experiences.
The fellow will be expected to have acquired these items prior to commencement of the fellowship: Surgical loupes, a clinical digital camera, and an IBM-compatible computer or MAC, capable of handling current software such as MS Word for Windows, PowerPoint and Microsoft Access
It is our intent, that individuals who have completed our fellowship program go on to advance and disseminate the knowledge and experience gained during the fellowship by entering an academic position upon completion of the program. Strong preferential consideration will be given to those applicants who are committed to an academic career and who have documented an academic position awaiting their completion of the fellowship.