
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Curriculum
As an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery resident at Gundersen, you’ll gain robust training and experience with inpatient and outpatient clinical procedures including office-based anesthesia—preparing you for independent practice in any setting.
Training curriculum and schedule
Gundersen’s Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery curriculum offers you a mixture of outpatient and inpatient primary and tertiary care experiences that closely resemble the contemporary practice of oral surgeons. You’ll be exposed to all areas of the specialty including dentoalveolar, dental implants, trauma, pathology, reconstruction, orthognathic, TMJ surgery and some cosmetic surgery. You’ll work closely with Gundersen otolaryngologists in the ablation and reconstruction of head and neck cancer. Clinical conference time and research are also encouraged, and you will author a minimum of one paper that is suitable for peer-reviewed publication.
PGY-1
Rotation |
# of months |
General Medicine |
2 |
Oral Surgery |
6 |
Anesthesiology |
5 |
PGY-2
Rotation |
# of months |
Oral Surgery |
9 |
General Surgery |
3 |
Surgical ICU |
1 |
PGY-3
Rotation |
# of months |
Otolaryngology |
2 |
Oral Surgery |
11 |
PGY-4
Rotation |
# of months |
Oral Surgery |
13 |
Rotations
Overview
The Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency’s off-service rotations are designed to provide you with the most comprehensive Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training possible. The rotations were developed within guidelines of the AAOMS, offering you some flexibility to customize your rotations based on your career goals.
Anesthesiology
You’ll work individually with one of our anesthesiologists and CRNAs in the main operating room during your anesthesia off-service rotation to learn airway management, support of the anesthetized patient, regional anesthesia, management of medically compromised patients, as well as respiratory care and care of ICU patients. Challenging cases are discussed at monthly conferences
Introduction to Graduate Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
As a first-year resident, you’ll learn to treat outpatients, participate in ward rounds, operating room procedures and attend clinical conferences. During this period, you’ll assist at operations, receive instruction and guidance in admissions and discharge of patients, perform minor surgery, and be introduced to the management of facial trauma and the role of the oral & maxillofacial surgeon in the hospital.
Physical Diagnosis & Clinical Medicine
Toward the end of your first year, you’ll be assigned to the chief resident in medicine, participating in the Department of Medicine's rounds and conferences. General medicine has four inpatient services, each with an attending physician who changes every 3 weeks. Each service averages 15 patients with two admissions per day and 4 to 9 patients on night call. As an oral surgery resident, there’s an emphasis on cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine.
Call schedules, vacation and conference time
You’ll be on call no more than every third or fourth night with the option of taking call from the comfort of your home. You’ll have one weekend a month off from hospital responsibility from Friday evening through Monday morning. While in the Trauma & Emergency Center, you’ll work five 10-hour shifts per week for one month and have 2 days off each week. Also included, you’re encouraged to take 3 weeks of vacation and one week of conference time (maximum one week per month) during any month except during General Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Intensive Care Unit or Neurosurgery.
Clinical conferences:
- Maxillofacial trauma
- Morbidity/mortality
- Oral & maxillofacial pathology
- Orthognathic surgery
- Dental implants
- TMJ/TMD diagnosis and treatment
- Medicine
- Basic sciences
- Journal club
Why Gundersen

Call La Crosse Home
We have it all in La Crosse, Wis. Our vibrant city and region support your dream lifestyle with a welcoming community, culture and outdoor adventure.

Housing
Steps from our flagship medical center in La Crosse, our housing options allow you to enjoy the company of your family and the comradery of your colleagues.

Prioritizing Your Wellness
As you learn how to become the clinician you aspire to be, we’ll provide space to prioritize your mind and body wellness, and reach the work-life balance you need.