We got Alaska.
So it's been a while since my last post and I wanted to let the dust settle, per se, before I posted again. My residency is over and we have been at Eielson AFB for almost 2 months now. I started seeing patients a few weeks ago. Eielson is considered overseas for somethings and not others, so it's a weird mix of both! My assignment is only 3 years like an OCONUS assignment, not 4, but I'm not actually overseas in a foreign country (for example).
First off, I'll talk about the AEGD now that I have some perspective.
Not a lot more I have to say that I haven't already, to be honest. I will say that the personnel at your location can make or break the experience in a given specialty and you really have no way to know what each base is going to offer. People are moving all the time! Having said that, I don't see how you could survive as a brand new Air Force dentist without doing a residency. There so much "Air Force" stuff to learn that it would be really hard to learn on the job if you came straight out of dental school. With that being said, if you absolutely do not want to do a residency then think twice about the HPSP at all! You are now required to not only apply for, but also accept, a spot in an AEGD residency. That's right, no longer optional!
My AEGD was good, and the location was incredible. The Academy was a beautiful place to be! However, there were aspects of the residency that were less than ideal while other aspects were very well executed. It certainly wasn't a traditional educational environment like dental school but more of a "learn by doing" situation but the faculty all see their own patients most of the time. It had a tendency to feel somewhat disorganized at times with lectures being fit in where they could be and not a real over arching theme or long terms goals, except when outlined by each specialist as they saw fit. Syllabuses for different specialties either didn't exist or were usually incomplete, and there was a tendency for contradiction in lectures or between faculty that made things frustrating at times as someone trying to learn. It's something you have to embrace as part of the unavoidable nature of the constant movement of parts and pieces in a very large Air Force system. As someone who really likes to make their own way and be as proactive as possible, I encountered a surprising amount of opposition to that style and found it more beneficial to "go with the flow" most of the time.
On a positive note, I got to do quite a few IV sedations and 3rd molar surgeries as well as perio surgeries. I got to do far more root canals than I did in dental school, and I got fairly proficient in whats known as a "cuspal coverage amalgam", something you have to see to believe! I felt like I was adequately exposed to all the specialties enough to help me decide if they were something worth exploring further as a specialty. The general feel of the residency all seemed geared towards serving the Air Force population, and many of the skills I learned will serve me very well at my new base, even though I won't use many of them if I choose to leave the Air Force some day.
Second, Alaska!
Being on my own is really nice. It was weird at first, and still very much is, but you'll be amazed how much faster you can work when you're doing 1 or 2 fillings and there's an hour set aside to do it without faculty looking over your shoulder. You just sit down and crank it out. For me, it hasn't been all that difficult of a transition for me. I've always worked pretty fast so this doesn't seem that bad! I do feel a little rushed sometimes but considering this is my first experience out of an educational setting, I'm really pleased with it so far. This is a small clinic and was designed for a couple more dentists, so we have a lot of room. Having an office is nice too! I'm not sure what to put in it quite yet other than trail mix and extra paper. Very official.
Eielson AFB is not a very desirable location but to be honest, I really like it here so far. The people are very nice and for being a smaller city, they have a lot! Amazon still delivers here so I think we'll survive after all. We had to get our cars "winterized" but so far, we've only had 2 snow storms! It was actually quite nice out today and my wife and I went on a walk with our dog.
That's all for now! I'd love for some comments or emails with some ideas about what I should start posting about now! This is kind of the end of the road in terms of my journey from the end of dental school when I started this blog. I'm here, I'm done with dental school, done with my residency, and now a full blown real life Air Force dentist!
So let me know what YOU want to hear about and I will gladly, within the limitations of what I'm allowed to talk about, let you know!
