GPR GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

The residency program in general dentistry provides advanced training in clinical dentistry and applied basic sciences, as well as refines those skills necessary to provide comprehensive patient care for a spectrum of patient groups. It is a one year postdoctoral training program, that is designed to meet the needs of graduates interested in enhancing their skills as general practitioners. The program expands upon the predoctoral curriculum.

Specific objectives of the program include:

1. Enhance competence and confidence in the various clinical disciplines which are integral components of general dentistry.
2. Enhance the graduate's ability to make judgments (i.e., in arriving at a diagnosis, in treatment planning and decision-making through a course of treatment).
3. Enhance the graduate's ability to interact with all health practitioners treating the patient.
4. Enhance understanding of, and provide experience in practice administration.
5. To assist in the transition of pre-doctoral education to general practice.
6. Provide training and prerequisites necessary to apply for the NYS Dental Enteral Conscious Sedation certificate

1. Serve as the dentist of first contact with the patient and provide a means of entry into the oral health care system.
2. Evaluate the patient's total oral health needs, provide professional general dental care, and refer the patient, when indicated, to appropriate specialists while preserving the continuity of care.
3. Develop responsibility for the patient's comprehensive and continuous oral health care, and when needed, act as the coordinator of the patient's total oral health care.
4. Offer a broad range of dental services, which can meet the needs of a diverse spectrum of patients, including the elderly, handicapped, and medically compromised.
5. Meet the dental needs of underservice areas, which suffer from limited access to specialty services.

Continuity of care for both the patient and resident is emphasized. Referral both to and from specialty clinics are utilized as necessary, with the generalist maintaining responsibility for overall patient care.

While the program is designed primarily as an advanced, multi-disciplinary clinical experience, there is also a strong educational component, emphasizing the application and integration of the basic sciences as a part of a "problem-solving" approach to clinical care.

Residents are expected to execute independent judgments beyond those permitted in a predoctoral curriculum. However, faculty/attending staff are present to aid each resident solving difficult patient management, or treatment situations.

Outcomes of the GPR program are assessed by various means. In addition, residents are required to submit a final critique, focusing on resident satisfaction and suggestions for program revision and improvement.

The optional second year of the GPR program is a complement to the first year. It builds upon that foundation and provides more advanced clinical and didactic opportunities to be selected by the resident.

If desired, the resident will also be given the opportunity to function as a junior faculty member working under the direct supervision of onsite faculty/attending. This permits the resident to experience teaching and consider the possibility of education as a career option. Evaluation of the optional second year resident's competency in clinical and didactic courses and while on rotation will be performed by clinical faculty and course directors.