Program Overview

General Practice Residency in Oakland Program

Program Description

The General Practice Residency (GPR) Program, co-sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), offers a one-year program that provides residents with postdoctoral clinical and didactic experiences. Based at Pitt Dental Medicine and on the UPMC Presbyterian/Shadyside Campuses, the program enrolls a combined total of three (3) residents each year. Residents completing the GPR earn a Certificate of Training.

Program Philosophy

Guided by the philosophy that oral health is an integral and interactive aspect of total health, residents engage in approximately nine months of comprehensive dental care. The remaining three months are spent on rotations in anesthesia, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Curriculum and Content

Beyond intensive exposure to hospital-based dentistry, the program provides clinical and didactic training across a range of dental specialties, including:

• Endodontics
• Periodontics
• Implant dentistry
• Prosthodontics
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Oral pathology/oral medicine
• Head and neck oncology patients
• Transplant and cardiothoracic surgery patients
• Treating patients with complex medical histories Instruction is also provided in ancillary topics pertinent to dental practice, such as:
  • Patient evaluation and physical examination
  • Emergency medical care
  • Treatment of traumatic dental injuries
  • Inpatient care and hospital organization
  • A multitude of other medical and dental subjects

In addition to their practice in the Advanced General Dentistry Clinic and various specialty clinics at Pitt Dental Medicine, the residents will rotate through:

• Pitt Dental Medicine at UPMC Montefiore
• UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Mercy Hospital Emergency Departments
• The Pitt Dental Medicine Center for Patients with Special Needs (CPSN)

Didactic instruction, journal club, treatment planning conferences, interdisciplinary conferences, and resident portfolios round out the non-clinical portion of the program. Research is encouraged and supported, but not a formal requirement of the program.

Goals and Objectives of the Program

The GPR Program is designed to provide training beyond the level of pre-doctoral education in oral health care, using applied basic and behavioral sciences. Education in this program is based on the concept that oral health is an integral and interactive part of total health. The program is designed to expand the scope and depth of the residents knowledge and skills to enable them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups.

The goals of this program are derived from the Commission on Dental Accreditations (CODA) Standards for Advanced Education Programs in General Practice Residency. In addition to adherence to CODA standards, the program aims to provide each resident with an experience unique to them and their career plans. Much of the didactic and clinical experiences can be designed to meet specific resident goals.

Specific to the UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Dental Center/Pitt Dental Medicine GPR Program, the program will prepare each resident to:

• Triage and treat a variety of emergency dental conditions
• Plan and provide multidisciplinary, comprehensive oral health care using advanced dental treatment modalities
• Direct and promote disease prevention activities
• Manage the delivery of oral health care to patients with complex histories
• Provide consultative evaluations and treatments to patients admitted within the UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital system who are referred to our service, including:
  • Surgical (cardiothoracic, orthopedic, etc.) clearance
  • Transplant clearance
  • Medical service and ICU patients
  • Trauma patients
• Apply concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment
• Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams
• Apply scientific principles to learning and oral healthcare, including critical thinking, evidence/outcomes-based clinical decision making, and the use of technology-based information retrieval systems
• Utilize the values of professional ethics, life-long learning, patient-centered care, and adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in a professional practice
• Understand the needs of communities at large and engage in community service

Supervision and Progressive Responsibility

The GPR Program provides residents with more autonomy in their practice than they experienced in dental school. Residents must be supervised either directly or indirectly, with direct supervision immediately available. Much of the learning process and the development of progressive responsibility is based on teaching by example under supervision.

Application Process

Those interested in making application to the program may do so through the American Dental Education Associations Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS).

Application Deadline

The GPR Program has a rolling application deadline and applications are accepted throughout the year.

Benefits & Stipend

While in the program, residents receive UPMC Health Systems postgraduate trainee stipend. All first-year medical and dental residents have their stipend and benefits provided at the UPMC GME PGY-1 level.

Accreditation

The hospital-based General Practice Dental Residency program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.