About the General Practice Residency
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Hospital Dentistry Institute offers a one-year, fully accredited residency-training program. The General Dentistry Residency Program is designed to prepare the general dentist to provide a wide range of comprehensive dental services to all types of patients, with an emphasis on the medically and physically compromised. Two teaching facilities are utilized to provide educational and patient care experiences, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Upon completion of the program, the resident will receive a certificate. In addition to a certificate, upon special arrangements, an M.S. degree may be offered. The General Dentistry Residency Program is designed to prepare the general dentist to provide a wide range of comprehensive dental services to all types of patients, with an emphasis on the medically and physically compromised.
Back to the top
Applications
The General Practice Residency Program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics participates through the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS), with a November 1 deadline. Applicants must also apply through the National Matching Service. Interviews are held in person, generally during the first half of December. In special circumstances, interviews may be done over the phone. Applications after the Match must be done through the Department of Hospital Dentistry.
An application is available from this website:
Application Form (pdf)
Back to the top
Faculty, Staff, and Facilities
Five full-time faculty members participate in UI Hospitals and Clinics dentistry program, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Dental Department is staffed by three full-time faculty. In addition to the full-time faculty, faculty from the College of Dentistry participate in the graduate education.
The faculty is diverse in the representation of all specialties:
Staff members include registered nurses, dental hygienists, assistants, laboratory technicians, and clerical support. The dental clinic at the new UI Hospitals and Clinics Dentistry Institute was completely rebuilt in a new portion of the hospital, and opened in May 2001. The Hospital Dentistry Institute is a modern facility with 14 general dentistry operatories, 10 oral surgery consultation or surgery rooms, an orthodontics clinic, and a dental laboratory.
Likewise, the dental clinic at the Veterans Medical Center is a contemporary clinic with 14 functioning operatories, including an oral surgery room and a dental laboratory. The Veterans Medical Center’s Dental Clinic also has several dental assistants and a full-time hygienist.
Back to the top
Documentation
Documentation of procedures is useful to the residents and faculty in evaluating the residency experience as well as obtaining hospital privileges. A periodic report is prepared to identify the number of patients seen by each resident, along with a breakdown of types of procedures completed by each resident.
Back to the top
Evaluation and Assessment
It is our philosophy to have close and careful supervision in a graded fashion to all residents. Faculty supervision is readily available to residents both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Each member of the faculty evaluates the performance of the residents three times each year. Residents are also evaluated by the supervising faculty on off-service rotations.
Back to the top
Library and Services
The residents have access to a number of library services. The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences has more than 340,000 bound volumes and receives nearly 2,500 periodical titles. Personal computers linked to a CD-ROM medical-dental database allow residents to conduct literature searches. Also available to University of Iowa faculty, staff and students is the Lexis-Nexus Academics Universe, a full-text database containing articles from over 5,600 publications.
Back to the top
Resident Life-style
Residency is a time for both personal and career development. A number of mechanisms are in place to assist the resident in transition from dental school to the residency. Quality of housing is excellent. Stipends allow a decent standard of living. The available stipends are supplemented with medical/dental benefits. Social activities for residents, faculty, and staff are held throughout the year.
Call
Call for the residents is at-home call, and is every fourth or fifth night, depending upon the number of residents. Primary call is taken by the E.R. staff and physicians, but in cases of trauma, infection, etc., the resident will be expected to come in to the E.R. to see the patient. In addition, phone calls to the hospital are triaged through the hospital's Integrated Call Center, so often times the residents will not have to answer unnecessary questions from patients. In addition, the GPR may be called in to assist with an Oral Surgery procedure, either in the E.R., clinic, or the operating room. The residents do have a call room if they should decide to stay in-house, and also receive money for meals while on call.
Stipend
The stipend for the program is very competitive. The 2004-05 stipend is $40,605, and also includes health insurance and dental insurance for the resident and their immediate family, as well as disability insurance and life insurance. This stipend will allow for a decent standard of living.
Back to the top
Curriculum
The residency program is organized to provide a graduated educational experience with increasing responsibility over the year. The training program consists of formal teaching and clinical experiences on assigned rotations.
The primary care concept of health care delivery with the team approach involving other health professionals and specialists in dentistry is stressed.
The program provides an essential service in the hospital, supplying services to such diverse departments as:
- Cardiovascular surgery
- Orthopedic surgery
- Hematology oncology
- Organ transplant
- Radiation oncology
- Others with essential consultation services and delivery to dental care to those patients who are severely compromised
Patients are cared for in two primary locations: the main hospital dental clinic and the operating room. In addition, some cases are also seen in the wards when the patient’s condition warrants it.
Back to the top
Rotations
| Anesthesia | 3 weeks |
| Internal Medicine | 2 weeks |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery | 6 weeks |
Hematology-Oncology
Radiation-Oncology | 1 week |
| UI Hospitals and Clinics-General Dentistry | 4 1/2 months |
| Veterans Medical Center-General Dentistry | 4 1/2 months |
In addition to the clinical work, the program is enhanced by monthly conferences, didactic courses, and journal club reviewing current literature.
The program, while one year in length, has the option of a second year during which a selected resident/fellow would have an opportunity to participate in the management of the program, further increase clinical skills, and participate in research if desired.
As one of the largest university hospitals in the United States, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics offers excellent educational and clinical opportunities for the resident.
Back to the top
Overall Goals
- Provide dental services for patients with complex medical histories (e.g., transplants, frail diabetics, immunocompromised, anti-coagulated, cardiac disease, cancer patients, etc.).
- Proficiency in providing some advanced restorative care.
- Provide and coordinate multidisciplinary dental care to a variety of patients, while communicating effectively with other health care professionals.
- Instill community service by coordinating and providing care for disabled, disadvantaged and other groups that have difficulties with access to care.
Back to the top
Competencies
Patient Assessment and Diagnosis
- Accurately assess patients' risk factors for medical/dental treatment by thorough reviews of medical histories, dental and social histories.
- Obtain from the patient their chief complaint, history of present illness, past medical history, review of systems and pain rating.
- Order and interpret necessary laboratory and radiographic tests.
- Perform clinical exam based upon the evaluation and determine the risk of dental procedures based upon the patients' medical assessment.
Planning and Providing Comprehensive and Multidisciplinary Oral Health Care
- Treatment plan patients with comprehensive plans that include in them multiple disciplines.
- Develop treatment plans that take into consideration the patients' systemic diseases, along with social and economic factors.
- Communicate to other health care providers oral/dental needs as they relate to the patients' overall health.
Obtaining Informed Consent
- Accurately communicate to patients or their legal guardians the risks, complications, indications, and alternatives to the proposed treatment for all dental procedures to be performed. Discussion should also include reasonable expectations of treatment.
Promoting Oral and Systemic Health and Disease Prevention
- Recognize and understand risk factors that can compromise a patient's oral health and systemic health, and the relation of the two.
- Educate patients on how best to manage their oral health to promote well-being.
Sedation, Pain, and Anxiety Control
- Determine a patient's need for behavioral or pharmacological pain management based upon the patient's initial examination and/or reactions to clinical procedures.
- Determine appropriate treatment modalities in coordination with the patient's parent(s), caretakers, and physicians.
- Become familiar with and demonstrate an understanding of the various behavioral modification techniques such as oral sedation, nitrous oxide, and I.V. sedation, as well as familiarity with the medications used to produce an anxiolytic state and to control pain.
Restoration of Teeth
- Restore natural dentition that has been affected by caries, trauma, or other pathological processes, using a wide variety of treatment/restorative modalities.
- Perform techniques and place restorations to enhance dental esthetics.
Replacement of Teeth Using Fixed and Removable Appliances
- Examine, assess, and treat patients in their need for prosthodontic replacement of hard and soft tissues, using routine removable and/or fixed prosthodontics.
- Adequately communicate with laboratory technicians regarding prosthesis designs.
- Recognize and coordinate care for patients requiring complicated prosthodontics.
- Expose the residents to maxillofacial prosthodontics.
Periodontal Therapy
- Diagnose and determine the etiology of periodontal disease processes.
- Develop treatment options for patients with periodontal conditions, and recognize when referral to periodontist is necessary.
- Provide basic periodontal treatment, including some basic surgical procedures.
- Be able to understand the problems with periodontal health maintenance, and the importance of patient education and the role of the hygienist.
Pulpal Therapy
- Examine, diagnose, and treat pain of pulpal etiology.
- Treatment plan a complete range of endodontic services to the patient, including decision-making about whether specialist referral is indicated.
- Provide routine and emergent endodontic treatment.
Hard and Soft Tissue Surgery
- Examine, assess, evaluate, diagnose, and treatment plan a wide variety of oral surgical procedures.
- Perform surgical and non-surgical removal of teeth.
- Perform soft tissue biopsy.
- Recognize and manage surgical complications and emergencies.
Treatment of Dental and Medical Emergencies
- Evaluate, assess, diagnose, and treat dental emergencies that present to the clinic during routine hours and after hours.
- Anticipate and diagnose medical emergencies as they occur during dental treatment, and provide initial treatment and appropriate follow-up.
Medical Risk Assessment
- Perform a comprehensive medical history and appropriate physical evaluation, including the ordering of appropriate laboratory tests (under direct medical supervision).
- Be able to recognize when a consultation should be made if additional information is needed.
Back to the top
|
|
