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Post match is approaching and I wanted to leave prospective GPR applicants with a detailed BronxCare summary. Mind you that the program director has been ousted (after only 2 years in reign) so experiences are subject to change.
According to NY state you are not fit to practice dentistry in private practice until completing a GPR. Thus, you will be treated at BronxCare as if you are a resident not a DDS. You are starting from square one again. You are here to work and be told how to work. This is a residency, this is not dental school. You will face more a stringent atmosphere than what you may have become used to as a D4. At BronxCare expect to be micromanaged. This means you will be grilled on everything from dress code violations, punctuality, camera on during Zoom lectures, missed deadlines, etc. There is no detention, but make no mistake, you will be called into theprincipal’s directors’ office and disciplinary action will be taken against you. This will be in the form of working extra Saturdays, completing additional assignments, etc. Be prepared.
As a resident, your place of residence is now BronxCare. Just because you finished all of your procedures and wrote all of your notes, this does not excuse you from leaving the clinic to go home. No more patients left to be seen? Thunderstorm? Snowing? Fine, but who told you that you could leave clinic?! This is no justification for going home on time. You don’t have the right or the privilege to go home at 5:00 PM! You are an unlicensed NY state DDS so go back to your operatory. You leave at 5:00 PM at the earliest, BUT you will stay put until told otherwise! This is a residency, this is not dental school. You are not allowed to leave clinic unless given clearance. If all of the patients have not been dismissed yet…then you especially cannot leave, even if you yourself are done. At BronxCare you are a unified unit. If someone is struggling with a #15 RCT or #18 crown prep, then everyone suffers together. This may mean you will leave some days at 6:00 PM or later. Cancel that restaurant reservation and reschedule that evening's doctor’s appointment! Use this time to be productive to work on your homework assignments. This is a residency. Expect homework. BronxCare assigns more homework than most residencies. You are here to learn hands-on but also didactically. Study.
If you are considering oral surgery then this GPR residency might intrigue you. Patients get slashed in the face and get brutally assaulted on the regular. They are constantly getting into accidents from riding their motorcycles carelessly. You will repair these wounds on call and see patients for maxillofacial fracture consultations. You may even go into the OR after work to see them get treated if you are on call that day. This is a residency; this is not dental school. Just because your clinical duties ended at 5:00 PM this does not excuse you from your BronxCare hospital duties. You’re on call until 8 AM the following day after all. Keep going!
While on call you’re expected to be at the OR with OMFS, take calls all night long, and be ready for morning rounds with the OMFS residents. Don’t worry they will let you come in at 10:00 AM so enjoy that light nap after rounding. Keep in mind, however, that now the clinic is running behind because of your morning nap. The clinic did not reschedule patients just because you’re not on the floor. They’re in the waiting room…waiting…of course...for you. Hustle.
When on call, you can realistically have days where you see patients immediately at 5:00 PM and can keep going until sunrise. Bronxites walk into the emergency room at 3:00 AM for a toothache. No one in the Bronx is concerned that you have work the next morning. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Get used to your call phone waking you up at 2 AM, 4 AM, 6 AM, etc. NYC is the city that never sleeps, and neither will you. You will learn to function on 4 hours of sleep or less the day after being on call. You can get the recommended 8 hours of sleep once you are in private practice. Unlike other residencies, you will NOT be granted the day off the following day after being on call, no matter the circumstances. Buy 5 Hour Energy Drinks and Red Bull in bulk. Keep going. Remember there are dental patients that need to be seen by you that following morning. Who else is going to see them??? Wake up.
You will often have 6-day work weeks. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Just because it is Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday this does not excuse you from your clinical duties. You may have back-to-back weeks where you’ll be asked to work weekends. You may be asked to work back-to-back holidays. Expect to be on call Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve alone. You can spend time with your friends and family after residency is over. You can have your weekends back when you retire from dentistry. Grind.
On the day before major holidays (e.g. Jewish High Holy Days, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, Good Friday, July 4th weekend, Eid) do not expect to be given half days or to be dismissed early. This is a residency; this is not dental school. Maybe the other departments of the hospital are closing early so people can beat traffic and go to their families, but this does not mean that BronxCare Dental will close early. It will not! Please stop expecting this and treat your patients like any normal day. Stop looking at the clock and just start that pulpectomy at 3:30 PM as if it were any other day. Maybe your friends at other residencies are going home early, but this is BronxCare…not BostonCare or ChicagoCare. You need to stop comparing apples to oranges and start comparing apples to apples. I’m only going to tell you this once. I will not repeat myself!
Nothing will prevent the clinic from closing. A massive nor'easter with travel advisory will not stop the clinic from closing. You may only see two patients that day, but BronxCare needs to meet/exceed yearly production goals. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, will prevent BronxCare dental residents from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Snowdays are for children, not BronxCare dental residents. If a tsunami were to approach NYC, expect BronxCare to open and then allow you to go home after Grand Concourse fully flooded. Noah prepared and you should as well. Construct.
You will get yelled at by everyone (attendings, dental assistants, patients, receptionists, Woodhull OS residents, physicians, nurses, nurse techs, surg techs, etc.). Welcome to the Bronx. This is the culture here. This is not a Hollywood musical like “In the Heights” or “West Side Story”. This is the real world. This borough is rife with crime and violence. Get used to it. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Assert your dominance or everyone in the Bronx will walk all over you. You will grow thicker skin from being here. Attendings will question your clinical judgment because you are a resident. Patients will talk down to you as if you are a barback at a busy college bar. Being a dentist at an FQHC is a thankless job. You did not become a dentist to be patted on the back and be called a hero. Learn to get over yourself. You are just a resident, not a licensed NY dentist. Again remember this is a residency, not dental school. Do not expect to be coddled or be greeted by warm smiles. If you were expecting the “Friendly City” then move to Bradenton, Florida. New York is “Fear City”.
You will learn to work alone. I have done every type of dental procedure alone at one point at BronxCare (crowns, endo, extractions, 1st molar restorations, SRPs on special needs). The hospital is short-staffed with assistants. Even if assistants were available, they will usually just set up for you and walk away. They’re unionized. They can’t be bothered to assist you. You can have a chairside assistant once you work in private practice. Remember you are just a resident. You do not have a NY dental license yet. Work with what you have. This is a residency, not dental school. You also do not have a surplus of third dental students to assist you.
Assistants will call out sick. Some assistants consistently call out sick on Fridays or Monday. Count on it. No one is going to fire these assistants for their poor attendance. In order to move the clinic along and have patients seated in a timely fashion you will have to learn to set up and break down your own operatories, take instruments to sterilization, set up for your next procedure, etc. This is a residency, not dental school. You are now an employee of the hospital so do what it takes. Lose your ego and pick up a mop. Clean up.
There are rotations, but they are subject to change depending on coverage. This means that at 8:30 AM during your commute you may be asked to go to the other side of the Bronx to cover at another clinic. This is a residency, not dental school. Your itinerary is only a suggestion. You are an employee of BronxCare, not a dental student, and as an employee, you will do as told and do what is best for the hospital. Coverage comes first. Every day your obligation is to go where you’re assigned and see as many patients as you can in a day. Obey.
There are 60 Oral Health Assessments you are scheduled to complete, but these cannot be done at the clinic. These are to be done on your own time at the actual hospital. In order to do these consultations, get ready to go at lunch, after work, on the weekends, on your free time while on call, during your vacation, etc. This is a residency, not dental school. There are no days off. There is no time off. Consult.
Move to the Bronx, Harlem, or Manhattan if you want an easier commute. If a satellite clinic is not easily accessible, you can always take a BronxCare shuttle van. FYI if you are planning on commuting in a car from Long Island or New Jersey, the hospital does not provide parking for its GP residents nor will the hospital staff provide you with parking suggestions. This is a residency, not dental school. If you require parking then go do reconnaissance in your own free time and stop asking BronxCare employees for assistance! No one is paid at this hospital to assist you on matters not pertaining to your hospital duties. Only attendings and Orthodontic residents get offered free parking at BronxCare by the way. If you want a free parking spot, then specialize in Ortho. Recon.
You will go to lunch only when permitted. Lunch may be at 11:00 AM or it may not be until 3:00 PM. You may even be asked to shorten your lunch due to the number of patients that decided to come in that day. This is a residency, not dental school. The clinic does not shut down because you decided to go on your lunch break. One particular attending assigns a 10-minute lunch on Saturday clinic. This means that to appease him you either bring your own lunch or order food to be brought to clinic so you can scarf it down in 10 minutes. You cannot waste time walking outside to purchase lunch. You can have long lunches once you’re working in private practice, but for now, you’re a BronxCare resident. If you can, shorten your 10-minute lunch to 7 minutes. He will appreciate it.
Due to the global pandemic, the hospital can only issue a limited number of scrubs (about 2) so get ready to do laundry more frequently. You are prohibited from wearing scrubs that do not resemble the BronxCare shade of grey. You will get written up if you decide to wear your own personal home collection of colorful scrubs. This is a residency, not dental school. If you want to model off your scrub collection, then do it on your free time. You may also wear business casual attire, but you run the risk of getting written up for not dressing conservatively enough so tread lightly. You will get sent home to change your outfit if the program director is not satisfied with your outfit. This will go on your permanent record!!!
The cement grey scrubs are iconic. You will proudly wear these scrubs and treat them respectfully. Honor the scrubs and act dignified while wearing them. You are representing the hospital and its brave essential workers. People in the Bronx will salute you because of your BronxCare scrubs. You are representing BronxCare when you walk through those illustrious doors after all. McDonald’s is known for its “Golden Arches”; BronxCare Dental is known for its “Golden Doors”.
Before you think of any questions, thoughts, concerns you may have, read the General Practice Resident manual. It is 80 pages and contains 21,754 words. Memorize this. Read it every night before bed and every morning before work. I would. Any insufficiencies, inadequacies, or deficiencies under your resident profile will disclose to the program directors that you failed to read and memorize the manual. This is a residency; this is not dental school. You are expected to be prepared not only for the day, not only for the week, but for the entire year.
If you don’t like hearing any of what was written here, then don’t apply. Just remember to keep in mind that this is a residency; this is not dental school. BronxCare is one of the largest residency programs in the country. They don’t need you. The residency continues to expand. They can easily fill your spot. You are replaceable. You are dispensable. However, you need this residency. NYC is the greatest city in the world, and if you want to practice here ASAP then you must complete a GPR first. You can always go do a GPR in West Virginia where the Golden Corral is considered a five-star restaurant. You know better though. It’s why you want to practice in NY. You NEED to practice in NY. So, apply to BronxCare and only BronxCare. Do a second year. Become a chief. Become an attending. Become a site supervisor. Become BronxCare.
According to NY state you are not fit to practice dentistry in private practice until completing a GPR. Thus, you will be treated at BronxCare as if you are a resident not a DDS. You are starting from square one again. You are here to work and be told how to work. This is a residency, this is not dental school. You will face more a stringent atmosphere than what you may have become used to as a D4. At BronxCare expect to be micromanaged. This means you will be grilled on everything from dress code violations, punctuality, camera on during Zoom lectures, missed deadlines, etc. There is no detention, but make no mistake, you will be called into the
As a resident, your place of residence is now BronxCare. Just because you finished all of your procedures and wrote all of your notes, this does not excuse you from leaving the clinic to go home. No more patients left to be seen? Thunderstorm? Snowing? Fine, but who told you that you could leave clinic?! This is no justification for going home on time. You don’t have the right or the privilege to go home at 5:00 PM! You are an unlicensed NY state DDS so go back to your operatory. You leave at 5:00 PM at the earliest, BUT you will stay put until told otherwise! This is a residency, this is not dental school. You are not allowed to leave clinic unless given clearance. If all of the patients have not been dismissed yet…then you especially cannot leave, even if you yourself are done. At BronxCare you are a unified unit. If someone is struggling with a #15 RCT or #18 crown prep, then everyone suffers together. This may mean you will leave some days at 6:00 PM or later. Cancel that restaurant reservation and reschedule that evening's doctor’s appointment! Use this time to be productive to work on your homework assignments. This is a residency. Expect homework. BronxCare assigns more homework than most residencies. You are here to learn hands-on but also didactically. Study.
If you are considering oral surgery then this GPR residency might intrigue you. Patients get slashed in the face and get brutally assaulted on the regular. They are constantly getting into accidents from riding their motorcycles carelessly. You will repair these wounds on call and see patients for maxillofacial fracture consultations. You may even go into the OR after work to see them get treated if you are on call that day. This is a residency; this is not dental school. Just because your clinical duties ended at 5:00 PM this does not excuse you from your BronxCare hospital duties. You’re on call until 8 AM the following day after all. Keep going!
While on call you’re expected to be at the OR with OMFS, take calls all night long, and be ready for morning rounds with the OMFS residents. Don’t worry they will let you come in at 10:00 AM so enjoy that light nap after rounding. Keep in mind, however, that now the clinic is running behind because of your morning nap. The clinic did not reschedule patients just because you’re not on the floor. They’re in the waiting room…waiting…of course...for you. Hustle.
When on call, you can realistically have days where you see patients immediately at 5:00 PM and can keep going until sunrise. Bronxites walk into the emergency room at 3:00 AM for a toothache. No one in the Bronx is concerned that you have work the next morning. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Get used to your call phone waking you up at 2 AM, 4 AM, 6 AM, etc. NYC is the city that never sleeps, and neither will you. You will learn to function on 4 hours of sleep or less the day after being on call. You can get the recommended 8 hours of sleep once you are in private practice. Unlike other residencies, you will NOT be granted the day off the following day after being on call, no matter the circumstances. Buy 5 Hour Energy Drinks and Red Bull in bulk. Keep going. Remember there are dental patients that need to be seen by you that following morning. Who else is going to see them??? Wake up.
You will often have 6-day work weeks. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Just because it is Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday this does not excuse you from your clinical duties. You may have back-to-back weeks where you’ll be asked to work weekends. You may be asked to work back-to-back holidays. Expect to be on call Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve alone. You can spend time with your friends and family after residency is over. You can have your weekends back when you retire from dentistry. Grind.
On the day before major holidays (e.g. Jewish High Holy Days, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, Good Friday, July 4th weekend, Eid) do not expect to be given half days or to be dismissed early. This is a residency; this is not dental school. Maybe the other departments of the hospital are closing early so people can beat traffic and go to their families, but this does not mean that BronxCare Dental will close early. It will not! Please stop expecting this and treat your patients like any normal day. Stop looking at the clock and just start that pulpectomy at 3:30 PM as if it were any other day. Maybe your friends at other residencies are going home early, but this is BronxCare…not BostonCare or ChicagoCare. You need to stop comparing apples to oranges and start comparing apples to apples. I’m only going to tell you this once. I will not repeat myself!
Nothing will prevent the clinic from closing. A massive nor'easter with travel advisory will not stop the clinic from closing. You may only see two patients that day, but BronxCare needs to meet/exceed yearly production goals. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, will prevent BronxCare dental residents from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Snowdays are for children, not BronxCare dental residents. If a tsunami were to approach NYC, expect BronxCare to open and then allow you to go home after Grand Concourse fully flooded. Noah prepared and you should as well. Construct.
You will get yelled at by everyone (attendings, dental assistants, patients, receptionists, Woodhull OS residents, physicians, nurses, nurse techs, surg techs, etc.). Welcome to the Bronx. This is the culture here. This is not a Hollywood musical like “In the Heights” or “West Side Story”. This is the real world. This borough is rife with crime and violence. Get used to it. This is a residency, this is not dental school. Assert your dominance or everyone in the Bronx will walk all over you. You will grow thicker skin from being here. Attendings will question your clinical judgment because you are a resident. Patients will talk down to you as if you are a barback at a busy college bar. Being a dentist at an FQHC is a thankless job. You did not become a dentist to be patted on the back and be called a hero. Learn to get over yourself. You are just a resident, not a licensed NY dentist. Again remember this is a residency, not dental school. Do not expect to be coddled or be greeted by warm smiles. If you were expecting the “Friendly City” then move to Bradenton, Florida. New York is “Fear City”.
You will learn to work alone. I have done every type of dental procedure alone at one point at BronxCare (crowns, endo, extractions, 1st molar restorations, SRPs on special needs). The hospital is short-staffed with assistants. Even if assistants were available, they will usually just set up for you and walk away. They’re unionized. They can’t be bothered to assist you. You can have a chairside assistant once you work in private practice. Remember you are just a resident. You do not have a NY dental license yet. Work with what you have. This is a residency, not dental school. You also do not have a surplus of third dental students to assist you.
Assistants will call out sick. Some assistants consistently call out sick on Fridays or Monday. Count on it. No one is going to fire these assistants for their poor attendance. In order to move the clinic along and have patients seated in a timely fashion you will have to learn to set up and break down your own operatories, take instruments to sterilization, set up for your next procedure, etc. This is a residency, not dental school. You are now an employee of the hospital so do what it takes. Lose your ego and pick up a mop. Clean up.
There are rotations, but they are subject to change depending on coverage. This means that at 8:30 AM during your commute you may be asked to go to the other side of the Bronx to cover at another clinic. This is a residency, not dental school. Your itinerary is only a suggestion. You are an employee of BronxCare, not a dental student, and as an employee, you will do as told and do what is best for the hospital. Coverage comes first. Every day your obligation is to go where you’re assigned and see as many patients as you can in a day. Obey.
There are 60 Oral Health Assessments you are scheduled to complete, but these cannot be done at the clinic. These are to be done on your own time at the actual hospital. In order to do these consultations, get ready to go at lunch, after work, on the weekends, on your free time while on call, during your vacation, etc. This is a residency, not dental school. There are no days off. There is no time off. Consult.
Move to the Bronx, Harlem, or Manhattan if you want an easier commute. If a satellite clinic is not easily accessible, you can always take a BronxCare shuttle van. FYI if you are planning on commuting in a car from Long Island or New Jersey, the hospital does not provide parking for its GP residents nor will the hospital staff provide you with parking suggestions. This is a residency, not dental school. If you require parking then go do reconnaissance in your own free time and stop asking BronxCare employees for assistance! No one is paid at this hospital to assist you on matters not pertaining to your hospital duties. Only attendings and Orthodontic residents get offered free parking at BronxCare by the way. If you want a free parking spot, then specialize in Ortho. Recon.
You will go to lunch only when permitted. Lunch may be at 11:00 AM or it may not be until 3:00 PM. You may even be asked to shorten your lunch due to the number of patients that decided to come in that day. This is a residency, not dental school. The clinic does not shut down because you decided to go on your lunch break. One particular attending assigns a 10-minute lunch on Saturday clinic. This means that to appease him you either bring your own lunch or order food to be brought to clinic so you can scarf it down in 10 minutes. You cannot waste time walking outside to purchase lunch. You can have long lunches once you’re working in private practice, but for now, you’re a BronxCare resident. If you can, shorten your 10-minute lunch to 7 minutes. He will appreciate it.
Due to the global pandemic, the hospital can only issue a limited number of scrubs (about 2) so get ready to do laundry more frequently. You are prohibited from wearing scrubs that do not resemble the BronxCare shade of grey. You will get written up if you decide to wear your own personal home collection of colorful scrubs. This is a residency, not dental school. If you want to model off your scrub collection, then do it on your free time. You may also wear business casual attire, but you run the risk of getting written up for not dressing conservatively enough so tread lightly. You will get sent home to change your outfit if the program director is not satisfied with your outfit. This will go on your permanent record!!!
The cement grey scrubs are iconic. You will proudly wear these scrubs and treat them respectfully. Honor the scrubs and act dignified while wearing them. You are representing the hospital and its brave essential workers. People in the Bronx will salute you because of your BronxCare scrubs. You are representing BronxCare when you walk through those illustrious doors after all. McDonald’s is known for its “Golden Arches”; BronxCare Dental is known for its “Golden Doors”.
Before you think of any questions, thoughts, concerns you may have, read the General Practice Resident manual. It is 80 pages and contains 21,754 words. Memorize this. Read it every night before bed and every morning before work. I would. Any insufficiencies, inadequacies, or deficiencies under your resident profile will disclose to the program directors that you failed to read and memorize the manual. This is a residency; this is not dental school. You are expected to be prepared not only for the day, not only for the week, but for the entire year.
If you don’t like hearing any of what was written here, then don’t apply. Just remember to keep in mind that this is a residency; this is not dental school. BronxCare is one of the largest residency programs in the country. They don’t need you. The residency continues to expand. They can easily fill your spot. You are replaceable. You are dispensable. However, you need this residency. NYC is the greatest city in the world, and if you want to practice here ASAP then you must complete a GPR first. You can always go do a GPR in West Virginia where the Golden Corral is considered a five-star restaurant. You know better though. It’s why you want to practice in NY. You NEED to practice in NY. So, apply to BronxCare and only BronxCare. Do a second year. Become a chief. Become an attending. Become a site supervisor. Become BronxCare.
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