DrJeff - what goes it take to get into a GPR?

[gremak]

I am really interested in general dentistry and was wondering how competitive these programs can be and what you enjoyed about doing one. Thanks

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[dc-10]

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Is it better to do a GPR at a hospital or at a dental school? Will it anger a program director if they think you are using the GPR as a stepping-stone to specializing?
Thanks,

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

How does a GPR affect your attractiveness to a potential employer? Does it make a huge difference as far as your productivity is concerned or could you just have gained that experience as an associate?

 

[DrJeff]

All right, the pros/cons of a GPR and what makes a good candidate. First off, you should have done well in dental school to get your choice of GPRs. They're are alot of them out there and some are better than others. You'll end up being the ultimate chooser of what one is best for you based on a combination of what they're offering and what your looking for (i.e. some may have more oral surgery than others, some may have more OR time than others, some may have more intense call schedules than others). The best way to get a feel for what the program is like is to talk to the current residents sometime between January and June (all GPR's run from July 1 to June 30 and this way you'll be talking to residents that ave been in the program for 6+ months and know what its really like)

Will program directors look down on you if you use a GPR as a stepping stone to some other type of residency?? Not if you give your full effort to the ENTIRE program. Basically if you want to go into endo and are doing a GPR first, as long as you keep your interest and attention to all areas of dentistry and the residencyu instead of just endo. Remember that during your GPR you're a GENERAL PRACTICE RESIDENT not just a SPECIALIST WANNABE!

As for a GPR in a hospital vs a dental school (or a hospital with other specialty residency programs) If you goto a GPR with no dental school/other specialty programs affiliation you'll get to do more. (I.E. if there is an oral surgery program hooked upto where you're doing your GPR, the O.S. residents will be doing many of the extraction cases you'd regularly be doing, same with endo for that matter). If the GPR is in a location where there is a dental school, the entire pool of patients that needs that type of proceedure will be disproportionally distrubuted more towards that specialists in training..

As for the long term benefits of a GPR vs going straight out into private practice. A GPR will expose you to alot more extreme things than you'll see in private practice, which makes private practice then seem more routine day to day. A GPR will allow you improve your speed and start to learn how to amange your schedule better. A GPR will likely also expose you to different schools of thought about techniques for different proceedures than you learned in dental school. A private practice situation where you have a strong mentor can also give this.

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

thanks DrJeff!

 

[PDPjester]

So then what's up with AEGD, how's GPR different from AEGD?

 

[dc-10]

Thanks DrJeff. That was really helpful!