I took a different route, going back to do a 2 year GPR program after 10 years of GP practice. In many ways I wish I had done this straight out of school as it would have added significantly to my production in private practice (and decreased my frustration levels). However, in others I think this is the perfect way to do it because I knew going into it exactly what I wanted to get back out of it.
Nearing the end of year one, these are some of the things I have added to my 10 years out of school skill set:
- implant placement
- endo times cut in half, with the ability to tackle more complicated molars
- a wide variety of perio surgeries, including crown lengthening, GTR, lateral pedicle, free gingival, and allografts
- impacted 3rd molars
- IV sedation, ACLS, PALS, and comfort with moderate difficulty intubations and IV access
- expanded pedo, including papoose and OR
- special needs care, craniofacial team participation, and pre-treatment cancer patient management
- extraoral I&D including Ludwig's management
- trauma suturing both intraoral and extraoral
- interceptive ortho
- pre-prosthetic oral surgery, including tori removal and vestibuloplasty
I feel totally comfortable working in an OR environment on both surgical and pediatric full mouth rehabilitation cases. My confidence level and efficiency when approaching complicated surgical extractions has tripled. I've gained more knowledge about immunology, microbiology, and pathology, plus the relationships between them, than I ever expected.
So how would this affect my bottom line should I choose to return to private practice?
1) Addition of IV sedation and OR capabilities is a huge practice builder.
2) I would have less money lost on referrals for things like molar endo and implant placement, and attract patients who like to have everything done in house.
3) Completion of a residency and subsequent passing of ABGD and or F A G D can be advertised, and builds the perception of a higher level of competence with potential patients. (Mods: please check auto censor on fellowship acronym??)
4) My chairtime requirements for more complicated procedures like surgical extractions and molar endo would be drastically reduced.
5) By adding 2 years experience working in a hospital setting on medically compromised patients, my understanding of medical pathology has increased dramatically. The result would be a significant reduction in risk when treating medically compromised patients compared to before.
Of course, that doesn't mention the fact that it would open the doors of academia and/or a speciality residency should I choose to pursue either one. Nor does it mention the fact that, since I wear a uniform for a living, an additional 40k/year retention bonus will be coming my way.
And I don't know what world DentStudent2010 lives in, but where I come from one is paid on collections in private practice. No work = no collections so the idea of paid vacation and sick leave is absurd. Some practices may offer paid malpractice, CE, and other insurances, but generally one pays for that with a lower percentage collections. Plus, I hate to tell ya, but if any of these other folks pursue a residency and you don't, they can and will snatch the best positions right out from under you. Practice owners drool over residency trained docs - higher efficiency and the possibility of in-house referrals - especially if the only other choice is a new grad - who has been stressing over 2-3 patients/day and has a minimal skill set. 😉
