The dental general practice residency is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and the University Medical Center of eastern North Carolina. The 750-bed teaching hospital is used by both private and school of medicine physicians representing virtually all specialties. The dental facility is located in the outpatient clinic of the parent organization, the Department of Family Medicine, and is adjacent to the hospital. The residency also provides an arena for the dental education of medical students and family medicine residents.
The program's dental clinic functions as a fee-for-service, two-doctor practice, which enables one resident to be on rotation to other services or otherwise off site while the other sees patients. Support staff in the clinic includes two dental assistants, one hygienist, one patient representative, and one program assistant. Teaching faculty includes general dentists, a pedodontist, two oral and maxillofacial surgeons, an endodontist, a periodontist, an orthodontist, and a nationally acclaimed practice management consultant.
The goal of the dental general practice residency program is to provide exemplary training experiences and practice opportunities through:
- Supervised clinical experience in recognizing and evaluating clinical manifestations of systemic disease and its relation to dental treatment.
- Experience with hospital procedures and functions of other hospital departments through emphasis on specific responsibilities in a hospital dental service.
- Participation in a consulting service as well as on call emergency care to patients through the teaching hospital.
- Skilled dental care for patients.
- Opportunities to explore clinical research interests.
Residents receive ongoing training in hospital procedure and protocol, as well as the functions of other hospital departments. Residents are expected to become familiar with an interdisciplinary approach to health care and are continually involved in consultations with physicians and dental specialists for hospital and ambulatory patients.
Rotations include anesthesiology, otolaryngology, family medicine, plastic surgery, physical diagnosis, emergency medicine, and dental specialties. This balance allows approximately eight months in the clinic and four months on clinical rotation. Educational opportunities are supplemented through conferences, seminars, and tutorial experiences as well as library research and self-study.
Assessment and Evaluation
Residents complete the American Association of Hospital Dentists exam (AAHD) as a pretest at the beginning of the program to assess individual needs. Scores are reviewed in six curricular areas: hospital administration and organization, medical risk management, medically compromised patients, inpatient/ outpatient surgery, pharmacology, medical/dental emergencies, pathology, and infection control. The exam also serves as a posttest at the end of the program.
Patient charts are reviewed after every initial exam, and the program director conducts random reviews of charts to assess the quality of patient care and documentation. Performance evaluations by attendings for each rotation measure residents' progress. Faculty review these evaluations quarterly with residents. Residents also evaluate rotations and preceptors to assist in continuous program improvement.
