Program Philosophy
Guided by the philosophy that oral health is an integral and interactive aspect of total health, residents will engage in approximately nine months of comprehensive dental care. The remaining three months of this one-year long program are spent on hospital and private practice rotations in anesthesia, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Curriculum and Content
The programs provide clinical and didactic training across a range of dental specialties, including endodontics; periodontics; implant dentistry; prosthodontics; oral and maxillofacial surgery; oral pathology/oral medicine; and treating head and neck oncology patients, transplant and cardiothoracic surgery patients, and patients with complex medical histories. Instruction also is provided in ancillary topics pertinent to dental practice, such as patient evaluation and physical examination, emergency medical care, treatment of traumatic dental injuries, inpatient care and hospital organization, and a multitude of other medical and dental subjects.
Beyond clinical training, the program will foster a deeper understanding among trainees of the unique challenges faced by rural populations, including limited provider availability, transportation barriers, and financial constraints.
Journal Club, treatment planning conferences, resident portfolios and off-site local and national dental meetings are also part of the program content. Research is encouraged and supported, but is not a formal part of the program.
Goals and Objectives of the Program
The GPR Program is designed to provide training beyond the level of pre-doctoral education in oral health care using applied basic and behavioral sciences. Education in this program is based on the concept that oral health is an integral and interactive part of total health. The program is designed to expand the scope and depth of the residents’ knowledge and skills to enable them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups. The goals of this program are derived from the Commission on Dental Accreditation’s (CODA) Standards for Advanced Education Programs in General Practice Residency.
Specific to the GPR Program at Regional Training Centers, individual location programs will prepare each resident to:
- Plan and provide multidisciplinary, comprehensive oral health care specific to rural patients;
- Triage and treat a variety of emergency dental conditions;
- Direct and promote disease prevention activities;
- Manage the delivery of oral health care to patients with complex histories;
- Apply concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment;
- Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams;
- Apply scientific principles to learning and oral healthcare, including critical thinking, evidenced-based clinical decision making, and the use of technology-based information retrieval systems;
- Utilize the values of professional ethics, life-long learning, patient-centered care, and adaptability and acceptance of cultural diversity in a professional practice; and
- Understand the needs of rural communities at large and engage in community service.
Supervision and Progressive Responsibility
The GPR Program at Regional Training Centers provides residents with more autonomy in their practice than they experienced in dental school. Residents must be supervised either directly or indirectly, with direct supervision immediately available (i.e., the attending dentist is immediately available to provide direct supervision). Much of the learning process and the development of progressive responsibility is based on teaching by example under supervision. Supervision and close observation provide the program director with the ability to ascertain when a resident is ready and able to assume progressive autonomy and responsibility. Each resident must know the limits of their scope of authority and the circumstances under which they are permitted to act with conditional independence, as well as their skill set and experience. Attending doctors always maintain professionalism within this relationship and will encourage residents to practice with increasing autonomy while freely seeking guidance from the attending at any time the resident believes it to be helpful to the care of the patient. This relationship is designed to be reciprocal and fundamental to the residents’ successful progression.
Do you want to know more about the Regional Training Center General Practice Residency Program?
Locations
Titusville, Crawford County
Titusville Area Hospital
Bradford, McKean County
Bradford Regional Medical Center
Universal Primary Care
Johnstown, Cambria County
Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center
Hyndman Area Health Center
Benefits, Stipend, Tuition & Fees
The GPR Program at Regional Training Centers is a non-tuition and fees-based program, meaning residents do not pay tuition or fees to participate in the program. Benefits and stipends are specific to the individual Regional Training Center where training takes place.
Application Deadline
Applications for the GPR Program at Regional Training Centers will be accepted starting in August 2025.
For additional information about a GPR Program at a Regional Training Center, please contact:
Sara Dickey
Manager of Executive Strategic Initiatives
saradickey@pitt.edu
412-383-7763