General Practice Residency Program

Program Director	Michael E. Pruett, DMD Assistant Professor
Assistant Program Director	Thomas F. Figliorelli, DMD Instructor
Faculty   Dr. Steve Hackman	Dr. Jane Martone
Department phone:	(706) 721-4025
Department fax:	(706)  721-8349
Program length:	12 months
No. of residents accepted:	6/yr
PASS participant:	Yes
PASS deadline:	October 19
Match participant:	Yes
Program deadline:	November 1
DMD/DDS:	Applicants must have a DMD/DDS from a dental school that is accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA) Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) by the program start date.
Accreditation status:	“Approval” status from CODA of ADA
Beginning date:	July 1 each year
National Boards:	Applicants must have successfully passed both Parts I and II of the National Board dental examination by the program start date.
State Licensure:	Applicants must have successfully passed a state licensure examination by the program start date.

The Certificate Program
The General Practice Residency Program at the Medical College of Georgia is a one-year educational program leading to a certificate.  The program is designed to provide clinical, didactic, and hospital experience at the postdoctoral level.  The instruction and experience provided are intended to prepare residents to meet the oral health needs of a broad range of patients. 

Goals and Objectives
This General Practice Residency 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.  This program is designed to expand the scope and depth of the graduates’ knowledge and skills to enable them to provide comprehensive oral health care to a wide range of population groups.

The goals of this program include preparation of the graduate to:

1. Act as primary care provider for individuals and groups of patients.  This includes:  providing emergency and multidisciplinary comprehensive oral health care; providing patient focused care that is coordinated by the general practitioner; directing health promotion and disease prevention activities, and using advanced dental treatment modalities.
2. Plan and provide multidisciplinary oral health care for a wide variety of patients including patients with special needs.
3. Manage the delivery of oral health care by applying concepts of patient and practice management and quality improvement that are responsive to a dynamic health care environment.
4. Function effectively within the hospital and other health care environments.
5. Function effectively within interdisciplinary health care teams.
6. Apply scientific principles to learning and oral health care.  This includes using critical thinking, evidence or outcomes-based clinical decision-making and technology-based information retrieval systems.
7. Utilize the values of professional ethics, lifelong learning, patient centered care, adaptability, and acceptance of cultural diversity in professional practice.
8. Understand the oral health needs of communities and engage in community services.

Tuition, Stipends, Equipment and Benefits

Tuition:  There is no tuition associated with the Certificate Program in general practice.  If the resident is enrolled in the Master of Science in Oral Biology degree program, he/she must pay tuition for courses taken through the School of Graduate Studies.  References should be made to the current Medical College of Georgia Catalog for specific information regarding Graduate School tuition and fees.  

Stipends:  Last year the general practice residents received an annual stipend of approximately $36,960.  This stipend is provided by the Medical College of Georgia Hospital, and is subject to change each year based on availability of funds. Augusta, Georgia is a beautiful city with a low cost of living.  This makes it ideal for residency training from a financial standpoint.

Equipment:  All supplies and equipment associated with the clinical program are provided by the institution. Implant surgical kits are given to each resident by the manufacturer.

Benefits:  The School of Dentistry provides malpractice insurance coverage for residents while providing patient care at the Medical College of Georgia.  This insurance does not cover any outside dental practice.  Residents are eligible for health care insurance if they pay a monthly co-premium.  General practice residents are entitled to MCG employee holidays, though assignments for emergency coverage must be maintained.  Residents are entitled to 10 days vacation/personal leave.  Residents are eligible for other MCG benefits if they so elect.

The Facilities
The General Practice Program has its residents’ offices, clinics dedicated to the program, and laboratory facilities in the School of Dentistry.  Clinical training also occurs in the Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics.  MCG Hospital is a tertiary care hospital that serves the needs of patients throughout the state.  MCG Hospital has an inpatient operating room and a modern Ambulatory Procedure Center for general anesthesia cases.  The Emergency Department of the hospital has a fully equipped treatment room for dental procedures. Five full time dental assistants are assigned to assist the residents in the clinic.

The Curriculum
The General Practice Residency Program includes didactic training and advanced clinical experience in diagnostic sciences, endodontics, implant dentistry, oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, preventive dentistry, prosthodontics (fixed and removable), restorative dentistry and special needs dentistry. The majority of the resident’s time is devoted to advanced clinical training in ambulatory care settings. Patient care is also provided under general anesthesia in the Operating Room and Ambulatory Procedure Center. Additional hospital experience is gained through rotations in Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Oral Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry and by participation in rounds and consultative services with various medical disciplines. Major emphasis is given to training related to the care of medically compromised patients.

Selection and Admissions Policies
Following submission of a completed application and the required supporting materials, candidates files are reviewed by the Resident Selection Committee.  This committee consists of the Program Director and at least two other faculty members who provide clinical support for the GPR.  Only graduates of a dental school which is accredited by the American Dental Association are considered.  The following guidelines are used to select those individuals to be invited for an interview. 

1. Applicants should rank in the top half of their dental school class.
2. Applicants should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in dental school.
3. Applicants should have an average score of 85 or higher on National Boards.
4. Letters of recommendation should be strongly supportive of the individual’s scholastic potential, clinical abilities and personal characteristics.
5. An applicant who does not meet the first three guidelines may be considered if their academic record reflects a notable, consistent improvement and they are supported by exceptional letters of recommendation.

Candidates who are ultimately considered for the GPR are required to participate in a personal interview.  Following the interview process, members of the GPR Resident Selection Committee independently rank the applicants.  Should there be gross discrepancies in the rankings, the committee further discusses the applicants.  The rankings and deliberations provide the basis for a consensus opinion of the committee.

The Program Director then submits a rank order list to the National Matching Service.  The GPR of the Medical College of Georgia strictly adheres to the requirements of the National Matching Service and all positions are offered only through the National Matching Service.

 

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The Medical College of Georgia is an affirmative action/equal opportunity educational institution that prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam War Era veteran.