General Practice Residency
Advanced Training Program in Dentistry

Welcome | Director's Message | Program Objectives | Curriculum | Faculty | Faculty Guest Lecturers | Rotations
Community Service | Salary and Benefits | Clinic Staff | Meet the 2009-2010 Residents
Application Process | Criteria for Resident Selection | Non-Discriminatory Policy

Welcome

Director's Message

L. Stanley Brysh, DMD, FAAHD, DABSCD

Welcome to the Meriter GPR Web page. You have reached an important decision point in your career. The following information is designed to give you some insight into the advantages of a General Practice Residency. Some of these important advantages are available in nearly all accredited programs:

• Exposure to and treatment of the medically compromised patient.
• An opportunity to complete dental cases of greater complexity than those you were able to complete in dental school.
• Additional medical training to enable you to adequately diagnose and treat medical emergencies.
• Exposure to complex trauma cases.
• Exposure to a wider number of pathology cases.
• A starting point for pursuing hospital dentistry as a career.
• A starting point for entry into a specialty program.

• Efficient, high-quality, one visit endodontics using rotary instrumentation and warm gutta percha filling techniques.
• How to surgically place and restore implants.
• Rapid, high-quality crown and bridge techniques.
• The precepts and techniques needed to perform accelerated dentistry.
• Exposure to numerous active private practitioners through our office visitation program.
• How to understand the business of dentistry.

Program Objectives

1. To prepare residents, through didactic instruction and clinical experience, to become providers of comprehensive general dentistry services at a level beyond that achieved in their pre-doctoral education.

2. To train residents to become primary care providers for diverse groups of patients, including those with special needs and complex medical problems, through the delivery of emergency and comprehensive oral health care in a hospital setting.

3. To foster an attitude of community service in residents through the patient care of under-served population groups, involvement in community service activities and patient education, and faculty example that will be continued by the resident after graduation.

4. To increase the resident's ability to effectively manage the delivery of oral health care by instructing him/her in current patient and practice management skills and quality improvement techniques.

5. To instill in residents a commitment to lifelong learning and professional development through the growth of critical thinking skills and faculty mentoring.

Specifically, the program is designed to:

• Increase clinical speed and efficiency in procedures involving all aspects of general dentistry.
• Develop practice management skills.
• Improve diagnosis and treatment planning of all phases of dentistry with respect to administering comprehensive dental treatment in the context of a patient's total health care needs.
• Develop an in-depth understanding of medicine and the relationship between systemic disease and the proposed dental treatment.
• Develop the ability to provide dental treatment to patients with underlying medical conditions.
• Enhance the ability to recognize and manage common medical/dental emergencies.
• Develop confidence in functioning both within a hospital setting and as a member of the health care team via consultation with other health care professionals.
• Develop proficiency in medical history taking and physical examination techniques.
• Enhance knowledge of diagnostic laboratory values and the ability to request and interpret proper tests and values.
• Enhance knowledge of current pharmacological therapeutics and the relationship to dental treatment.
• Enhance knowledge of current dental literature and develop the skill to communicate with colleagues through case presentations and discussions.

Curriculum

Patient treatment by Dental Residents is performed in the Max W. Pohle Dental Clinic at Meriter Hospital. The clinic is a new, well-equipped facility that resembles a private practice. A tray system is used for most instrument set-ups and a variety of supply materials are available for resident use. Teaching staff specialists and general practitioners are scheduled in the clinic on half-day rotations Monday through Friday. The number of patients requesting treatment in the clinic far exceeds the needs of the program. All patient appointments are scheduled in advance, with the exception of emergency patients. Disruption of the normal schedule is minimized by the development of rapid diagnostic skills and increasing utilization of dental assistant expanded duties as the year progresses. All patients accepted for treatment at the clinic are assigned to a specific resident. Each resident is responsible for continually monitoring the progress of his or her group of active patients. Training is given in the following areas throughout the year: General Practice Endodontics Implant Dentistry Cosmetic Dentistry Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Practice Management Periodontics Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics Orthodontics Pediatric Dentistry Emergency Care Patient Hospital Admissions Inpatient Consultations Operating Room Dentistry The didactic program consists of: Lectures by the dental teaching staff. Patient care conferences with the Director to discuss and develop treatment plans and monitor the progress of patient care. Journal Club sessions at which the residents abstract current journal articles. Dental Staff meetings in which residents give formal case presentations to the teaching staff. Research Presentation – each resident selects a topic and prepares a formal oral and written presentation to the Department of Dentistry at the end of the residency year. In addition, a variety of medical conferences and seminars are held each month at Meriter Hospital. Residents are encouraged to attend and participate in any presentations that are of interest to them. Residents also attend the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, local dental society meetings and select continuing education courses.

Faculty

The following 29 faculty members educate residents in all areas of dentistry and practice management. Each one is a full time private practitioner and attends the clinic on at least a monthly basis.

Faculty Guest Lecturers

Rotations

• Anesthesiology – a two-week rotation at Meriter Hospital.
• Physical Diagnosis – independent study sessions with one-on-one instruction and practical experience.
• Emergency Medicine – a two-week rotation at Meriter Hospital Emergency Services.
• Temporomandibular Dysfunction – A lecture series, supplemented with clinic observation at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center TMD Clinic.
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery – Clinic observation and interaction with OMFS faculty in their private practice.
• Faculty office visitations.

Community Service

The Max W. Pohle Dental Clinic is proud of its long history of service to the community. While the program emphasizes preparation for private practice, graduate residents are expected to continue contributing to the public as they progress through their careers. The late Dr. Max Pohle and the faculty serve as excellent examples of the balance needed in a successful practitioner between business success and treatment of the underserved.
 
During the year residents participate in a county-wide school sealant program, community health checks that include oral examinations, a school nurse program that allows them to treat school children with acute dental needs and no financial resources, and much more.

Salary and Benefits

• Health and dental insurance at a reduced rate
• Malpractice insurance
• Disability insurance
• Tax-deferred annuity programs
• Use of an exercise facility
• Other benefits

Residents also receive two weeks paid vacation.

Clinic Staff Highly skilled and experienced dental auxiliaries are an integral part of the program. Each resident can expect chairside assistance over 95% of the time.

Meet the 2009-2010 Residents

	Matthew Karls, DDS Marquette University School of Dentistry matthew.karls@yahoo.com My experience with the general practice residency at Meriter Hospital has been exceptional. As a recent graduate from dental school, I had a broad understanding of dentistry, and became proficient in basic procedures. The program has expanded my knowledge and clinical skills to levels unimagined. The level of patient treatment experienced has significantly increased my quality and efficiency, along with my overall understanding of dentistry. While there is plenty of experience with basic procedures in dentistry, the opportunity to perform a variety of treatments in the specialty areas of dentistry is invaluable. Aside from the variety of procedures, there is a large patient population served at the Max Pohle Dental Clinic, and your schedule is filled accordingly. Treating patients with an experienced and knowledgeable staff, teaches you to become more efficient, and furthers your education to become a well-rounded practitioner. At Meriter, you have the opportunity to use the latest, most frequently used techniques and equipment. Rather than assisting others, or reading about procedures in textbooks alone, you perform the procedures firsthand. The opportunity to become proficient with an endodontic microscope, learn different endodontic techniques, Cerec CAD/CAM technology, and place implants, have been truly invaluable experiences. By learning a variety of techniques for different procedures, you will develop an armamentarium of treatment options to fit the diversity of each patient in your practice. The faculty at Meriter is exceptional, and recognized by their peers as experts in their given areas of specialty. Each specialty area is covered with multiple faculty available to answer questions and offer guidance from different perspectives. The faculty offer their own personal experiences and lecture on a variety of topics, while they will also help chair side if needed. Aside from being a tremendous resource of information, the faculty’s time and enthusiasm to help the residents succeed is invaluable and inspiring. In addition to treating patients in the dental clinic, another unique aspect of the program is the ability to work within a hospital setting. The opportunity to see a variety of surgeries firsthand, perform in-house consults, treat patients in the operating room, and trauma cases in the ER, is an experience that is incredibly beneficial to any modern practitioner. The ability to gain perspective into true comprehensive care of the patient, in addition to management of their oral health is also invaluable. Treating patients outside of the dental clinic and performing treatment with other physicians from different fields develops the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of healthcare professionals outside of the dental profession. The general practice residency at Meriter Hospital makes it possible to pursue these unique opportunities, and to excel as a well-rounded practitioner.
	Leah Felkner, DDS Marquette University School of Dentistry leah.felkner@marquette.edu The general practice residency here at Meriter has already exceeded my expectations for a transition between the basic training of dental school and private practice. I was looking for a program that would allow me to improve my speed and efficiency, improve treatment planning skills, and gain confidence in my clinical abilities, among other things. This program has done all of this and more. The faculty we work with specialize in the areas of oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, implantology, restorative dentistry, hospital dentistry, and pediatric dentistry, and I already feel that my knowledge in these areas has improved greatly, and I am able to provide a higher level of care to the diverse patient population we see here at the hospital. Part of the reason my clinical experience has been so positive is due to the staff, who create an efficient and comfortable work environment. This exceptional clinic management has allowed me to focus my time and energy on the practice of quality dentistry. Also, the various hospital rotations and treatment of medically compromised patients has expanded my knowledge of pharmacology and oral medicine, which will greatly enhance my treatment of patients in private practice. This residency has provided an invaluable experience and has boosted my competence and skill as a dental professional. I feel I will have the ability to treat patients in the community with confidence due to the post-graduate education I received from this program.
	Laura Howley, DDS University of Minnesota School of Dentistry howle011@umn.edu Dental school did a great job of providing me with the fundamentals I needed to obtain licensure, but I found myself searching for more clinical experience and knowledge. My speed and efficiency was not adequate to survive in a fast paced private practice environment. Knowing a transition from dental school to private practice was imminent, the general practice residency at Meriter seemed to be a perfect fit. As predicted, this experience has been priceless. The Max Pohle dental clinic has a friendly, experienced staff that allows residents to concentrate on dentistry and not worry about things like staffing and patient scheduling. The well trained assistants provide four-handed dentistry during every patient interaction, and the office managers are constantly working to maintain a full schedule of patients. As a new graduate it was really comforting to know I could walk into a dental clinic and have dentistry be my main priority. The Meriter GPR is a clinically based residency program where most patient interaction is in a dental practice setting. The dedicated faculty rotates through the clinic providing lectures and one on one interaction in the areas of endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery, pedodontics, prosthodontics, TMD, and implantology. Time outside of the clinic is spent in rotations that enhance not only dental knowledge but increase the medical knowledge needed to work with all patient populations. The program director, Dr. Brysh, is constantly available to the residents, providing advice and ensuring that the resident’s goals are upheld. The decision to pursue a GPR was right for me. Leaving Meriter, I will be an experienced, well rounded clinician that will be able to provide advanced dental procedures to my patients and serve the needs of my community.

Application Process

Criteria for Resident Selection

The Meriter Hospital GPR Selections Committee evaluates the following criteria to establish an applicant's suitability for the residency program:

• Grade point average
• Class rank
• National Board scores
• Letters of recommendation
• Applicant essay
• Extracurricular activities
• Resident interview
  

Non-Discriminatory Policy

10/15/2009