General Practice Residency (GPR) Program

Program Strengths

The Lutheran Medical Center GPR program fulfills its mission to serve the community by providing comprehensive, high-quality dental care to a diverse and needy patient population. In addition to a comprehensive didactic curriculum, residents gain extensive clinical experience. The training program is supported by an outstanding attending staff whose members serve as mentors to the residents.

Program Type and Description

Lutheran Medical Center offers a traditional but innovative hospital-based General Practice Residency (GPR), which focuses on comprehensive, continuous care. GPR training is offered at two distinct sites located within several miles of each other in the borough of Brooklyn, New York: Lutheran Medical Center (LMC) is a Level-1 trauma center located in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. The General Practice Residency program here has been in existence since 1974. The second training site is located within Long Island College Hospital (LICH), situated on the border of the Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill neighborhoods in downtown Brooklyn. The GPR program here began in 1962 and recently became incorporated into the Lutheran Health Care System. Our highly experienced, dedicated staff of general dentists and specialists works one-on-one with residents in all phases of dentistry to produce a “super generalist.” Residents acquire the abilities to manage patients with complicated needs in a hospital and group practice environment. The program also offers a special opportunity to undergraduate dental students. Fourth-year dental students may request short-term externships at Lutheran Medical Center. These students may observe or actually participate in patient care thereby gaining invaluable insight into postgraduate education in a fast-paced, urban health care environment. Affiliation agreements for externships currently exist with New York University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, State University of New York at Buffalo, State University of New York at Stony Brook, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Tufts University, Medical College of Georgia, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, University of Puerto Rico and Virginia Commonwealth University. Our residents also have the opportunity to participate in international outreach programs.

Program Length and Number of Positions

The General Practice Residency program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation as a one year program with an optional second year. There are ten PGY1 and two PGY2 positions available at the LMC-Sunset Park campus and there are eight PGY1 positions available at the LMC-LICH campus.

Application

Prospective residents can apply to the GPR program via the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS). Each training site requires a separate application. The application deadline for the LMC-Sunset Park campus is December 15th and the deadline for application to the LMC-LICH campus is November 15th. Required supplemental materials include a 2”x2” photo, which should be sent directly to the site. Upon acceptance, a final transcript and dental school diploma must be presented.

Curriculum

General practice residents study the core curriculum at Lutheran. Supplemental educational experiences are provided at each site. In addition to emphasizing comprehensive dental care, the program integrates medical applications into dentistry. Residents participate in rotations in family medicine, anesthesia, and in the emergency room. They receive significant experience in managing in-patients as well as providing dental care in the operating room. Residents at the LMC-Sunset Park campus also rotate to nearby Lutheran Medical Center-affiliated community health centers, Augustina nursing home and participate in school health programs. Residents at the LMC-LICH campus rotate through the Cobble Hill Health Center, which has a fully-equipped, two chair dental suite for geriatric patients.

Competency and Proficiency Statements

Download GPR Competency and Proficiency Statements

Program Stipend

Lutheran Medical Center offers its postgraduate trainees salaries and benefits which are competitive with other hospitals in the New York metropolitan area. For the 2010-2011 year, the stipend for PGY1 resident is $ 54,303.00

Facilities

There are 14 dental operatories at the LMC-Sunset Park campus, 10 dental operatories at the LMC-LICH campus and an additional 15 operatories within the Lutheran Family Health Center Network. Each facility has the equipment and supplies necessary to provide comprehensive services in all phases of general dentistry.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must be graduates of a U.S. or Canadian dental school and must have passed Part I and Part II of the National Board Dental Examinations.