title: An Outcomes Study of 40 Years of Graduates of a General Practice Dental Residency.
abstract: Assessing program quality and outcomes is essential to improve postgraduate dental education. This study's aims were to document career direction and practice patterns of graduates of the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) General Practice Residency (GPR), to compare BWH GPR outcomes to those of other American GPRs, and to identify characteristics of the BWH GPR program that trainees valued. This was a retrospective cohort study with a sample comprised of BWH GPR graduates between 1973 and 2013. Outcomes examined included pursuit of specialty training and positions on academic or hospital staff. Data sources were a survey of BWH GPR graduates and published national surveys. Of the 190 BWH graduates (95% of total) who were located and contacted, 133 (70% response rate) completed the survey. Compared to national survey data, BWH GPR graduates were significantly more likely to be specialists, full-time hospital staff, or full-time or part-time dental school faculty. Most BWH graduates (96.2%) ranked the program as outstanding or good. Faculty characteristics were considered by BWH graduates to be the most important factors in judging program quality. Since faculty characteristics were the most important factors in residents' judgment of program quality, GPR programs should recruit, maintain, and develop a quality faculty in order to attract students.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Lau is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Chief of the Division of Dentistry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and former Director of Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard General Practice Residency in Dentistry; Dr. Dodson is Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Associate Dean for Hospital Affairs, University of Washington School of Dentistry; Dr. Sonis is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Kaban is Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital alau@partners.org.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Dr. Lau is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Chief of the Division of Dentistry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and former Director of Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard General Practice Residency in Dentistry; Dr. Dodson is Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Associate Dean for Hospital Affairs, University of Washington School of Dentistry; Dr. Sonis is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Kaban is Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital.
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Dodson
authors.affiliation: Dr. Lau is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Chief of the Division of Dentistry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and former Director of Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard General Practice Residency in Dentistry; Dr. Dodson is Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Associate Dean for Hospital Affairs, University of Washington School of Dentistry; Dr. Sonis is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Kaban is Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital.
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Sonis
authors.affiliation: Dr. Lau is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Chief of the Division of Dentistry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and former Director of Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard General Practice Residency in Dentistry; Dr. Dodson is Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Associate Dean for Hospital Affairs, University of Washington School of Dentistry; Dr. Sonis is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Kaban is Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital.
authors.forename: Leonard B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Kaban
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001900:Boston; D002321:Career Choice; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003798:Dental Staff, Hospital; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D005260:Female; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D010361:Patients / Q000145:classification; D010560:Personnel Selection; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D011331:Private Practice; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration; D013039:Specialties, Dental / Q000193:education; D013192:Staff Development; D014481:United States
keywords: advanced dental education; dental internship; dental residency; general practice residency; graduate dental education; postdoctoral general dentistry