I know the process for finding good GPRs (or information about any of them) can be pretty difficult so I wanted to post about the VA San Diego General Practice residency program that I am currently finishing in two weeks, especially since it has not been mentioned as much as some on SDN. Listed below is information about the program and you can decide if it's right for you.
I would describe my experience as being an incredibly well-rounded GPR program. It consists two separate 3 month rotations in both Endo and Oral Surgery. And then the other 6 months is a Prosth/General rotation (of which I still do endo/oral surgery on my comp care patient's that need it).
I’ll be completely honest in that I think that this is probably the strongest GPR program in the country for Endo. Dr. Salter (the endodontist) is the best person to work with/learn from. You get your own microscope so it’s awesome getting used to doing microscope dentistry. Most of my class was able to do 80-90 RCTs and normally around 20-30 of those teeth are molar endo. If I got into a spot when I need help, I literally just walk next door and she’s able to sit down and help (which you will need with molar endo, especially with the amount of calcified canals we see at the VA). You can also learn how to do simple retreats and internal bleaching. So needless to say, I definitely think that endo is a huge strength for the program and many past GPR residents have gone on to endo residencies following the program.
Other big strengths are oral surgery, especially being comfortable with surgical extractions. I think generally speaking most residents get between 250-350 extractions in the 12 week time and many of them being surgical. We got a new Oral surgeon in December who has been really solid to learn under and is a great teacher. Due to the Oral surgeon not getting here until December and some of the restrictions in the past with COVID, most of our class only placed 1-5 implants but I wouldn't be surprised if next year's class place 10-20. I would say that was the biggest weakness in the program before this year but with the new Oral surgeon that will definitely change. We see our sedation cases both in the clinic and in the OR and we also have an anesthesia rotation so you get a decent exposure to sedation dentistry (one thing to know though is that we do not get I.V. sedation certification but the new Oral surgeon might be able to change that in the future).
Prosth is another huge strength of the program as well. At the VA there are a lot of cases that are full mouth rehab so there are many cases that you will do an insane amount of crowns/restorative/RPD work. So your hand skills will get pretty fast here. I would say another strength of the program is that the patient’s don’t pay for the dental care, meaning you can give them the best treatment plans without cost being a factor. You can also semi-customize your experience by requesting to see certain cases so that you can really hone in on what experiences you feel like you need/want. I would say a huge strength is that Dr. Soumekh is the chair as well. He is super helpful, he pushes you, and you learn A TON from him but he’s also really down to earth as well. He also plays golf pretty regularly with the residents so that's pretty cool as well.
In every GPR throughout the country you have to do a 2 week rotation in the ED and a 3 week rotation in Anesthesia. There is an additional 2 week rotation in ENT. The rotations are definitely too long for what they are worth but it is a national requirement for all GPRs and you do learn some valuable information.
Didactically, we have "Med Risk" discussions in which we are presented a case in which someone has some medical complication and we have to research as a group on the topic that we are presented and have a discussion with all of the staff doctors. You have to do three case-presentations in which you present comp care cases and then you will do two research presentations. Overall you get great exposure and experience treating medically compromised patients.
There is no experience in pediatrics (which for me was a plus), and we’re actually in the process of a periodontist being hired this summer so you should be able to do more crown lengthening and other limited perio etc. in the future. Our On-call is pretty chill as well, you are on call for 2 weeks at a time (about 6 times throughout the year) and the main times that you are called to the ED are during work hours. I was called in the most on after hours/weekends out of all of my co-residents and I was only called in 5 times during after-hours/weekend throughout the whole year. So your work-life balance is pretty great.
Not going to lie, living in San Diego is basically the best. The food is insanely good here and there’s literally so much to do outside. Also our hours are 7:00am-3:30pm so often when get off work, I go surf, play golf, hike, workout or whatever you want. Compensation is also increasing quite a bit from what we got due to this crazy inflation. It's also currently a Match program and we interview later in the Fall but this might change in a couple years. Overall, it’s a great program. If you have any more questions I would suggest trying to email Dr. Soumekh with your interest.
I would describe my experience as being an incredibly well-rounded GPR program. It consists two separate 3 month rotations in both Endo and Oral Surgery. And then the other 6 months is a Prosth/General rotation (of which I still do endo/oral surgery on my comp care patient's that need it).
I’ll be completely honest in that I think that this is probably the strongest GPR program in the country for Endo. Dr. Salter (the endodontist) is the best person to work with/learn from. You get your own microscope so it’s awesome getting used to doing microscope dentistry. Most of my class was able to do 80-90 RCTs and normally around 20-30 of those teeth are molar endo. If I got into a spot when I need help, I literally just walk next door and she’s able to sit down and help (which you will need with molar endo, especially with the amount of calcified canals we see at the VA). You can also learn how to do simple retreats and internal bleaching. So needless to say, I definitely think that endo is a huge strength for the program and many past GPR residents have gone on to endo residencies following the program.
Other big strengths are oral surgery, especially being comfortable with surgical extractions. I think generally speaking most residents get between 250-350 extractions in the 12 week time and many of them being surgical. We got a new Oral surgeon in December who has been really solid to learn under and is a great teacher. Due to the Oral surgeon not getting here until December and some of the restrictions in the past with COVID, most of our class only placed 1-5 implants but I wouldn't be surprised if next year's class place 10-20. I would say that was the biggest weakness in the program before this year but with the new Oral surgeon that will definitely change. We see our sedation cases both in the clinic and in the OR and we also have an anesthesia rotation so you get a decent exposure to sedation dentistry (one thing to know though is that we do not get I.V. sedation certification but the new Oral surgeon might be able to change that in the future).
Prosth is another huge strength of the program as well. At the VA there are a lot of cases that are full mouth rehab so there are many cases that you will do an insane amount of crowns/restorative/RPD work. So your hand skills will get pretty fast here. I would say another strength of the program is that the patient’s don’t pay for the dental care, meaning you can give them the best treatment plans without cost being a factor. You can also semi-customize your experience by requesting to see certain cases so that you can really hone in on what experiences you feel like you need/want. I would say a huge strength is that Dr. Soumekh is the chair as well. He is super helpful, he pushes you, and you learn A TON from him but he’s also really down to earth as well. He also plays golf pretty regularly with the residents so that's pretty cool as well.
In every GPR throughout the country you have to do a 2 week rotation in the ED and a 3 week rotation in Anesthesia. There is an additional 2 week rotation in ENT. The rotations are definitely too long for what they are worth but it is a national requirement for all GPRs and you do learn some valuable information.
Didactically, we have "Med Risk" discussions in which we are presented a case in which someone has some medical complication and we have to research as a group on the topic that we are presented and have a discussion with all of the staff doctors. You have to do three case-presentations in which you present comp care cases and then you will do two research presentations. Overall you get great exposure and experience treating medically compromised patients.
There is no experience in pediatrics (which for me was a plus), and we’re actually in the process of a periodontist being hired this summer so you should be able to do more crown lengthening and other limited perio etc. in the future. Our On-call is pretty chill as well, you are on call for 2 weeks at a time (about 6 times throughout the year) and the main times that you are called to the ED are during work hours. I was called in the most on after hours/weekends out of all of my co-residents and I was only called in 5 times during after-hours/weekend throughout the whole year. So your work-life balance is pretty great.
Not going to lie, living in San Diego is basically the best. The food is insanely good here and there’s literally so much to do outside. Also our hours are 7:00am-3:30pm so often when get off work, I go surf, play golf, hike, workout or whatever you want. Compensation is also increasing quite a bit from what we got due to this crazy inflation. It's also currently a Match program and we interview later in the Fall but this might change in a couple years. Overall, it’s a great program. If you have any more questions I would suggest trying to email Dr. Soumekh with your interest.
