The program directors' perspective on the goals and objectives of advanced general dentistry training

In September of 1991, all postgraduate general dentistry (PGD) program directors (Advanced Education in General Dentistry [AEGD] and General Practice Residency [GPR] directors [n = 325]) were surveyed to ascertain their opinions of the ideal goals and objectives of PGD programs. The response rate was 81.5 percent (n = 265). The directors rated the relative importance of various PGD program goals and objectives. The average of all the items rated was 3.4 on a scale ranging from 1 = unimportant to 4 = very important. The respondents identified several clinical and didactic subject areas that they considered very important including; infection control, CPR, dental and medical emergencies, diagnosing dentoalveolar trauma, diagnosing oral pathology, and assessment and treatment of patients with medical conditions. They also identified several training areas which were beyond the scope of a PGD program, e.g., research techniques, pediatric sedation, and selected advanced clinical procedures in dentistry (implantology and orthodontics) which require a long time to complete. In general, there was substantial agreement among the directors of different program types and sites as to the relative importance of various program goals. The largest differences were found among directors of programs from different sites, e.g., hospitals versus dental schools as opposed to directors from different program types, e.g., GPR versus AEGD. There is now a need to determine the relationship of these identified idealized goals and differences to program outcomes for the graduates of PGDs.