Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Graduates Dental Residents

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Laura Myers | 180615-N-IY469-053 Portsmouth, Va. (June 15, 2018) Cmdr. Bryan Rasmussen, Advanced Education in General Dentistry program director at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, presents Lt. Alexandra Schott with the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program Resident of the Year certificate during the residency graduation. Graduates of the two programs have the foundation to be independent clinicians providing and managing patient-focused dental care. Both of the programs are fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Laura A. Myers)  

PORTSMOUTH, VA, UNITED STATES

06.15.2018

Courtesy Story

Naval Medical Center - Portsmouth

Graduates of the two programs have the foundation to be independent clinicians providing and managing patient-focused dental care. Both of the programs are fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.
“In this emphasis and tradition of training that dates back to 1972, is our commitment to your future and to everything that you have to offer our Sailors and Marines in the fleet,” said Capt. Carolyn Rice, NMCP acting commanding officer, said of the dental residency programs at NMCP.
The AEGD program provides advanced training in clinical dentistry and applied basic sciences. It is a planned, sequential postdoctoral training program specifically designed to meet the needs of recent graduates who want to enhance their skills as general practitioners.
The GPR program is designed for advanced clinical and didactic training in general dentistry with intensive hospital experience at the postdoctoral level and included rotations in anesthesia and emergency medicine. This program provides instruction and experience in the delivery of care to a wide range of ambulatory and hospitalized patients.
“Most assuredly, your proficiency as a clinician has significantly increased since coming aboard, but you also gained an enhanced understanding of what it takes to be a leader, a mentor, a role model,” said Capt. Susan Johnson, director of Dental Services at NMCP and the ceremony’s keynote speaker. “Today, you will walk away with your certificates, and also with immense responsibilities, not only to provide the highest quality of health care to the most deserving patients, but also to lead by example.”
During the course of the year, the residents collectively produced more than one million dollars in dental services. Specifically, the GPR residents delivered more than 3,000 medical procedures to 1,400 patients, collaborated with medical colleagues to guarantee outstanding dental care and safety, and superbly managed the overnight dental duty section while treating close to 300 patients who reported to the emergency room. The AEGD residents treated more than 2,500 patients, and they delivered 180 crowns, nine bridges, 32 veneers and 77 implants.
The AEGD class president, Lt. Stephen Reller, spoke about the growth of the residents and the importance of the faculty at NMCP before announcing Lt. Samuel Richards as the 2018 AEGD Mentor of the Year.
“We chose to complete a post-graduate residency program because we value the opportunity to enhance our clinical skills and gain the knowledge necessary to become more competent practitioners,” Reller said. “We’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time. We are so fortunate to have had mentors who value our continued education and are willing to take the time to teach and guide us this residency year. Thank you for investing your time and energy in to our clinical development, and we are better dentists today than we were when we arrived because of your efforts.”
Lt. Andrew Steadman, the GPR class president, also recognized their 2018 GPR Mentor of the Year.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our mentors, from oral surgery to our anesthesia mentors,” Steadman said. “We had rotations in anesthesia and the emergency room. It was very gratifying to complete a hospital-based program where we get experiences beyond the bread and butter dentistry, so I am very appreciative of all the mentors. There is one in particular, and this mentor is well deserving of this award and that is Lt. Christopher Tully.”
During the ceremony, Lt. Alexandra Schott was named AEGD Resident of the Year, and Lt. Sean Farrell was named GPR Resident of the Year.
“These young officers are full of talent, and now full of knowledge, experience and exposure to the military and will be serving out in the fleet,” said Rice. “You are going to be independent, you are going to be entrusted with the privilege of taking care of our patients and the operations, and operational readiness is so important and why we are in uniform.”
The residents’ next assignments are 2nd Dental Battalion at Camp Lejeune, USS Tortuga, USS Mesa Verde, USS Ashland, the U.S. Naval Academy, Branch Health Clinic Diego Garcia and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.

• Date Taken: 06.15.2018
• Date Posted: 06.22.2018 09:32
• Story ID: 281916
• Location: PORTSMOUTH, VA, US