The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine congratulates the six students in its inaugural apprenticeship program for dental assistants who graduated on March 22.
The program, funded through a PAsmart grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, was developed to address the shortage of health care professionals and diversify the dentistry workforce. It began in January 2023.
The program aims to attract students who are underrepresented in dentistry or are from lower income backgrounds. It offers an opportunity to enter a health care profession at little or no cost.
Of the six students in the class, three are going into jobs at Pitt Dental Medicine.
The second iteration of the program will begin in July 2024, with a different training program model that will greatly expand the number of participants. At least 60 student trainees are expected to be accepted into the program, where they will receive online education. They then will be placed at sponsor clinic sites throughout Pennsylvania to receive in-depth, practical clinical experience.
This new model will allow trainees in the program to receive instruction in communities across Pennsylvania where residents are not receiving essential dental care due to shortages in dental clinicians.
