APEX Program Celebrates 20 Years at GSDM
The Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Applied Professional Experience (APEX) program celebrated its 20th anniversary with a dinner on April 16. The night honored the efforts and dedication of the dental practitioners who serve as APEX mentors.
“The APEX mentors share their knowledge and skills with our students, truly enhancing the School’s curriculum,” said Director of APEX and Extramural Programs Dr. Michelle Henshaw. “They are mentors in the truest sense of the word. They ensure that we graduate not only competent clinical dentists, but also compassionate health care providers who are a credit to our profession.”
Ten APEX offices have been with the program since its inception 20 years ago and those offices received special recognition for being stalwart supporters of the program and for providing valuable feedback. Dr. Henshaw also announced the formation of the Madalyn L. Mann APEX Award for Teaching Excellence, which will be given annually to a dentist who has stood out amongst his/her peers for their commitment to teaching dental students on their APEX rotation. The recipient of the inaugural award was Dr. Paul Cohen. Dr. Cohen was one of the dentists that has supported the program since it’s inception.
A quote from one of Dr. Cohen’s former APEX students was read at the award presentation stating, “Dr. Cohen was very welcoming, warm, engaging, and determined that I would learn as much as I could from my experience working at his office. Every lunchtime Dr. Cohen used to take me out to lunch, and during that time he would encourage me to ask as many questions as possible about what I saw that day, his practice, his path to becoming the successful dentist that he is, patient and staff management, or anything else. Observing him working and interacting day to day, combined with the Q & A sessions at lunch were priceless experiences that I will cherish in my path to becoming a good dentist myself.”
“We know that entering dental students consistently rank APEX as one of the top reasons they chose to attend GSDM and because of that the APEX program has grown to be an integral part of the curriculum at our School,” said Dean Jeffrey Hutter. “The lynchpin of this program is, of course, our outstanding APEX mentors. Since its inception, these gifted teachers and mentors have been true partners in the education of our students and I sincerely appreciate their dedication and commitment to bringing excellence to our School.”
Photos of the dinner are available on GSDM’s flickr account and also on the GSDM Facebook page. You must have full web access to view the flickr account, but do not need a personal Facebook account to view photos on the Facebook page.