UTDB Update 9-19-08 - Important Info on Classes and Clinics!

All Faculty, Staff and Students/Residents:

As promised, and thanks to the input of Student Council representatives and faculty & staff leaders, we can now update everyone on modifications to didactic, preclinical and clinical schedules. We realize the following is lengthy, but please read the entire contents of this message carefully as it affects EVERYONE in some fashion. Students/residents are responsible for all changes outlined below.

• Didactic and Preclinical Courses:
  • No exams Monday and Tuesday, Sept 22 and 23 (DDS and DH)
  • Operative II lab practical will occur on Monday, Sept 22 (DS2 only)
  • Pharmacology exam is Thursday, Sept 25th at 2:00 p.m. in room 207 (DS2 only)
  • Physiology exam is Thursday, Sept 25th at 3:00 p.m. in room 207 (DS1 only)
  • Dental Anatomy tooth ID will be Sept 26th and 29th (DS1 only)
  • DH 2101/3101 Preclinical Technique - exam is Friday, Sept 26 @ 10am (DH1 only)
  • DH 3302/4302 Clinical Seminar II - exam is Tuesday, Sept 30 @ 3-5pm (DH2 only)
  • DDS & DH finals are now the week of Dec 15-19 (vs. original schedule of two weeks, Dec 8-19); a revised schedule for finals will be distributed next week
  • DDS & DH class schedules for the current week (Sept 15-19) will be moved as a block into next week, with everything moving to one week later for the semester; classes will now end on Dec 12th
  • Once modifications to the online have been completed, students, faculty and staff will be notified; adjustments to some classes may be necessary

For questions regarding modifications to the didactic or preclinical schedule, please contact Dr. Roeder.

• Clinics and Clinical Rotations:
  • All DDS, DH and Grad clinics except GPR, Faculty Practice and OMS-Smith Tower will be closed Monday, Sept 22; Clinics will then resume as follows:
    • DS3 students - Tuesday afternoon, Sept 23
    • DS4 students - Wednesday morning, Sept 24
    • DH2 students - Wednesday morning, Sept 24
    • Grads - Tuesday morning, Sept 23
  • Assessment Clinic will re-open Wednesday p.m., Sept 24 and operate as usual on Thursday a.m. and p.m. and Friday a.m.; students assigned to this rotation should report starting on Wed
  • OMP Clinic and rotation are cancelled for Monday p.m. (Sept 22rd) and Thursday p.m. (Sept 25th); students assigned to OMP clinic on Thursday afternoon must report to Urgent Care Clinic
  • Urgent Care Clinic will re-open on Wednesday morning, Sept 24 and operate all day Wednesday, all day Thursday, and Friday morning; DS3 and DS4 who do not have patients on Wednesday (Sept 24th) or Thursday (Sept 25th) afternoons must report to the Urgent Care Clinic
  • Outside DDS and DH Rotations: There will be no "make-ups" for Sept 11-19 except for Ben Taub. Rotations will otherwise continue as scheduled beginning week of Monday, Sept 22nd:
    • Brazos Valley Clinic in Bryan - start on Wednesday, Sept 24th (DDS only)
    • City of Houston La Casa Clinic - start on Monday, Sept 22nd (DDS only)
    • Dental van - start on Monday, Sept 22nd (DDS only)
    • Ft Bend Family Health Center (DH only)
    • Southeast Health Department Clinic(DH only)
  • Other Rotations:
    • Assessment - starts on Wednesday, Sept 24rd
    • Ben Taub - starts on Monday, Sept 22. Those students who missed this rotation during Sept 11-19 will be rescheduled
    • HMC Pediatric Dentistry Clinic - cancelled until further notice
    • MCPC - starts on Wednesday, Sept 24rd
    • OMP - starts on Monday, Sept 29th
    • Urgent Care - starts on Wednesday, Sept 24rd
  • Please contact your patients as soon as you can to give them appropriate information and reschedule them.

For questions regarding clinics and clinical rotations, please contact Dr. Jessee, Dr. O'Neill or your Practice Leader if DDS, or Ms. McWherter or appropriate DH faculty member if DH.

• Additional Information for Graduates/Residents
  • Graduate students/Residents should check with their respective program director or department chair for additional information on departmental seminars and activities. For basic science courses, please contact Dr. Weisbrodt (norman.w.weisbrodt@uth.tmc.edu). Note that all in-house graduate clinics re-open on Tuesday, Sept 23.

While it will take time for us to fully recover from the effects of Hurricane Ike, I know we are all looking forward to resuming activities. Additional details will be provided at next week's class meetings (meeting schedule to be announced).

Thank you!

Dr. Valenza