Page 15 - The Apex - Touro College of Dental Medicine 2024

experience to the table.
Since IDP students have
completed dental training
in their home countries,
“they are excellent partners
particularly for D3 students
to be paired with,” says Dr.
Katz. He adds that since
many of the IDP students
(who are on average in
their late 20s and early
30s) have been working in
the U.S. assisting in dental
offices or laboratories
before entering TCDM (they
don’t need a dental license
for laboratory work), they
are able to impart a great
The students—who
come from all over—
have the passion and
determination to study
here and work hard,
which is motivating for
the rest of the class.
deal of knowledge to their
less experienced clinical
partners.
Their commitment is
contagious. Some IDP
students came to the
U.S. seeking economic
opportunities, but there are
others, says Dr. Katz, “who
had to run for their lives
and seek asylum because
they were being threatened
on a daily basis in their
country. We had one lady
who graduated last spring
who was smuggled out of
Iran.” The students—who
come from all over the
world, including Cuba,
Columbia, India, and Eastern
Europe—have the passion
and determination to study
here and work really hard,
which is very motivating for
the rest of the class. “They
A New Pathway For High School Students
are so appreciative, they are
really the cream of the crop,”
When Dr. David Katz, Vice Dean and Associate Professor
says Dr. Katz. “At a recent
of Dental Medicine at TCDM, decided he wanted to be
conference, several of the
a dentist, he knew he didn’t want to spend four years
students won clinical awards
as an undergraduate before attending dental school, so
and one earned first prize in
he made sure to finish college in three years. Back then,
there wasn’t an opportunity to condense eight years of
the Research Society poster
education into seven, but thanks to the recent launch of
competition.”
the Touro Dental Honors Pathway, there is a shorter route
Dr. Katz believes this year
for highly qualified high school graduates.
will be very interesting
“This new program is very dear to my heart,” says Dr.
for the advanced standing
Katz. “It’s one of the most innovative programs—there are
students because there
only a couple of them in the United States.” He adds that
will be several heading to
completing college in three years “is an amazing benefit. I
Albuquerque in June. “When
know for me I didn’t want to spend four years in college, I
we started the New Mexico
felt it was just one more year of tuition.”
The new Dental Honors Pathway is a collaboration
between Touro’s undergraduate divisions—New York
School of Career and Applied Studies (NYSCAS) and
the Lander Colleges—and the Touro College of Dental
Medicine (TCDM). The program offers two options: For
students who want to begin immediately after high
school, the 3+4 BS/DDS program offers the opportunity
to earn both a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree and a
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree in just seven years.
They can take their prerequisite courses at any Touro
undergraduate campus (Touro NYSCAS, Lander College
for Men, Lander College for Women, Lander College of
Arts & Sciences), enter Touro College of Dental Medicine
after three years, and earn their BS degree from their
undergraduate college after their first year of dental
school.
Students who choose to take a post-high school
gap year of study in Israel will enter Touro College of
Dental Medicine after earning a BS degree at a Touro
undergraduate campus. They will still need only three
years of prerequisite courses at the undergraduate level.
Students will be nurtured and guided by dedicated
faculty and staff from both Touro University and Touro
College of Dental Medicine. The comprehensive support
system includes academic mentoring, Dental Admissions
Test (DAT) prep assistance, and access to clinical or
research opportunities at TCDM during undergraduate
studies.
“The Touro Dental Honors Pathway is an amazing
opportunity for those gifted students who have a sense
of career direction while still in high school. We have
created an exceptionally strong, professional, cutting-
edge academic program with a warm and nurturing
environment,” says Dr. Katz. He adds that the program
will eventually be an excellent opportunity for students in
New Mexico as well. “We are trying to negotiate with the
University of New Mexico to create a similar pathway [into
TCDM],” he says. “One of the main purposes of creating a
campus in New Mexico, a state without a dental school,
was to be able to have students from New Mexico attend
and then stay and practice in New Mexico, a state with
access to care issues, and take care of their fellow citizens.
track a couple years back, we
got approval to draw from
our waiting list to accept
additional students. Since
we did not compromise on
our academic standards
and take people who were
not qualified, we were short
by about 25 students. We,
therefore, will fill the Class
of 2027 this coming June by
taking Advanced Standing
students into the 3rd year at
Albuquerque.”
Adds Dr. Kaufman,
“In New Mexico, we are
starting a new clinic with
new professors, and having
the IDP students with
incredible experiences is
going to make the transition
so much easier.”
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