New Program ‘an Amazing Opportunity’ for Residents, Hospital, and Patients Alike
For the first time, we are hosting Internal Medicine residents from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) on one of our medical-surgical floors, with residents “rounding” on the floor on a daily basis.
Medical students from URMC are also on rotations at our hospital as part of their training.
Hospitalist Dr. Alexi Bulloch, who joined Thompson two years ago after completing her own Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency with URMC, is the educational site director, supervising the program and serving as a liaison between the two hospitals. She believes the collaborative nature of the residency teams, which engage the patient at the bedside along with the attending physician, can only enhance care.
“I’m really excited about this,” Dr. Bulloch said. “Having a team of doctors actively taking care of a patient can really augment the way care is delivered in a positive way. The team structure makes it easier to spend more time with patients, and that extra attention can really help patients and families feel engaged in their care.”
The first residents arrived at our hospital in August, with the program initially limited to the 2 West unit, whose staff is accustomed to hosting students from nursing programs.
The average team consists of the attending physician, three residents, and two medical students. Patients learn of the program upon admission.
Thompson Health Executive Vice President/COO Kurt Koczent said hosting the program is the latest step in continually improving quality of care.
“Thompson’s 10 centers of distinction and our Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center keep our focus squarely on high-quality care. Being able to mentor and educate residents in this environment reinforces our dedication to quality and allows us to continue our search to be ever better,” Kurt said. “This is an amazing opportunity for all involved.”
Dr. Brett Robbins, the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency director for URMC as well as the vice chair for Education for the Department of Medicine, said Internal Medicine residents have rotated at Strong Memorial and Highland Hospitals for decades. However, URMC has expanded its regional footprint in recent years. At the same time, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education – which governs residency training on a national level – has worked to predict what doctors of the future will need as additional skill sets.
“One of these is a more regional approach to healthcare, including being on the sending and receiving ends of inter-hospital transfers,” Dr. Robbins said. “Our residents get trained very well as recipients of inter-hospital transfers. However an opportunity is for us to put them in the situation of being at a regional hospital and potentially on the ‘donor’ side of patient transfers across the hospital system.”
The residents will each rotate at our hospital for two weeks during their first and third years of residency training and may elect to spend additional time at the hospital.
“F.F. Thompson is an amazing hospital with outstanding faculty and staff, some of whom work or have worked at both Strong/Highland and Thompson,” Dr. Robbins said. “It is an amazing opportunity to expand this educational experience to directly experience a smaller, more regional hospital to prepare them for interacting and working at one of those hospitals. We are hopeful the experience accomplishes both of these goals, as well as gives them an experience at a previously unknown venue.”
Dr. Ruth O’Regan, the chair of the Department of Medicine, agreed.
“This will give them a unique experience with patients from the Finger Lakes region as well as some of the southern rural areas,” she said.
Dr. Bulloch believes there’s a possibility some participants in the program will return to work at Thompson after completing their training. “There are a lot of residents who come from smaller communities and are looking for the community feel,” she said.
Dr. Amy Blatt, the Internal Medicine Residency director, said it’s expected residents will gain “a genuine appreciation for the impressive knowledge base and unique clinical skillset needed to care for patients in a regional setting without immediate access to every sub-specialist and medical procedure.”
She added, “We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and flexibility of Dr. Bulloch, the hospital medicine physicians, nurses, and administrative staff at F.F. Thompson in developing new workflows and providing the necessary support to ensure a rigorous and collaborative learning environment for our residents and students.”