How Will I be Supported?
Chief Residents
Jennifer Frese and Erin Lineman, 4th Year Chief Residents
Balint
Resident balint group meetings every other week and is facilitated by family physician and psychosocial faculty. The group explores the process of becoming a family physician, its joys and trials. First-year residents have a separate group, as the issues of physician identity and adaptation to various services for PGY-1s differs from those of PGY-2s and PGY-3s. Second- and third-year residents meet together.
Resident Pairing
During intern orientation, residents meet their colleagues for the next several years. After this process, based on resident preferences, pairs are created among the residents—there are typically five pairs that are each assigned to an office suite at Highland Family Medicine and a sixth pair that practices at Brown Square. This partnership proves helpful and supportive in the outpatient setting and helps to prepare residents for future collaboration with post residency practices.
This system of resident pairing offers the following advantages:
- Great support. Each resident has an accessible support person, on a longitudinal basis, undergoing a similar experience.
- Continuity of patient care. The same partnership often collaborates together to provide excellent care and share call for their OB continuity patients.
- It offers schedule flexibility. Partnerships often cover for each other during vacations and CME days or trade call to accommodate personal needs.
- Practice management. Residents learn and experiment with systems of partnership practice.
Outside of work, partnerships often develop great friendships, cooking meals together, celebrating important events that occur during residency, shopping at the public market, or hiking in the surrounding parks. Overall, the resident pairing system greatly enhances a resident’s experience and training over three years.
“Team approach was great…[particularly] the partnership model that was fostered at the Family Health Center.” –Alumni Survey 2010
Career Planning
Third-year residents have time for career planning discussions. The practice management family physician faculty member, Dr. David Holub, facilitates these discussions, which often involve support and reflection on career goals and career paths.
Retreats
The residency sponsors two retreats annually in the Fall and Spring. The Spring retreat is a daylong retreat that allows faculty and residents to take a constructive look at the residency. They discuss areas that may need changes or updating and develop work plans. The Fall retreat is a half-day retreat for residents only and provides a forum for input to the chief residents on specific rotations and the program in general. New initiatives often arise from these sessions.
Faculty Advisor
Faculty advisors are assigned to every resident; they track each resident’s progress, assist in developing goals throughout residency training and planning for the future. There is protected meeting time once each block to accommodate busy schedules.
Orientation
Orientation for incoming residents is scheduled for the entire week prior to starting the first rotation. This week gives the class time to become acquainted, choose partners and become familiar with the outpatient practices as well as the inpatient rotations. Several activities during orientation include faculty and the PGY-2 and 3 classes to give everyone an opportunity to welcome the new class.
Faculty-Resident Interaction Committee (FRIC)
The monthly Faculty-Resident Interaction Committee (FRIC) meeting and annual retreats allow the opportunity for residents to provide substantial input on decision-making within the residency. The process of residents being heard and valued models, for residents’ professional development, the importance of listening to the input of others and of working in groups to solve problems.
