New Medical Education Initiative Coming to Highland

A hospital-wide Improving Consultation initiative will soon be launched to prepare physician trainees to build best practice skills in consultation communication and facilitate optimal interdepartmental collaboration around acute patient care.

The project is being spearheaded by Joseph Nicholas, M.D., Associate Chief of Medicine and Director of Medical Education, Highland Hospital; who also serves as Associate Director, Internal Medicine and Med Peds Residency Programs; Tim Lum, M.D., Chief of Emergency Medicine, and President of Highland’s Medical Staff, and Sveta Karelsky, M.D., Chief of Otolaryngology in collaboration with Highland Hospital Departmental Chiefs.

“Physicians love collaborating on patient care at Highland because we typically have good and collegial relationships with each other,” said Dr. Nicholas. “It’s important for us to be able to help physician trainees learn the importance of optimal professional interaction and relationships so they can have the same experiences at Highland.”

Dr. Nicholas and Dr. Lum will meet with faculty and educational leaders in each department to discuss best practices and effective professional interaction. “We can redesign how we supervise residents who are asking for or providing consultation,” said Dr. Nicholas. “We will focus on clarifying consultation goals between teams, building collegiality, and forming interdepartmental friendships. We want to make sure we are addressing the most important issues for our patients. This is an exciting opportunity to provide more mentorship in the process. Our focus is on helping our faculty provide that kind of guidance more routinely. The initiative will launch before the new academic year at the end of June.

2/17/2023

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