Several new residency programs popped up at hospitals and health systems across the country this year, such as Allegiance Health in Jackson, Mich., and Kennewick (Wash.) General Hospital. Additionally, many other hospitals have announced plans to welcome residents in the near future.
So what's driving this burst of new residency programs? For Kennewick General in particular, there was one main reason the hospital opened internal and family medicine programs in July, according to Heather Phipps, DO, MBA, director of medical education at Kennewick General.
"We're looking at a physician shortage in the next [few] years," Dr. Phipps says. "We're trying to create succession so we can increase the number of physicians to help fend off the shortage."
While the physician shortage is a nationwide problem, starting a residency program can bring a local solution and help the hospital's community resist the deficit, as many residents end up practicing near where they trained. "One of our goals, of course, is to have the residents that we train stay in our area, so we fend off [the shortage] in our area," Dr. Phipps says.
Indeed, many of the other hospitals that opened their doors to resident physicians this year cited the national and local physician shortage as a major driver of their new residency programs.
Challenges and tips
Though Kennewick General's first class of three residents started classes in July, the hospital's idea for the program dates back about four years. Dr. Phipps notes two main challenges the hospital encountered when getting the program off of the ground.
Start-up costs. No matter its market, a hospital faces some significant investments when launching a residency program. "[Start-up costs] are a barrier to starting a [residency] program nationally," says Dr. Phipps. Depending on the organization, start-up costs can include personnel costs, such as those for program directors and residency coordinators, and facility-related costs, like building call rooms or a library.
Kennewick General was able to cover all required start-up costs. However, for hospitals with narrow margins or little access to capital, grants or funds are available to help cover the costs of starting a program. For instance, the University System of Georgia gave money to St. Mary's Health System in Athens, Ga., and Gwinnett Medical System in Lawrenceville, Ga., to help the health systems with hiring faculty and necessary renovations so they can create residency programs.
Applying for accreditation. Kennewick General's residency programs are accredited by the American Osteopathic Association. According to Dr. Phipps, the application process took about a year to complete and can be challenging. "[Accreditors] require a bunch of information," she says. "They want to make sure you have the ability to successfully take a new medical school graduate and produce an independent physician."
In addition to the two challenges of creating a residency program, Dr. Phipps offers the following piece of advice for hospitals based on Kennewick General's experience.
Garner medical staff buy-in. The hospital's medical staff needs to be engaged and supportive of any residency program initiative. "They are the backbone and the key to create and train your residents," Dr. Phipps stresses. "Without them, we could not be doing what we're doing." At Kennewick General, the medical staff was encouraging about the program from the beginning. "We were very lucky, our staff was extremely excited to have a residency program," she says.
In the future, with continued medical staff support, Kennewick General hopes to increase the number of residents each year, and may also expand its teaching programs into other specialties that are in shortage, according to Dr. Phipps.