Our Educational Philosophy and Curriculum
As adult learners in the 21 st century, our residents have a myriad of educational opportunities to become skilled in the full scope of Family Medicine and be prepared for all types of clinical practice. Along with our academic partnership with New York Medical College, we have the combination of a diverse patient population along with an unopposed program at Hoboken University Medical Center. This allows for a complete educational experience for our residents. The best of both worlds.
Our curriculum meets all ACGME residency review requirements for Family Medicine. It is designed to provide residents with a comprehensive background in the broad aspects of our specialty. This includes both a strong inpatient and ambulatory care experience in a variety of settings. We choose optimum places for you to learn – whether that’s a private practice or an inpatient pediatric service. Finding the right place for each rotation is essential. Hoboken University Medical Center is our home and we take pride in caring for our community. We believe in the family physician’s role to care for patients throughout their life cycle and in various environments. We make sure to train you to meet this requirement.
Fostering strong doctor-patient relationships is a core skill in our Family Medicine Residency Program. Along with following their continuity patients throughout their ambulatory rotations, prenatal and maternity care, our residents can make home visits to care for home-bound patients and those discharged from the hospital setting as needed. They also learn nursing home care.
INNOVATION
Constantly looking at ways to create great educational experiences we have initiated the following:
Clinic First Continuity: we were one of the first programs in the country to receive a grant and participate in th e clinic first initiative. We designed our curriculum in a 2×2 format. When you are in a busy inpatient rotation your team buddy is in the outpatient, so that there is improved continuity of care and a better, more focused, and less stressful learning experience.
NEJM/UpToDate/Clinical Key: All residents have access to the myriad resources, articles, videos, cases, board review and rotational curriculum provided by NEJM., UpToDate and Clinical Key as well as access to the NYMC library services.
Integrative Medicine in Residency: Residents have the opportunity to participate and receive a certificate in integrative medicine through the Andrew Weill Center for Integrative Medicine. This is one of our tracks available to residents.
Lifestyle Medicine: All residents receive education in lifestyle medicine as participants in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum. Residents interested in becoming board certified in lifestyle medicine can do the LSM track.
HIV: Our program has been providing care to HIV+ patients since the early 1990s with several faculty certified in HIV care. The HIV track is available to residents who want to pursue this additional experience.
Women’s Health: Residents interested in increasing their gynecological skills for clinical practice can choose this track which is supervised by our Ob/Gyn Dr. Potter Mcquilkin and reproductive health faculty Dr. Bright. Hospitalist: This track was established for residents interested in a career as a hospitalist. We have had graduates choosing to be hospitalists as early as the late 1990s.
KEY EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS
There are many modalities by which learning is fostered. Evidence-based medicine is at the core and residents have a variety of resources available for patient care and learning. All residents have access to the New England Journal of Medicine including their board review and rotation prep.
Conferences
Thursday Morning Conferences are designed to offer an array of topics presented in the form of case-based conferences usually focused on inpatient topics. Chief residents coordinate the cases and frequently the resident rotating in the Private Physician-Critical Care service will present a case with the ICU attending.
During case studies, family medicine residents develop presentation skills, which illustrate the diagnosis and management of common and unusual disease processes. Discussions of differential diagnoses, appropriate testing, and referral management provide an integrated approach to patient care.
Grand Rounds are held virtually on Wednesdays and include prominent guest speakers discussing a broad spectrum of topics. Foto Fridays are a quick learning experience in our Family Medicine Practice using visual learning. Reviewed EKGS and Rashes are frequent topics.
Workshops
Workshops are presented on specific skills vital to the practice of family medicine. Topics include motivational interviewing, suturing techniques, casting and splinting, joint injections, ACLS review, and the musculoskeletal exam. We do learning OSCEs and role playing to teach and evaluate clinical and supervisory skills.
Residents have a lot of fun with these hands-on sessions. The sessions provide the opportunity to practice techniques in a safe, supportive environment while fostering cooperation and teamwork.
Journal Club
We have two types of journal article reviews. Residents review and complete the CME for the American Family Physician – a resident chooses and presents topics in conjunction with Dr. Holsapple often using a Jeopardy format. A focus is on topics related to clinical practice and board preparation. We also review journal articles focusing on research methodology and evidence-based medicine to improve our clinical practice.
Didactic afternoon sessions
Every Tuesday afternoons are our didactic conferences where we can learn together. A mixture of topics presented by core faculty, outside speakers and residents are presented. We include wellness activities, workshops and group learning during this time. Dr. Sattaur and the Chief residents ensure that the residents learning needs are being met in an organized and comprehensive manner.
Research and Scholarly Activities
Residents are expected to pursue scholarly activities. Many residents choose to do a quality improvement project as the focus of their work as this is directly applicable to clinical practice. We are fortunate to have the support of the NYMC librarian staff. Additionally, our faculty mentor residents working closely with the residents throughout the process of hypothesis formulation to presentation. Residents present their work at various venues such as New York Medical College (NYMC) Research Day, the New Jersey Academy of Family Physician (NJAFP) Scientific Assembly and the Family Medicine Education Consortium.
ROTATION SCHEDULE
First Year
2 months In-patient Medicine – Hospitalist
2 months OB/Neo (Mother/baby)
1 month Out-Patient Family Medicine/Health Services Management
1 month Surgery Clinics (East Orange VA Medical Center)
1 month In-patient Pediatrics (St. Joseph’s University Medical Center)
1 month Outpatient Pediatrics
2 weeks In-Patient Medicine – Night Float
2 weeks Gynecology
2 weeks Emergency Medicine
2 weeks MSK
2 weeks Behavioral Health
2 weeks Cardio
1 month Vacation
Second Year
2 months Elective
1 month Gynecology
1 month Pediatric ER (St. Joseph’s University Medical Center)
1 month In-patient Medicine – Hospitalist
6 weeks In-patient Medicine – Private Physician/Critical Care
1 month In-patient Medicine – Night Float
1 month Out-patient Family Medicine
2 weeks Emergency Medicine
1 month Subspecialties (East Orange VA Medical Center)
2 weeks Outpatient Pediatrics
2 weeks Behavioral Health/Psychiatry
1 month Vacation
Third Year
4 months Electives
3 months Family Medicine (Inpatient/Outpatient Charge)
1 month Geriatrics (Lyons VA Medical Center)
1 month Dermatology
2 weeks Outpatient Pediatrics
2 weeks Emergency Medicine
2 weeks Night Float
2 weeks MSK
1 month Vacation
