URMC residents, medical students join Thompson physicians on rounds

CANANDAIGUA — For the first time, UR Medicine Thompson Health will host Internal Medicine residents from the University of Rochester Medical Center on its general medical floors, with residents rotating through Thompson on a daily basis, year round.

Because the two groups work in tandem, medical students from URMC will be on rotations at Thompson as well, as part of their training.

Hospitalist Dr. Alexi Bulloch, who started at Thompson two years ago after completing her own Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at 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 bedside along with the attending physician, can only enhance care.

“I’m really excited about this,” she 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 are due to arrive at Thompson on Aug. 8. The program will initially be limited to a 22-bed unit called 2 West, where the staff is accustomed to hosting students from nursing programs but will still experience a change in workflow. “We’re keeping it small at first,” Bulloch said.

The average team will consist of the attending physician, three residents and two medical students. Patients will learn of the program upon admission and Thompson will explain to each of them and their families how it works, Bulloch said.

Kurt Koczent, Thompson’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said hosting the program is the latest step for the hospital in continually working to improve the quality of care provided.

“Our 10 centers of distinction and our nursing Magnet designation 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,” he said. “This is an amazing opportunity for all involved.”

Dr. Brett Robbins, the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency directo/r for URMC as well as the vice chair for education for the Department of Medicine, said Internal Medicine residents have rotated for decades at Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital. However, he noted, 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 skillsets.

“One of these is a more regional approach to health care, including being on the sending and receiving ends of inter-hospital transfers. Our residents get trained very well as recipients of inter-hospital transfers. However an opportunity for us is to put them in the situation of being at a regional hospital, and potentially on the ‘donor’ side of patient transfers across our hospital system,” Robbins said.

The residents will each rotate at Thompson for two weeks during their first and third years of residency training and may elect to spend additional time at Thompson.

“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,” Robbins said. “It is an amazing opportunity to expand the educational experience to directly experience a smaller, more regional hospital to A) Prepare them for interacting with those hospitals in the future and B) Prepare them to work at one of those hospitals in the future. We are hopeful this experience accomplishes both of those goals, as well as gives them a real-life 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.

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.”