Family Medicine Residents

Each year, there is a retreat during a fall weekend that encourages personal growth and residency improvement. Residents and faculty are required to attend; families are invited as well.

Inpatient Medicine (Service)

As an intern, my service day starts at 7:15 a.m. This gives me enough time to print off our inpatient list and get a cup of coffee. I am in love with our coffee kiosk. Morning report starts at 7:30 a.m. and consists of sign out on how our patients did overnight and reports on any new patients that came in overnight. Our pharmacist and social worker are available at this time for any questions that come up, and there is usually something new to learn every day.

After report and splitting the list between the interns and second year, it is time for a short didactic session which lasts about 15 minutes then off to see my patients. This varies depending on how busy we are. We can see anywhere from two to eight patients. Afterwards, I meet up with the rest of the team for group rounds with our attending. Group table rounds start about 10:30. We will also do some in-person rounding on some of our clinic patients. We are usually done with rounding by noon.

Next, I either get started on discharges and patient follow-up or grab lunch. If possible, I try to meet up with other residents in the hospital at this time. After lunch, it is time to check on patient care, messages from the office, or maybe work on a new admission. Around 1:30, half of the team will go off to clinic for an abbreviated clinic session from 2 to 5 p.m. while the other half of the team will stick around in the hospital to monitor patients and take admissions.

At 6:30 p.m. it is time for evening sign out, and our nocturnal counterparts come in. By 7 p.m., the day team heads home.

Obstetrics

It’s baby time! After grabbing breakfast from the cafeteria, OB service starts off with sign out at 7:15 a.m. Next, after checking to see if there are any active labor patients or scheduled c-sections, I do rounding on postpartum couplets. It’s my favorite time of the day when I get to hold the new babies. If any of those babies are male and need circumcisions, it’s time to head to the circ room. This is followed by a discussion about an OB topic with the attending and fellow team members.

Anytime throughout the day I may need to check on and write a note for a labor patient. If not, I usually grab some lunch with the service team at this time. After lunch, one of the OB’s may need help with a labor patient or c-section. I often spend my afternoons reassuring first-time moms over the phone or checking patients in triage to see if they are in labor.

At 6:30 p.m. it's time for sign out and to head home for dinner.

What is the call schedule like for interns and residents?

Residents do not have any overnight call outside of scheduled night float! However, residents cover the OB floor on Saturdays when the normal resident on OB has a day off. This shift is from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM. In the first half of the year, the Saturday shifts are covered by PGY2 and PGY3 residents. In the second half of the year, interns also will cover Saturday shifts on OB during the day. 

In the first half of the year, inpatient is covered by PGY3 residents at night, and the OB floor is covered by PGY2 residents. In the second half of the year, inpatient is covered by PGY2 residents, and the OB floor is covered by PGY1 residents.

What are my responsibilities while on Saturday shifts?

On Saturdays, the assigned resident will cover the OB floor. This includes rounding on patients, caring for laboring patients, and covering OB triage. Before covering any Saturday, interns will have several blocks on the OB floor to learn how to manage these responsibilities.

Who will help me out when I’m on Saturdays or at night?

For OB, our family medicine faculty cover the service 24 hours a day and will round with you on Saturdays. While they do take call from home at night, they are always available to answer any questions and will be at the hospital for deliveries or when otherwise indicated. Additionally, we work closely with out OB colleagues on the maternity floor. They have someone available at the hospital 24 hours a day and are willing to help as well. 

On the inpatient side, a nocturnal hospitalist will staff all patients and be available to help with any other urgent needs. 

Each resident is given 17 days of vacation plus either the full week of Christmas or the full week of New Years off for a total of 21 days per year. You can schedule these days off a week at a time or by individual days as long as you are not on an inpatient rotation (night float, inpatient medicine, OB, inpatient pediatrics).

On top of the 21 days of PTO, you also have 5 days of CME at your disposal. You can schedule any family medicine related CME in the continental U.S. anytime throughout the academic year, again with the stipulation of not being on one of the inpatient rotations listed above.

You also will have $2500 that is allotted for CME, which can be used for conference fees, plane tickets, hotel fees, food while on the trip, education materials, study resources, etc.

Our residency program and Community Health Network provide many perks. All food while working in the hospital is free of charge. This includes the cafeteria, Bistro and coffee cart. There is also a physician’s lounge which is always stocked with snacks if these locations are closed or busy.

The residents also have private call rooms for both the resident covering OB as well as the residents covering the inpatient service. These rooms include a bathroom with shower, a computer, bed, TV, refrigerator, microwave and more. These call rooms are also frequently stocked with drinks and snacks.

The residents also have access to workout spaces. These include the BodyZone Fitness Center in the basement of East and other BodyZone locations. The Network also provides tickets to various sporting events from time to time. These have included Pacers, Colts and Indy Eleven tickets.

Does your program offer opportunities for residents to get involved in the community?

Our hospital and program are actively involved in many community outreach programs. Our residents staff the Gennesaret Free Clinic twice a month. At this clinic, we provide routine care with the assistance of our pharmacy counterparts. Our program is also involved in global health efforts. A group of residents and faculty plan a global health trip every year. Locations visited in previous years include Togo, South Africa and Honduras.

In addition, we have regular access to other community outreach programs, including local health fairs, Special Olympics athlete health screenings, Physician of the Day at the Statehouse, etc. Through our behavioral health rotations, we often visit Warren Central High School and provide lectures to the students about STDs, contraception, etc.

We also have close collaborations with Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine and IU School of Medicine. We frequently provide lectures and workshops to the medical students. In your second and third years, you also have the option to moonlight.

What types of practices do your residents go into after graduation?

This varies widely from year to year as each class is unique. Over the last several years, we have had a lot of interest in fellowship opportunities. Fellowship opportunities pursued by recent graduates include: sports medicine, palliative care, geriatric medicine, maternal health and hospital medicine. Those who do not go the fellowship route typically decide between outpatient vs. inpatient medicine. We have graduates in solo practices and in large multi-specialty groups. Most remain in Indiana or the Midwest, but many are in practices across the country from coast to coast, and a few have chosen to practice in underdeveloped regions outside the U.S.