How Will I be Supported?
Chief Residents
Michelle Shellard, MD and Tianrae Chu, MD
4th Year Chief Residents
Chief residents provide an invaluable link between residents and the residency administration. There are two chief residents who, in addition to frequently teaching residents and managing myriad schedules, act as a support and sounding board for the residents. Chief residents are junior faculty who have completed their training here, understand the intricacies of our program, and have chosen to spend an additional year to serve the needs of both residents and the program. With only 2 clinic sessions each week, each chief resident devotes 80% of their time to being available as needed to support residents, help manage the day-to-day operations of the residency program, and assist with the development of new programs and curricula to enhance the learning experience. Chief residents work with the associate program director to oversee the Thursday didactic teaching experience.
Balint and Intern Support Group
PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents meet together every 4 weeks for Balint Group, a facilitated model of discussing the process of becoming a family physician and exploring some of the most complex patient care challenges we each face.
PGY-1 residents meet every 2 weeks, alternating their own Balint Group (distinct from the group for PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents) and an additional Intern Support Group. First-year residents have unique issues of physician identity and adapting to the various services and demands on their lives, and benefit from the additional protected time to discuss these issues in a safe and solution-oriented space.
Career Planning
In addition to the group sessions during the PGY-3 Practice Management seminar, each third-year resident gets individual, personalized time to meet with a faculty member. Residents reflect on their career goals and future career paths, finalize their job search preparations, and have individual contract review prior to deciding on their next steps after completion of residency training.
Retreats
The residency sponsors two retreats annually in the Fall and Spring. The Spring retreat is a day-long retreat that allows faculty and residents to take a constructive look at the residency. We discuss areas that may need changes or update and develop work plans. There are components of both professional development and personal wellness. The Fall retreat is a half-day retreat for residents only. The primary focus is on Resident Wellness. Residents also have a forum for giving input to the chief residents on specific rotations and the program in general. New initiatives often arise from these sessions.
Faculty Advisor
Faculty advisors are assigned to every resident on entering the program. They track each resident's progress, assist in developing goals throughout residency training, and help plan for the future. In the past, residents and faculty would struggle to find time to meet regularly. To overcome that barrier, the residency decided over 10 years ago to provide protected meeting time for advisors and advisees once every 4 weeks within the Thursday afternoon teaching schedule.
Faculty-Resident Interaction Committee (FRIC)
The monthly Faculty-Resident Interaction Committee meeting allows the opportunity for residents to provide substantial input on decision-making within the residency. The process of residents being heard and valued models, for residents' professional development, the importance of listening to the input of others and of working in groups to solve problems. The meeting is organized and led by the chief residents, but attended by all members of the Residency Administration leadership team and is open to any faculty member who wishes to attend.
Orientation
New in 2024, we have expanded our new intern orientation from 1 week to 3 weeks to truly help new residents acclimate to our community and system. Upper-level residents cover the essential hospital services to provide our new interns with more class time to bond with each other and become familiar with the outpatient practices and the inpatient rotations. Some activities during orientation include faculty and the PGY-2 and 3 classes to give everyone an opportunity to welcome the new class.
Residency Wellness Committee
Our department and residency program have recently created a multi-disciplinary committee to help address the wellness needs of residents, faculty, and all of our co-workers. More information about this can be found at our Wellness page.