Graduate Medical Education
Filling the gap and securing the future.By 2020, the American Association of Medical Colleges estimates the U.S. will face a shortage of 85,000 to 200,000 physicians. The situation is even more dire for Texas. Already, Texas ranks third from the bottom in the number of primary care physicians per 100,000 people. Baylor is primed to educate our future physicians and determined to help fill this gap. Yet even though we attract talented graduates due to the volume and depth of our patient population and the excellence of our physician faculty, we will encounter increasing competition for top candidates. To help secure our community’s future, we need the resources to secure our own.
Areas of Need
RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP POSITIONS
Our medical leadership is only as strong as our ability to train the brightest minds in the field. Because of our patient volume and the vast experience of the physicians on our medical staff, we are in a unique position to offer outstanding, real-world training through residencies and fellowships.
After graduation from medical school, new physicians seek residency positions at leading teaching hospitals. Fellowships, which begin after residency, allow physicians to specialize even further. Each of these residents and fellows, whether they remain at Baylor or seek positions elsewhere, will affect the lives of 50,000 to 100,000 people over the course of their careers. In light of the coming physician shortage, this can amount to a significant, long-term impact on the health of our community.
SIMULATION LABS
Simulation-training labs use electronic mannequin simulators to create realistic patient care scenarios that allow physicians and nurses to practice assessments and interventions. The mannequins realistically respond to participants’ actions, providing immediate feedback for interventions performed or missed. Static mannequins simply cannot provide such dynamic learning. Instructors can tailor the patient scenario to fit the skill level of the practitioners and give each group unique challenges to determine strengths and weaknesses.
Studies have shown that training with simulators leads to safer practitioners who respond more confidently, appropriately and effectively to many patient scenarios.
FACULTY SUPPORT
It takes an outstanding faculty to sustain a successful teaching hospital. Baylor is blessed with an exceptional group of faculty physicians committed to teaching future clinicians. These physicians teach because they believe it is their duty and calling. Yet most of them maintain clinical practices and take time away from their practices to teach. With physicians’ practices demanding more of their time, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to fill this critical need.
CONTINUITY CARE CLINIC
The overwhelming bulk of a resident’s education comes from working with patients in an attending physician’s private practice. In our unique residency program, the private practice setting is offered to underserved and uninsured patients through our Outpatient Continuity Clinic. Teams headed by senior residents and supervised by attending physicians function as small group practices in which residents are responsible for all aspects of a patient’s care from first visit to discharge. In addition to providing excellent hands-on residency training, the Clinic allows the underserved to experience the continuum of care patients expect from a private practice physician.
Your contribution can help Baylor Health Care System Foundation expand facilities, find new treatments, train more doctors and support more patients with hematologic cancers. Please give online or call 214-820-3136 to discuss your gift today.
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