July 2023
From the Office of Health Professional Education
Our office is committed to providing a rich training experience in which Graduate Medical Education (GME) residents and fellows, Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) fellows, and students can contribute to the care of patients and the community. This includes addressing workforce challenges and fostering a strong learning environment.
In health professional education, a new academic cycle begins each year with HealthPartners Institute sponsored and employed resident and fellow orientation and ends the following May with a new class of graduates. We’re celebrating this major milestone by highlighting some of our GME and APC program graduates from the class of 2023.
Many of our residency and fellowship program graduates continue to practice with HealthPartners, while others choose to practice within the state of Minnesota or beyond. This year our GME programs graduated 41 residents and fellows across eight programs. In 2022, 25 percent of our GME graduates chose to continue practice at HealthPartners and 50 percent chose to practice in the state of Minnesota. 90 percent of our Advanced Practice Fellows continued with HealthPartners in 2022.
While it is too soon to confirm these numbers for 2023 as many graduates are continuing their transition, we are excited to share the stories of some of our colleagues who have already made their decision about a possible future with HealthPartners.
Graduate Medical Education (GME)
GME is required physician education after medical school in an accredited residency or fellowship program for specialty or subspeciality training. HealthPartners Institute supports GME residency and fellowship programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Council of Podiatric Medical Education (CPME), and Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). These programs include Dermatology Residency, Emergency Medicine Residency, Emergency Medical Services Fellowship, Family Medicine–Rural Training Track Residency, Hand Surgery Fellowship, Medical Toxicology Fellowship, Occupational Medicine Residency, and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship.
Our Office of Health Professional Education supports and oversees the education of residents and fellows across 8 hospitals and 50+ clinics in the HealthPartners system. This includes over 700 resident and fellow physicians representing HealthPartners, Hennepin Healthcare, and the University of Minnesota who train at HealthPartners.
Maggie Abraham, MD, Family Medicine - Creekside-Methodist ResidencyWhat’s next: I’ve joined the outpatient practice at Park Nicollet Shakopee Clinic.
A rewarding experience I take away from residency: Getting through intern year during the pandemic together with my class and supporting one another.
What I wish I had known before starting training at HealthPartners: There are always good days and bad days in medicine, but no matter what we are helping people and making a difference!
My advice for aspiring residents: Continually assess what your passions and goals are, and never be afraid to change your mind about your plans for the future.
Goals for my medical career: I am interested in pursuing opportunities in leadership in the future.
A challenge I overcame during training: One of the biggest challenges I faced during my residency was the isolation secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. An expectation I had of residency was the ability to spend time with my co-residents and build the camaraderie that is so often vital to maintaining morale and resiliency during training. Despite this, I think our class did a spectacular job of encouraging and supporting each other. I could not have done these past three years with as much fulfillment as I had without my classmates.
Something I learned that made an impact: It is not what you say but often how you say it that makes all the difference. Also, sometimes the best gift you can give to someone is just being present.
I am proud of: My persistence in pursuing my goals and not giving up when times were tough.
What’s next: I’ve joined the Wayzata Park Nicollet Family Medicine Clinic.
A rewarding experience I take away from residency: While on call at Methodist, I got called to the front entrance of the hospital for a RET. It was a woman in active labor, and we quickly got her out of her car into a wheelchair and started running to the elevator to get up to the labor and delivery floor. We didn’t quite make it and so I ended up delivering her baby while in the elevator. The baby came out vigorous and we quickly got mom and baby to labor and delivery staff where they both did well.
What I wish I had known before starting training at HealthPartners: I wish I would have known more about burnout and the risks associated with that. Everyone in healthcare is at risk for burnout and should know the risks/signs and resources for help.
My advice for aspiring residents: Park Nicollet was a great place to obtain my family medicine training. I would do my training here again and would recommend it to others, in fact, my husband will be starting his family medicine training here in July!
Goals for my medical career: I hope to continue my training and knowledge in preventative and lifestyle medicine. I believe there is a great need to try to combat the increasing rates of chronic illnesses and we have a duty to educate our patients on the many factors including diet, exercise, sleep, mental health, and healthy relationships that all contribute but we don’t talk enough about.
A challenge I overcame during training: Taking care of patients through the Covid-19 pandemic was a major challenge. At the beginning of the pandemic, we did not know the best ways to take care of patients and r ecommendations were constantly changing. Patients were scared and isolated and I worked through this time by always having a listening ear and being open and honest. I also made sure to take the time for myself to do activities that help me be my best self, including exercise, cooking healthy foods, and spending quality time with my family.
Something I learned that surprised me: How much grey zone exists in medicine. I think I expected to follow more algorithms or have more definitive answers for patients, and this is just not always the case.
I am proud of: Having a child during residency which was challenging to work throughout pregnancy. Afterwards, I advocated for myself to have time to pump and to be able to continue providing breast milk to my child. I continued to pump/breastfeed for the first year of my child’s life which I am very proud of.
What’s next: I have joined the Regions EMS Fellowship program.
A rewarding experience I take away from residency: Saving a 2-year-old girl from choking in the emergency room.
What I wish I had known before starting training at HealthPartners: Residency feels long while you are going through it, but it goes by in a blink looking back.
Advice for aspiring residents: HealthPartners cares about their residents and provides excellent training.
Goals for my medical career: Medical director for a local EMS agency with a diverse Emergency Medicine practice.
A challenge I overcame during training: Working long hours; boarding in the ER; and constant exposure to inadequacies of the healthcare system can lead to burnout. Find the people and activities in life that matter most and lean on them for support.
Something I learned that surprised me: There is a wide variety of the “standard of care,” and it’s okay to develop your own practice pattern.
I am proud of: I became a dad for the first time (and soon to be second time) during residency, and balancing parenthood and residency, while not easy, is exceptionally rewarding.
Advanced Practice Clinician (APC)
Our Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) Fellowship Program is designed to ensure high-quality care to patients and to provide support and development of new clinicians. APC fellows graduate ready to improve health and health care while containing costs; understand the healthcare system; be familiar and ready to practice teaming behaviors; and have strong clinical competency in their chosen specialized area of care delivery. APC Fellows are based throughout HealthPartners in multiple practice settings.
Kelly Gaither, PA-C, APC Primary Care Fellow
What’s next: I’ve joined the Family Medicine Practice at HealthPartners Clinic Apple Valley.
A rewarding experience I take away from fellowship: Medical Improv turned out to be much more fun and enlightening than I ever expected. Improv and putting myself in the spotlight are NOT things I usually look forward to, but we were in a safe space with other residents/fellows, and it turned out to be a really fun experience. Learning how to think on the spot better and get creative through guided skits was a really refreshing experience to enhance my overall communication skills.
What I wish I had known before starting training at HealthPartners: Fellowships offer more than just clinical knowledge. You also learn resilience, communication skills, shadow coaching, and can gain a deeper understanding of the healthcare system during this time, all things that can easily be overlooked when you are only focusing on clinical work.
My advice for aspiring fellows: The Advanced Practice Clinician Fellowship program is a great opportunity to build your practice. I feel so much more confident and competent as I near the end of this year. Having dedicated time to deep dive into other specialties and having additional integrated learning experiences has made a world of difference in the type of care I can provide to my patients.
Goals for my medical career: Other than being a respected family medicine PA and continuing to build my patient panel, I hope to act as a preceptor to PA students in the future. I would also like to explore some additional teaching opportunities as I become more comfortable in my career.
A challenge I overcame during training: I missed a fair amount of time during the fellowship due to some personal circumstances. The fellowship was incredibly supportive and showed me lots of flexibility. I was encouraged to make up the lost time by seeking out additional shadowing experiences. The fellowship is more than just slowly building your own clinical practice, it’s also about gaining the opportunities to get first-hand experience in other specialties to support your practice. I learned to really embrace this experience and to be self-assertive with what I need, in practice and outside of my practice, to be successful. my co-residents and build the camaraderie that is so often vital to maintaining morale and resiliency during training. Despite this, I think our class did a spectacular job of encouraging and supporting each other. I could not have done these past three years with as much fulfillment as I had without my classmates.
I am proud of: Taking on this fellowship opportunity in the first place. It is not a common route for most PAs or NPs. But it has helped me gain confidence, resiliency, and a greater depth of knowledge than I would have ever thought I would have at this point in my career.
Upcoming Events
MMCGME ANNUAL CONFERENCE FOR COORDINATORS & DIRECTORS
Friday, September 15 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: The Hennepin 900 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Register here to attend
MMCGME + CFAM STORY SLAM
Wednesday, October 11 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Location: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Joint Commission Educational Series: An Interactive Journey Through a Patient’s Hospital Stay
Tuesday, August 15 from 12 pm – 1 pm
Click here to join on Teams
2023 ACGME ADS Update
The ADS update timeframe is upon us! As in previous years, the DIO must review and approve all ADS entries prior to the ACGME submission deadline. Therefore, new program deadlines have been set which are sooner than the ACGME deadline. The OHPE team will provide more detail via email soon.
Update Window July 5 – August 25 – NEW DEADLINE: August 14, 2023
Update Window July 17 – September 22 – NEW DEADLINE: September 15, 2023
Program Spotlight at GMEC
A new, recurring topic will appear on the GMEC agenda: Program Spotlight. Each month, a different GME program director will have the opportunity to give a brief (up to 10 minute) update on their program – sharing best practices, new innovations, or other program news. This is an optional opportunity for program leaders to share news about their program. Only one program per month. To sign up, click here.
