- Joined
- Oct 21, 2005
- Messages
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This letter was written by the Graduates of the 2004 class to the head of Graduate Medical education at Duke. It was also forwarded to the Chancellor of Duke's Medical center and the ACGME.
6/24/04
"Dear Dr. Weinerth,
We, the Family Medicine Residents, are writing to express our deep concern over the current state of affairs in the Duke Family Medicine Residency program. As our GME representative, we feel it is imperative that you are aware of our concerns. This is a difficult letter to write. We wish to express our concerns without name calling or disparaging the characters of those involved. Events that have led to this communication have occurred over several years, but over the past year a tremendous lack of appropriate and truthful communication from program leadership has resulted in an escalation of events. Morale among the residents is at an all-time low.
We recognize the fact that the position of Residency Program Director is difficult. We also realize that programs need to be flexible in response to changes in the healthcare system. In our program, the number of residents has been reduced to six from eight. We are moving our inpatient service from Durham Regional to Duke. Second and third year residents will now be required to do an additional four week Emergency Department rotation despite the fact that our current curriculum already meets RRC requirements for 200 hours of ED rotation. We feel that there has been insufficient resident notification and resident input into changes made to our curriculum--changes that may affect career plans of some residents. These changes have altered the very nature of the program. The program is now different from when resident contracts were signed. Efforts to discuss our concerns have been met with great resistance and statements to the effect "that is the way it is." No discussion, no communication.
Communication between the Family Medicine program leadership and the residents has long been a problem. Our two chief residents routinely meet with the program director in an effort to improve communication, but they are as surprised as the rest of the residents when announcements regarding changes to the program are made.
Accusations of unprofessional behavior have been made regarding numerous residents of late. They have been reprimanded, and in some cases their time in residency prolonged. The balance of power in our department is such that residents feel they have no recourse when treated poorly. Residents who are vocal about issues are singled out for punishment. Leadership reactions to harmless behavior by these singled-out residents are swift and vindictive. There is an atmosphere of fear and resentment on behalf of the residents. Residents who have been singled out over the past three years and who actually left the program have flourished elsewhere.
Morale among the faculty also seems quite low. Three members of our faculty and our faculty fellow are leaving the Family Medicine program. Our faculty is spread very thin. Teaching in our department, as a rule, does not even begin to compare with that found elsewhere at Duke. We are concerned about the future of the program and our preparedness for clinical practice upon completion. Residents play a large part during the recruiting season and many of us feel at present that we cannot recommend the program to prospective candidates.
We would ask of our program leadership a more cooperative environment with an atmosphere more respectful of adult learners. We request the opportunity to voice our opinions about candidates interviewed for faculty positions. We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns further and develop a strategy to improve the working environment.
This letter is representative of the sentiments of the PGY-2 and PGY-3 classes and the 2004 Graduates. A majority of the residents have read and endorsed this communication. We sincerely appreciate this opportunity to express our concerns, and look forward to discussing this further.
Please see the attached review of our program which can be found on Scutwork.com which we feel both validates the fact that our concerns are not new and proves little has changed in the last several years at Duke Family Medicine"
From Scutwork.com November 2001
Editor: this resident has been verified to be from this residency program, but has now left the program) **** I filled out the first review and would like to change my position. The program director is unethical and inconsistent in her treatment of residents. She is not a resident advocate and will frequently threaten indviduals whom she knows have no choice but to stay with her program. She has been known to bad-mouth her senior residents to prevent them from getting jobs. She gives out inappropriate personal information in telephone conversations that are "not on the record" and writes letters that are not supportive or damning, but asking to call for more information on the resident.
As to the hours, they tend not to be too bad (80-90 per week), but there is little flexibility and fatigue is a major factor. There is more call in the second and third years than they advertise and more than most other FP residencies. Scut is variable and dependent on the hospital. Usually not too bad although there is a lot of pandering to the whims of attendings.
Teaching
Teaching is OK, usually outside presenters. It is rare for anyone in the department to present. It is also rare for them to provide actual reading material or discuss recent data. They, as a whole, like to talk off the top of their heads about their same pet topics over and over.
Atmosphere
Really enjoy the other residents. Good camaraderie on the whole. However, there is often pitting of one resident against the other in fault finding missions by the faculty, especially led by the program director who thrives on such activities. This is very destructive and the residents are frequently forced to be defensive and 'blame' others or risk attack by the program director. Several of the faculty are nice people, but most of them are under the disturbed thumb of the program director and abide by her inconsistent unilateral rulings despite what they may truly feel. They are afraid to stand against her for some reason. One of the attendings is a real pain in the ass and so bad that I would never choose Duke again just because of his egotistical and sexist behavior.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no way I would go to this program again. Duke offers a lot of great teaching and experiences, but not in the family medicine residency training program. Duke on the whole is very family unfriendly and the psycho-pathology in the family medicine residency is disgusting, unsupportive and stressful.
6/24/04
"Dear Dr. Weinerth,
We, the Family Medicine Residents, are writing to express our deep concern over the current state of affairs in the Duke Family Medicine Residency program. As our GME representative, we feel it is imperative that you are aware of our concerns. This is a difficult letter to write. We wish to express our concerns without name calling or disparaging the characters of those involved. Events that have led to this communication have occurred over several years, but over the past year a tremendous lack of appropriate and truthful communication from program leadership has resulted in an escalation of events. Morale among the residents is at an all-time low.
We recognize the fact that the position of Residency Program Director is difficult. We also realize that programs need to be flexible in response to changes in the healthcare system. In our program, the number of residents has been reduced to six from eight. We are moving our inpatient service from Durham Regional to Duke. Second and third year residents will now be required to do an additional four week Emergency Department rotation despite the fact that our current curriculum already meets RRC requirements for 200 hours of ED rotation. We feel that there has been insufficient resident notification and resident input into changes made to our curriculum--changes that may affect career plans of some residents. These changes have altered the very nature of the program. The program is now different from when resident contracts were signed. Efforts to discuss our concerns have been met with great resistance and statements to the effect "that is the way it is." No discussion, no communication.
Communication between the Family Medicine program leadership and the residents has long been a problem. Our two chief residents routinely meet with the program director in an effort to improve communication, but they are as surprised as the rest of the residents when announcements regarding changes to the program are made.
Accusations of unprofessional behavior have been made regarding numerous residents of late. They have been reprimanded, and in some cases their time in residency prolonged. The balance of power in our department is such that residents feel they have no recourse when treated poorly. Residents who are vocal about issues are singled out for punishment. Leadership reactions to harmless behavior by these singled-out residents are swift and vindictive. There is an atmosphere of fear and resentment on behalf of the residents. Residents who have been singled out over the past three years and who actually left the program have flourished elsewhere.
Morale among the faculty also seems quite low. Three members of our faculty and our faculty fellow are leaving the Family Medicine program. Our faculty is spread very thin. Teaching in our department, as a rule, does not even begin to compare with that found elsewhere at Duke. We are concerned about the future of the program and our preparedness for clinical practice upon completion. Residents play a large part during the recruiting season and many of us feel at present that we cannot recommend the program to prospective candidates.
We would ask of our program leadership a more cooperative environment with an atmosphere more respectful of adult learners. We request the opportunity to voice our opinions about candidates interviewed for faculty positions. We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns further and develop a strategy to improve the working environment.
This letter is representative of the sentiments of the PGY-2 and PGY-3 classes and the 2004 Graduates. A majority of the residents have read and endorsed this communication. We sincerely appreciate this opportunity to express our concerns, and look forward to discussing this further.
Please see the attached review of our program which can be found on Scutwork.com which we feel both validates the fact that our concerns are not new and proves little has changed in the last several years at Duke Family Medicine"
From Scutwork.com November 2001
Editor: this resident has been verified to be from this residency program, but has now left the program) **** I filled out the first review and would like to change my position. The program director is unethical and inconsistent in her treatment of residents. She is not a resident advocate and will frequently threaten indviduals whom she knows have no choice but to stay with her program. She has been known to bad-mouth her senior residents to prevent them from getting jobs. She gives out inappropriate personal information in telephone conversations that are "not on the record" and writes letters that are not supportive or damning, but asking to call for more information on the resident.
As to the hours, they tend not to be too bad (80-90 per week), but there is little flexibility and fatigue is a major factor. There is more call in the second and third years than they advertise and more than most other FP residencies. Scut is variable and dependent on the hospital. Usually not too bad although there is a lot of pandering to the whims of attendings.
Teaching
Teaching is OK, usually outside presenters. It is rare for anyone in the department to present. It is also rare for them to provide actual reading material or discuss recent data. They, as a whole, like to talk off the top of their heads about their same pet topics over and over.
Atmosphere
Really enjoy the other residents. Good camaraderie on the whole. However, there is often pitting of one resident against the other in fault finding missions by the faculty, especially led by the program director who thrives on such activities. This is very destructive and the residents are frequently forced to be defensive and 'blame' others or risk attack by the program director. Several of the faculty are nice people, but most of them are under the disturbed thumb of the program director and abide by her inconsistent unilateral rulings despite what they may truly feel. They are afraid to stand against her for some reason. One of the attendings is a real pain in the ass and so bad that I would never choose Duke again just because of his egotistical and sexist behavior.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no way I would go to this program again. Duke offers a lot of great teaching and experiences, but not in the family medicine residency training program. Duke on the whole is very family unfriendly and the psycho-pathology in the family medicine residency is disgusting, unsupportive and stressful.
