FM residencies in New Jersey

[WanderingDave]

I'm a MS3 in the process of selecting five FM residency sites to showcase at in New Jersey next year. I'd appreciate any recommendations on programs that are educationally outstanding.

In terms of limitations, I'm not so interested in commuting to the greater Philly area or the places in the far south of the state. I'd prefer AOA or dually accredited programs to ACGME ones, but this isn't of utmost importance so long as the place is DO friendly. I'd also appreciate an unopposed program.

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[anthroguy]

Hey!

Im a current DO student entering ACGME Family Medicine next year. Honestly Hunterdon and Overlook should be at the top of your list followed by Robert Wood Johnson. These three programs in my opinion are clearly separated from the pack and are high quality programs. Hunterdon is unoppossed and is one of the oldest FM programs in the country. Its a hidden gem as the FM program there receives monumental respect from the community and hospital. The residents and faculty there are supportive and kind, do not miss out on it. Def def do a away there. JFK is also nice but they have this weird request for your undergrad transcript.

Avoid Capital Health unless you have multiple red flags, they prematch the whole class and I got a weird vibe.

 

[WanderingDave]

Thank you Anthroguy, that was very helpful.

Everybody I've talked to recommends Overlook. No way will I miss a chance to showcase there.

Hunterdon and RWJ have also been recommended to me. Apparently RWJ has OMM training, and opportunities for the DOs to teach the MDs OMM, which makes me happy. Honestly, this is one of the main reasons I'm leery of the ACGME residencies -- I want to offer high quality OMM as a part of my future practice, because I've seen on my family rotation how much patients love it and come back for it.

Noticeably absent from the recommendations I've gotten are any FM residencies in the greater NYC metropolitan area, that is, the urban areas of northern Jersey. I've heard VERY mixed reviews of Christ Hospital, and practically nothing about Jersey City Medical Center and Hoboken. I have a hunch that this ties into the problematic nature of Urban Family Medicine today that I keep hearing about -- that FM residents in big cities might as well be IM residents, that urban family doctors do little more than refer, and that both tend to work for low pay and under poor conditions because of the glut of docs that want to be in cities. I could see how this situation would create little selective pressure for quality FM residencies.

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of the above paragraph, because frankly, I'd rather serve an urban population, either as a family doc or a geriatrician. But I'm starting to get the sense that even if this is where I ultimately end up, I'll still get a better training and skill set if I head inland.

 

[Lespedeza]

Noticeably absent from the recommendations I've gotten are any FM residencies in the greater NYC metropolitan area, that is, the urban areas of northern Jersey. I've heard VERY mixed reviews of Christ Hospital, and practically nothing about Jersey City Medical Center and Hoboken. I have a hunch that this ties into the problematic nature of Urban Family Medicine today that I keep hearing about -- that FM residents in big cities might as well be IM residents, that urban family doctors do little more than refer, and that both tend to work for low pay and under poor conditions because of the glut of docs that want to be in cities. I could see how this situation would create little selective pressure for quality FM residencies.

I heard these sentiments often on the interview trail as well, but I'm not fully convinced. In a couple months, I'll graduate from a school that is in a very urban setting with the majority of the patients being underserved, underinsured. I think that in this situation, FM plays a very important role! There certainly are a lot of specialists that you can refer to, but often times the patients are more complex with multiple medical problems. I'd think that your role in these situation is to really serve as a coordinator of care, and to evaluate the patients as a whole, and not just disparate organs. In addition, many of these patients may have many psycho-social obstacles, which will give you the opportunity to be a true advocate for your patients and to help make a difference. Perhaps, I am very naive in thinking so optimistically, but this is what I have observed in the inpatient setting and ambulatory clinics as a med student.

That being said, I think training in big cities (read: tertiary care centers), can be on both sides of the fence. I've seen programs where family medicine is well-integrated into the system with a clear niche and other programs, where FM is a newer program that experiences a lot of push-back from other specialties.

 

[Bernie3144]

Definitely have to recommend Hunterdon. Over the past few years I have bumped into their program director, Dr. Kozakowski, at numerous family medicine conferences around the country. They really have a great program going on over there - highly recommended.

 

[anthroguy]

Overlook is AOA/ACGME dually accredited so OMM is integrated within the curriculum. During my RWJ and Hunterdon interviews, the residents and faculty both stated that OMM could be used by residents. From my view they're def all for a resident using his/her skills.

Christ Hospital - Be wary of this residency as funding is an issue here. The program almost closed this year and from what I understand, residents were at one point seeking other spots before funding was restored/ found elsewhere.

Hoboken - Location for social life is awesome, but I dont know anything about this program.

If I were to do this all again, I would do aways at Overlook, Hunterdon, RWJ and possibly JFK. These are the programs worth looking at in NJ.