(September, 2024 Kansas City, MO) – St. Joseph Medical Center, a member of Prime Healthcare, is proud to announce that it has received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for its new Internal Medicine Residency Program. Starting in July 2025, residents in internal medicine (a primary care subspecialty) will receive their training at St. Joseph Medical Center while also completing specialty rotations in its clinics.
Serving as the program director is Amit Patel, MD FASN, a double board-certified internal medicine physician and fellowship-trained nephrologist. “I am very excited to have this opportunity to lead a program and expand care for the residents in our community,” Dr. Patel says. “I believe strongly in teaching and mentoring the next generation of physicians.”
Patel says that a key to the success of the new program is founded on the quality of the program’s core faculty and teaching faculty across all specialties. “Residents will have a unique and personal mentorship with a faculty roster of expert physicians with diverse backgrounds,” he adds. “Our core faculty members have years of experience and a wide range of expertise and knowledge that residents will learn from. Most importantly, the patients in our community will benefit from an academic medicine care model with expanding subspecialty care.”
With a growing demand on healthcare, particularly in primary care and internal medicine, this program will help address the physician shortage by training and retaining top medical talent. This shortage of physicians is expected to grow over the next 10 years as providers age out and retire. Contributing to this shortage are limited residency programs for both domestic and international medical student graduates to enter.
“Prime Healthcare is responding to this evolving healthcare access crisis by starting new residency programs throughout the country,” says Jodi Fincher, Chief Executive Officer of St. Joseph Medical Center. “We have a culture of learning throughout St. Joseph Medical Center, where all staff, providers and administration are committed to supporting excellence, including this new residency program.”
St. Joseph Medical Center will drive improvements in the quality of care provided to its patients and bring fresh perspective, new ideas, and a focus on best practices. The three-year residency program will begin with 13 internal medicine residents per year for a total of 39 residents. Key components of the program include hands-on training, patient-centered care, a robust curriculum, collaboration, teamwork and continuous feedback.
“Fostering a culture of collaboration between residents, nurses and other health care professionals is essential to ensuring a well-rounded training experience and improving patient outcomes,” says Scott Corcoran, MD, Chief Medical Officer at St. Joseph Medical Center. “Our program will foster professional development and ensure that residents grow both clinically and professionally.”
St. Joseph Medical Center is a member of the Prime Healthcare recognized nationally for its clinical excellence. St. Joseph Medical Center is a 310-bed acute care facility providing a wide range of services, including 24-hour emergency department, surgical services, and outpatient services. St. Joseph was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. St Joseph Medical center has a long tradition of providing high quality, compassionate care. Our Catholic Heritage and the spirit of our founding sisters continue today in our mission of caring for the community.