A doctor-training program at Ventura County Medical Center with roots dating to a time when Calvin Coolidge was president has seen its share of changes.
Three years ago, the family medicine residency that trains medical school graduates ended a nearly 50-year relationship with UCLA in favor of an academic affiliation with USC’s Keck School of Medicine. In another transition, the Ventura hospital’s program is one of a handful in the nation that is adding a fourth year of training.
The shifts have not impacted the program’s nationwide standing. Hospital leaders announced this month the residency has again been named the second-ranked program in terms of reputation in an annual nationwide evaluation by the Doximity physicians network.
Out of more than 800 family residency programs, VCMC is ranked just below top-ranked John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and just above the University of North Carolina. The ranking is done for a Doximity navigator tool designed to help medical school grads choose residency programs. The evaluation is based on satisfaction surveys, reputation scores and other data.
“It represents the reputation we have in the medical community,” said Dr. Jacob David, the VCMC residency program’s director, noting that the high marks help entice prospective residents. “They know they’re going to be well-trained.”
The residency efforts stretch back to 1928 when the hospital started training general practice doctors. The family medicine residency program was launched in 1968 as one of the original 15 programs of its kind in the nation. It offers training in diverse areas of care ranging from surgery and obstetrics to intensive care and pediatrics.
The new ranking maintains the position the residency program held in last year’s ratings and continues a trend of high marks. When the Doximity rankings were launched in 2014, the VCMC residency was rated as number one.
The ratings are important because it brings talented doctors into a county health system that serves as a safety net for people who might otherwise struggle to access health care.
“We attract people throughout the United States who could go anywhere but decide to come to Ventura,” said Dr. John Fankhauser, CEO of the Ventura County Medical Center and once a resident in the hospital’s training program.
Many of the residents stay in the county health system after their training is completed. The program’s reputation also attracts doctors who want to teach the residents.
“We bring in people who are of the caliber that could teach at any academic program,” Fankhauser said. “They decide to come here.”
There are 45 residents in the program. More are coming. The program is one of eight family medicine residencies in the nation in a pilot program that involves adding an extra year. At VCMC, the fourth year will be focused on the study of a specialty like addiction medicine, maternity training, hospitalist medicine and integrative medicine.
The idea is to help doctors develop specialized skills while still trained as generalists able to face diverse care challenges. David said the additional year adds to a program that already asks residents to provide much of the care in the hospital. They deal with just about everything.
“It really gives them a training program that is unparalleled anywhere in the nation,” David said.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County Medical Center’s residency program No. 2 in nation
Reporting by Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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