Providence St. Vincent Medical Center: Our Residents
The residents at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (PSVMC) are a diverse and enthusiastic group. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and each brings a unique perspective to residency. During this formative experience, the residents themselves are an integral part of the supportive and nurturing learning environment at PSVMC. The small size of the program, the presence of talented peers, and the humane call schedule all combine to allow important relationships to develop and flourish.
Greetings from Providence St. Vincent Medical Center!
Choosing between a community- and a university-based residency program proved difficult for me at first. I thought I wanted to be a primary care provider in the traditional sense, but I desired to keep my options open in case I fell in love with a specialty. During medical school, I spent four weeks (as a student) in the Providence St. Vincent ICU, and my decision was simplified. With rigorous academics, a collegial atmosphere, superb nursing and support staff, excellent continuity clinic and a well-established fellowship track record, Providence St. Vincent jumped to the top of my list.
And what a choice it has been! I couldn't be happier with my education, my preparation and my fellow residents.
Due to the size of our ED and of our catchment area as a tertiary referral center, we see an amazingly diverse array of patients and diseases. And, of course, we share these experiences at our daily morning report, where residents are the primary teachers. As a small example, here are two of my patients, each of whom left an indelible mark on me:
1) I cried the first time a patient of mine died, a young mother with Marfan syndrome whose second pregnancy caused a fatal ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection. She had smiled with her new infant nestled in her arms, content with her choice; 2) I laughed joyfully when a creative and complex string of vulgarity spewed out of the recently extubated mouth of a young man who had carried a ladder into a power line and spent a day in our cardiac arrest hypothermia protocol.
Myriad factors shaped my residency choice, and many factors will influence yours. Perhaps not all of your reasons will relate directly to medicine. Rest assured you will find excellence here.
The diversity of our patients, the quality of our residents along with the support they offer one another, the excellence demanded and demonstrated by our paid and volunteer faculty, and the caring responsiveness of our program create an environment for a world-class education.
See for yourself. Set the bar high. Success beckons at Providence St. Vincent.
__________________________
Jay Ham, M.D.
Chief Resident
Providence St. Vincent Internal Medicine Residency Program E-mail the chief
