To meet patients where they are, resident physicians must first understand how they got there. That’s the philosophy behind an innovative orientation program for incoming residents at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).
In their transition to graduate medical education (GME), residents training at UMMC are taught about the Magnolia State’s history and culture so they can better serve patients. Supported by an AMA Reimagining Residency grant, the program replaces a day of lectures with a mix of self-paced learning and interactive case work.
At the heart of the program is creating a generation of culturally competent physicians with a firm grasp on how to connect with patients.
“To us, that really means connecting well with your patients and giving them all of the things necessary to really treat that patient,” said Jimmy Stewart, MD, UMMC’s associate dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official. “Not just when you see them in the office or in the hospital, but how you connect with them in ways that can impact their health care and their lives as they go back to their communities.”
One example of the type of community immersion and cultural understanding the course focuses on: Residents are provided tickets and encouragement to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History.
A different approach
UMMC’s new-resident orientations used to be hours of back-to-back lectures for hundreds of incoming physicians.
“It created a lot of sleepiness, a lot of loss of the information,” Dr. Stewart said in a recent video interview with the AMA. “It checked off a lot of boxes but didn’t seem like the best way to deliver that information.”
In the revised orientation format, residents complete five online modules before they arrive. The first introduces Mississippi’s population and the historical and current issues facing its communities. Others cover social determinants of health and how local history shapes patients’ lives today.
The material covers some of the landmark events that took place in and around UMMC, such as the world’s first lung transplant, done by James D. Hardy, MD, in 1963. “It’s also the overlay of all the other historical events that might be impacting our patient population now,” Dr. Stewart said.
As part of the orientation, Residents are given copies of W. Ralph Eubanks’ book, A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape. The text explores the state’s difficult past and hard life of the people of Mississippi that influence the arts, literature, and music from this part of the country.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center is a subscribing institution to the AMA GME Competency Education Program, which delivers education to help institutions more easily meet Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) common program requirements. Program subscribers have access to award-winning online education designed for residents on the go. It’s easy to use and saves time with simple tracking and reporting tools for administrators. Learn more.
Where history shapes care
When residents arrive on campus for their in-person orientation, they are gathered in mixed-specialty groups and work through patient cases using what they learned in the modules.
“We ask them: Of all the things you’ve learned, how would that impact how you deliver care?” Dr. Stewart said. “What are the barriers? What resources do you have?”
UMMC has embedded community connections into its EHR so residents can quickly link patients to support.
“We want them thinking about how a patient in the Delta might have needs very different from a patient in another part of the state, and knowing exactly where to go for help,” Stewart said.
The approach is resonating, Dr. Stewart said. Three or four months after that first orientation, Dr. Stewart was stopped by a resident in the hallway.
“Thank you for what you did with the orientation materials,” the resident told Dr. Stewart. “It really impacted a patient I took care of yesterday. I knew about the resources, how to access them, and how to connect them to that patient.”
For a state that faces deep health inequities, Dr. Stewart sees this as essential.
“We’re No. 1 in Mississippi in some things you don’t want to brag about,” he said. “But that means we have opportunities to make a real difference. Knowing Mississippi’s story is a step toward changing its health outcomes.”
Learn more with the AMA about how these courses can create health equity champions in your residency program.
The AMA GME Competency Education Program covers topics including well-being, QI and patient safety, residents as teachers, navigating health systems, health equity, professionalism and faculty development. Schedule a meeting to discuss your organization’s needs.
