The Bon Secours internal medicine residency program, now in its second year, has expanded and is welcoming additional patients. The three-year program has added 12 new resident physicians this summer and expects to add another 12 next year, according to Katherine Lumpkin-Leech, associate program director for the Bon Secours St. Francis internal medicine residency program.

Meeting the Growing Need for Physicians

The Upstate’s rapid population growth has driven a need for more trained physicians, according to Lumpkin-Leech. As an example, she noted that when she was a hospitalist at St. Francis Downtown more than a decade ago, the average patient census during June and July was around 80 or 90 patients. This year, that number has hovered between 200 and 250 patients.

The internal medicine residency practice, which has about 150 patients enrolled, aims to reach around 1,000 patients by the time the residency program reaches its full complement of 36 physicians next year. The practice provides invaluable experience for resident physicians, who work with patients experiencing a wide variety of medical needs.

A Unique Learning Experience

For patients, being seen by residents paired with attending physicians in the hospital setting and then following up with those same physicians in an outpatient setting is a rare opportunity. According to Lumpkin-Leech, this “wraparound care or continuity” is extremely rare to find almost anywhere else in medicine.

Daniel Maysonet, one of the inaugural resident physicians now entering his second year in the program, has found interacting with and building relationships with patients in the hospital and as outpatients at the internal medicine residency practice to be hugely rewarding. He said it has been very eye-opening and a great learning experience for him.

Maysonet emphasized the importance of building a rapport with patients, letting them know that they can trust the medical team and that the team is working in the best interest of the patient. He said, “We’re a team at the end of the day.”

The Bon Secours St. Francis Internal Medicine Residency Practice continues to accept new patients.

Original reporting: Greenville Journal — read the source article.