Selected Podcast
What is a Medical Resident
Dr. Naresh Chandan explains what a medical resident is, the difference between a resident and a fellow, how long a resident is in clinic, and other information regarding Riverside's resident program.
Featured Speaker:
Naresh Chandan, DO, MS
Dr. Naresh Chandan completed his Doctor of Osteopathy at Des Moines University in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American College of Osteopathic Internists. He is a member of the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators. Dr. Chandan has been involved with Riverside HealthCare for many years in several capacities. Currently, he serves as the director of medical education and the director of the internal medicine residency program at Riverside Medical Center since 2009. He is now seeing patients in Kankakee, Illinois. Transcription:
Introduction: Well Within Reach is brought to you by Riverside My Chart, your simple secure and confidential online health connection. With just a click, Riverside My Chart lets you stay well connected to the same information your doctor sees. You can request prescription refills, pay your bills, schedule your next appointment, and more. Manage your care from your laptop, tablet or phone, whether for yourself, your kids, or the grandparents. My Chart makes your busy life just a little easier. Learn more and enroll today at Riversidemychart.org. Just another way to stay well connected from Riverside Healthcare
Introduction: Riverside Healthcare, puts the health and wellness information you need Well Within Reach.
Sean O'Connor: Hello, welcome to Well Within Reach. I'm Sean O'Connor. I am a marketing communications rep and I'm joined today by Dr. Chandan. Welcome Dr. Chandan, how are you doing today?
Dr. Chandan: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Host: Fantastic. Glad to have you here. Today we are going to be talking about what is a medical resident and so your qualifications on knowledge in the program, you are part of the GME at Riverside, correct?
Dr. Chandan: Yes. I have been a Director of Medical Education since inception of the program and also Program Director for Internal Medicine Residency since the inception of this program.
Host: And I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't realize is that Riverside is a true teaching hospital. Correct?
Dr. Chandan: It is. It has been and our first approval got in 2009 and we launched our first teaching program in 2010.
Host: Wow. So we've, we've had a number of years, almost well over a decade now.
Dr. Chandan: Yes, it is. It is.
Host: Yeah. So that's fantastic. And what type of programs that we offer through the GME?
Dr. Chandan: So we initially started, or the internal medicine residency program and now we are introducing a psychiatry residency also, along with internal medicine residency program we offered fellowships. So we initially started a fellowship of cardiology and gastroenterology. We also have had a fellowship which is still ongoing, is interventional cardiology. But a short term, we also had a opening for a fellowship of geriatric medicine also.
Host: Wow. Okay. So pretty robust program when it comes, especially for a hospital our size and location too. That's fantastic. And I think one thing that a lot of people don't realize is a resident a doctor?
Dr. Chandan: Well, absolutely. And a resident is a doctor and a typical resident, you know, if you go back about education would have finished at least 4 years of undergraduate education and some of them have Master's education and after that they have finished 4 years of medical school.
Host: Okay. And then what's the difference between a resident and a fellow?
Dr. Chandan: Okay. So after completing medical school, a doctor has to complete post medical school training that is referred to as residency training. Resident can practice medicine within the confines of the training program in which they're enrolled. Depending upon the specialty the resident chooses the training, program can last three to seven years. Once you have finished residency, you can go into further specialization, and that is called fellowship.
Host: Okay. Excellent. And so can a resident treat medical conditions?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. A resident is a doctor who is working under the supervision of an attending physician. And, yes they can.
Host: And I think that's something that a lot of patients don't realize when they see, you know, the student, the resident come in with the physician is they have some misnomers or some general confusion about who this person is. And so I think it's important.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And you know, they are doctors and like I said you know, they have finished 4 years of medical school, which typically involves about 5,000 clinical hours.
Host: So it's a significant amount of time behind it.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And they have, once they finished medical school, they are officially a doctor.
Host: How does the resident clinic work here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So the resident clinic again, the resident has to have some training under supervision with an attending physician. The way resident clinic work here at Riverside is that there is an attending, one of them is myself. And the resident would see a patient and then they will come back and talk to me or to the attending, and discuss what these patient's condition is. What their plan is we'll discuss, and then we'll go together. And then we will see the patient together and while you are seeing the patient, we will be discussing with the patient and also the resident our plan for the treatment.
Host: So it's almost like having two physicians at your side?
Dr. Chandan: Yeah, I often joke about it, you're getting two for the price of one.
Host: Literally you are getting two physicians in the mix. I think that's what a lot of people, like I said they, they see someone come in with the physician and they think well, Oh what is going on here? But in essence, like we said, you're getting two physician's opinion. So that's, that's very good to hear. And so when you, we say attending, just so our listeners understand what is an attending physician?
Dr. Chandan: Attending physician is a physician who is a full staff who has a license to practice independently, is a full staff at Riverside Hospital and that's a physician who was supervising the resident. That's called an attending, that's an academic institution term an attending physician and the resident is working under that physician to get that experience to complete the residency.
Host: Interesting. How long is a resident in the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So internal medicine residency typically is three years residency, that's the minimum requirement all over the country, those are the standards. So the internal medicine resident is here for three years.
Host: And then some of our other programs are longer.
Dr. Chandan: So cardiology fellowship is three years. Gastroenterology fellowship is three years.
Host: Okay. Does Riverside have to be accredited to be a teaching hospital?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. And the, this is a pretty laborious process for accreditation. And there is a national accrediting body which comes and inspects. We have the policies, they review the policies, they review everything before you get accredited for teaching.
Host: Okay. How does a resident get to Riverside? What, what does that entail?
Dr. Chandan: So once they are in the final phase of their medical school, which is in the fourth year, there is a process called a match process. They go through the match process, which is national process and they apply to our programs. They come for an interview and then they interview several places. We interview them and we actually rank them in terms of our preference, who's our number one, two, three, four and five, and onwards. You know, and so is the student also ranking in different their preferences. The computer does the match process. Yeah.
Host: It literally is everybody trying to find their best match. And so we're, we're finding our residents who align with our kind of ideals here at Riverside, as well as they're finding ideals that match with what they're seeking for. So it really is a good match.
Dr. Chandan: So one thing more is that, you know, we also have a visiting, what we call them auditioning medical students. We have students here from medical schools, which some of them from some medical school, they spend the whole year here in third year. And other students who are interested in our program, they schedule to spend a month here. And that gives them a chance to look at our program. And that gives us a chance to look at their performance and we interview them. Then they have already spent the time here. We actually know them pretty well and they know us well and that's the best part of the interview.
Host: Which is interesting, have we had any residents who have stuck around and become part of the Riverside staff over the years since we've been?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. Okay. They have and you know, we are actually looking at some other who are expected to join next year.
Host: So it really is a good way for not only patients to get to know potential future permanent doctors here in the area. But it's also a good way for the physicians to get to know the area too. So it's a, it's a good win, win situation for everybody.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely.
Host: Anything else that we should know about the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: One of the thing people usually ask about, you know, what are the different fellowships? So internal medicine has several fellowships they can do, for example, you know, they can become a cardiologist, they do a cardiology fellowship. And they get into a gastroenterology fellowship, which we both have here. There are other fellowships like allergy immunology. There is a, we talked about an interventional cardiology fellowship, which we have. Some people after finishing up cardiology fellowship, they go to electrophysiology fellowship. There is no end to it. There is of course endocrinology fellowship dealing with diabetes, etcetera. There is after finishing gastroenterology they can go further on and they can do hepatology or liver diseases. They can do hematology or oncology fellowship, dealing with the blood disorders or cancer disorders. They can do infectious disease fellowship, they can do nephrology fellowship, dealing with the kidney diseases or a pulmonary fellowship, dealing with the lungs and rheumatology fellowship, dealing with joints and musculoskeletal issues.
Host: At the end of the day for patients, it's really good to know that as a teaching hospital, they're really getting the best care that's available to them.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. And also one thing we also emphasize on the resident they're in training. So one of them, actually, not two of them are present in the hospital even during the night. So it's very comforting to know that there is a doctor on site. Yeah. All the time.
Host: And not only that, but it's you know, they're coming out of school with the most current knowledge too. So it's an ability to implement other ideas that may not be something that everyone is aware of at the time.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And they're the first one to respond to serious conditions and codes, etcetera. So there is a doctor there all the time, 24, seven in the hospital.
Host: Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's fantastic. And it's a great program for Riverside and it really helps us as a hospital. It helps students, it helps everybody.
Dr. Chandan: It helps us as attending or supervising physicians, you know, because it also keeps us very up to date with the latest developments. You know, there's this is old saying, you know, to teach, you have to learn twice.
Host: Yeah. Yeah, that's very true. What's been kind of the most insightful portion for you as an attending?
Dr. Chandan: You know, like I said, I mean, this is one of the exact situation which keeps me really engaged and up to date with what is latest happening and so, that is very fulfilling professionally. And personally it is very fulfilling to see the residents who have come here and have become successful physicians for their own after they either left here or they're here, they become very successful.
Host: Yeah, yeah. I can definitely see, you know, it's got to be very rewarding for both you and the residents as well.
Dr. Chandan: It is absolutely, it is, you know, and this is very fulfilling personally for me.
Host: So I think if a student is going through medical school what is the best way to find out more information about the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So through the websites, I wish it had its own website, but they're also listed under this national accrediting body ACGME on NRMP sites. You know, these programs are listed there.
Host: Okay. Excellent. So that's a great way to get in contact when it comes time to start the process. And then obviously if anybody has questions from a patient side, what is the best way to find out more? Is it through the website? Is it contacting your office?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely both ways. They can contact the website, they can email us, they can contact our GME office, we're happy to answer any questions.
Host: Fantastic. Well, thank you for coming on. Is there anything else we should know?
Dr. Chandan: No, I think you know, the program is going strong and we are going to continue to make it stronger.
Host: Yeah. So since I've come on, I've noticed that we've implemented psychiatry program and there's also been the availability for growth in other programs as well. So the future is bright here for us.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely.
Host: Excellent. Alrighty. Thank you very much.
Dr. Chandan: Thank you.
Introduction: Well Within Reach is brought to you by Riverside My Chart, your simple secure and confidential online health connection. With just a click, Riverside My Chart lets you stay well connected to the same information your doctor sees. You can request prescription refills, pay your bills, schedule your next appointment, and more. Manage your care from your laptop, tablet or phone, whether for yourself, your kids, or the grandparents. My Chart makes your busy life just a little easier. Learn more and enroll today at Riversidemychart.org. Just another way to stay well connected from Riverside Healthcare
Introduction: Riverside Healthcare, puts the health and wellness information you need Well Within Reach.
Sean O'Connor: Hello, welcome to Well Within Reach. I'm Sean O'Connor. I am a marketing communications rep and I'm joined today by Dr. Chandan. Welcome Dr. Chandan, how are you doing today?
Dr. Chandan: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Host: Fantastic. Glad to have you here. Today we are going to be talking about what is a medical resident and so your qualifications on knowledge in the program, you are part of the GME at Riverside, correct?
Dr. Chandan: Yes. I have been a Director of Medical Education since inception of the program and also Program Director for Internal Medicine Residency since the inception of this program.
Host: And I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't realize is that Riverside is a true teaching hospital. Correct?
Dr. Chandan: It is. It has been and our first approval got in 2009 and we launched our first teaching program in 2010.
Host: Wow. So we've, we've had a number of years, almost well over a decade now.
Dr. Chandan: Yes, it is. It is.
Host: Yeah. So that's fantastic. And what type of programs that we offer through the GME?
Dr. Chandan: So we initially started, or the internal medicine residency program and now we are introducing a psychiatry residency also, along with internal medicine residency program we offered fellowships. So we initially started a fellowship of cardiology and gastroenterology. We also have had a fellowship which is still ongoing, is interventional cardiology. But a short term, we also had a opening for a fellowship of geriatric medicine also.
Host: Wow. Okay. So pretty robust program when it comes, especially for a hospital our size and location too. That's fantastic. And I think one thing that a lot of people don't realize is a resident a doctor?
Dr. Chandan: Well, absolutely. And a resident is a doctor and a typical resident, you know, if you go back about education would have finished at least 4 years of undergraduate education and some of them have Master's education and after that they have finished 4 years of medical school.
Host: Okay. And then what's the difference between a resident and a fellow?
Dr. Chandan: Okay. So after completing medical school, a doctor has to complete post medical school training that is referred to as residency training. Resident can practice medicine within the confines of the training program in which they're enrolled. Depending upon the specialty the resident chooses the training, program can last three to seven years. Once you have finished residency, you can go into further specialization, and that is called fellowship.
Host: Okay. Excellent. And so can a resident treat medical conditions?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. A resident is a doctor who is working under the supervision of an attending physician. And, yes they can.
Host: And I think that's something that a lot of patients don't realize when they see, you know, the student, the resident come in with the physician is they have some misnomers or some general confusion about who this person is. And so I think it's important.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And you know, they are doctors and like I said you know, they have finished 4 years of medical school, which typically involves about 5,000 clinical hours.
Host: So it's a significant amount of time behind it.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And they have, once they finished medical school, they are officially a doctor.
Host: How does the resident clinic work here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So the resident clinic again, the resident has to have some training under supervision with an attending physician. The way resident clinic work here at Riverside is that there is an attending, one of them is myself. And the resident would see a patient and then they will come back and talk to me or to the attending, and discuss what these patient's condition is. What their plan is we'll discuss, and then we'll go together. And then we will see the patient together and while you are seeing the patient, we will be discussing with the patient and also the resident our plan for the treatment.
Host: So it's almost like having two physicians at your side?
Dr. Chandan: Yeah, I often joke about it, you're getting two for the price of one.
Host: Literally you are getting two physicians in the mix. I think that's what a lot of people, like I said they, they see someone come in with the physician and they think well, Oh what is going on here? But in essence, like we said, you're getting two physician's opinion. So that's, that's very good to hear. And so when you, we say attending, just so our listeners understand what is an attending physician?
Dr. Chandan: Attending physician is a physician who is a full staff who has a license to practice independently, is a full staff at Riverside Hospital and that's a physician who was supervising the resident. That's called an attending, that's an academic institution term an attending physician and the resident is working under that physician to get that experience to complete the residency.
Host: Interesting. How long is a resident in the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So internal medicine residency typically is three years residency, that's the minimum requirement all over the country, those are the standards. So the internal medicine resident is here for three years.
Host: And then some of our other programs are longer.
Dr. Chandan: So cardiology fellowship is three years. Gastroenterology fellowship is three years.
Host: Okay. Does Riverside have to be accredited to be a teaching hospital?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. And the, this is a pretty laborious process for accreditation. And there is a national accrediting body which comes and inspects. We have the policies, they review the policies, they review everything before you get accredited for teaching.
Host: Okay. How does a resident get to Riverside? What, what does that entail?
Dr. Chandan: So once they are in the final phase of their medical school, which is in the fourth year, there is a process called a match process. They go through the match process, which is national process and they apply to our programs. They come for an interview and then they interview several places. We interview them and we actually rank them in terms of our preference, who's our number one, two, three, four and five, and onwards. You know, and so is the student also ranking in different their preferences. The computer does the match process. Yeah.
Host: It literally is everybody trying to find their best match. And so we're, we're finding our residents who align with our kind of ideals here at Riverside, as well as they're finding ideals that match with what they're seeking for. So it really is a good match.
Dr. Chandan: So one thing more is that, you know, we also have a visiting, what we call them auditioning medical students. We have students here from medical schools, which some of them from some medical school, they spend the whole year here in third year. And other students who are interested in our program, they schedule to spend a month here. And that gives them a chance to look at our program. And that gives us a chance to look at their performance and we interview them. Then they have already spent the time here. We actually know them pretty well and they know us well and that's the best part of the interview.
Host: Which is interesting, have we had any residents who have stuck around and become part of the Riverside staff over the years since we've been?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. Okay. They have and you know, we are actually looking at some other who are expected to join next year.
Host: So it really is a good way for not only patients to get to know potential future permanent doctors here in the area. But it's also a good way for the physicians to get to know the area too. So it's a, it's a good win, win situation for everybody.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely.
Host: Anything else that we should know about the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: One of the thing people usually ask about, you know, what are the different fellowships? So internal medicine has several fellowships they can do, for example, you know, they can become a cardiologist, they do a cardiology fellowship. And they get into a gastroenterology fellowship, which we both have here. There are other fellowships like allergy immunology. There is a, we talked about an interventional cardiology fellowship, which we have. Some people after finishing up cardiology fellowship, they go to electrophysiology fellowship. There is no end to it. There is of course endocrinology fellowship dealing with diabetes, etcetera. There is after finishing gastroenterology they can go further on and they can do hepatology or liver diseases. They can do hematology or oncology fellowship, dealing with the blood disorders or cancer disorders. They can do infectious disease fellowship, they can do nephrology fellowship, dealing with the kidney diseases or a pulmonary fellowship, dealing with the lungs and rheumatology fellowship, dealing with joints and musculoskeletal issues.
Host: At the end of the day for patients, it's really good to know that as a teaching hospital, they're really getting the best care that's available to them.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely. And also one thing we also emphasize on the resident they're in training. So one of them, actually, not two of them are present in the hospital even during the night. So it's very comforting to know that there is a doctor on site. Yeah. All the time.
Host: And not only that, but it's you know, they're coming out of school with the most current knowledge too. So it's an ability to implement other ideas that may not be something that everyone is aware of at the time.
Dr. Chandan: Right. And they're the first one to respond to serious conditions and codes, etcetera. So there is a doctor there all the time, 24, seven in the hospital.
Host: Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's fantastic. And it's a great program for Riverside and it really helps us as a hospital. It helps students, it helps everybody.
Dr. Chandan: It helps us as attending or supervising physicians, you know, because it also keeps us very up to date with the latest developments. You know, there's this is old saying, you know, to teach, you have to learn twice.
Host: Yeah. Yeah, that's very true. What's been kind of the most insightful portion for you as an attending?
Dr. Chandan: You know, like I said, I mean, this is one of the exact situation which keeps me really engaged and up to date with what is latest happening and so, that is very fulfilling professionally. And personally it is very fulfilling to see the residents who have come here and have become successful physicians for their own after they either left here or they're here, they become very successful.
Host: Yeah, yeah. I can definitely see, you know, it's got to be very rewarding for both you and the residents as well.
Dr. Chandan: It is absolutely, it is, you know, and this is very fulfilling personally for me.
Host: So I think if a student is going through medical school what is the best way to find out more information about the resident program here at Riverside?
Dr. Chandan: So through the websites, I wish it had its own website, but they're also listed under this national accrediting body ACGME on NRMP sites. You know, these programs are listed there.
Host: Okay. Excellent. So that's a great way to get in contact when it comes time to start the process. And then obviously if anybody has questions from a patient side, what is the best way to find out more? Is it through the website? Is it contacting your office?
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely both ways. They can contact the website, they can email us, they can contact our GME office, we're happy to answer any questions.
Host: Fantastic. Well, thank you for coming on. Is there anything else we should know?
Dr. Chandan: No, I think you know, the program is going strong and we are going to continue to make it stronger.
Host: Yeah. So since I've come on, I've noticed that we've implemented psychiatry program and there's also been the availability for growth in other programs as well. So the future is bright here for us.
Dr. Chandan: Absolutely.
Host: Excellent. Alrighty. Thank you very much.
Dr. Chandan: Thank you.