WHAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY PROGRAMS?

Many of the positive features of our program combine to make it a top notch place to train.  O’Connor Hospital, a community-based, family medicine friendly hospital without other residency  programs, is an ideal place to train in family medicine.  Our success in attracting talented residents and the strength of our faculty mean that you will be surrounded by smart, engaging colleagues who will support you while pushing you to achieve your fullest potential.  Are the residents pleased with their residency training at O’Connor Hospital?  We survey residency program alumni to get feedback on how we can continue to improve the residency training to meet evolving real world practice needs.  Results from our latest survey found that our graduates report feeling well prepared to practice family medicine in the community, and 100% would have chosen this residency program again.

WHY IS O’CONNOR HOSPITAL A GOOD HOSPITAL FOR RESIDENCY TRAINING?

O’Connor Hospital is a good place to train family doctors for several reasons.  As a community-based hospital, our patient population reflects the diseases and problems seen by practicing family doctors.  Esoterica requiring sub-sub-specialists is the exception here rather than the rule.   Our residents become expert in the management of common medical conditions they will be seeing in their future practices.  Because it is an “unopposed” program, family residents are never forced to compete for interesting patients or procedures.  O’Connor Hospital has only been a teaching hospital since 2005.  As a result, we find that many of O’Connor Hospital’s specialists are eager to work with the residents and enjoy teaching.

HOW WELL ARE FAMILY PHYSICIANS AND RESIDENTS TREATED AT O’CONNOR HOSPITAL?

Family physicians have a strong presence in O’Connor Hospital.  Family medicine staff physicians and residents are treated as respected colleagues.

What do your graduates do?

Most of our residency graduates work as employed physicians within multi-specialty groups in the Bay Area, both in private practice/academic institutions and community clinic settings caring for the insured as well as underserved populations.  About one per year pursue fellowship training.  Some have joined our faculty or have taken faculty positions with other residency programs or medical schools.  The majority of our graduates work in outpatient settings with some continuing hospital work and prenatal care/obstetrics.

How stable is the residency program?  And the faculty?

The program is very stable.  In 2004, when San Jose Medical Center, our sponsoring institution at the time, announced its impending closure the program moved almost seamlessly with its residents and faculty to our new home at O’Connor Hospital.  The residents were able to continue their training without interruption.  The faculty group is very stable as well, with most of the faculty serving for more than 10 years.  Within the past five years, we have introduced four core faculty members to our program and are committed to continuing faculty development of all junior and seasoned faculty.  Dr. Norman served as the Program Director from 1986-2016, and Dr. Yu assumed the role of Program Director in 2016.  In 2017, Stanford University Medical Center assumed sponsorship of our program, further solidifying the stability of our program and expanding the resources available to our trainees.

How often will I be on call at this residency program?

This varies by class year and is continually modified to comply with the latest ACGME Duty Hour Requirements.  Since switching to a Day Team/Night Team structure for inpatient coverage several years ago, we have vastly simplified and reduced our call schedule to weekends only.  Currently, all residents do two 2-week blocks of night float which covers the hospital from roughly 6:30PM-7:30AM on Sundays through Thursdays.  Intern call is split evenly between the 8 interns and averages out to a little over 1 day or evening call per month throughout the year (to accommodate call free months and vacations we don’t follow a strict call routine).  On away rotations at Kaiser and VMC call is approximately once a week. Senior call is split evenly between all R2s and R3s.

What is the retention rate of your residents?

The retention rate of our residents is nearly perfect.   In the past decade there have been a handful of residents who have interrupted their training to pursue other career paths or to train elsewhere, but almost universally our residents complete their training with the program.

How well do residents do on board certification exams?

Our residency graduates have a 100% pass rate on the board certification examinations.

Do I get free food and free parking?

Our residents receive a generous quarterly meal stipend of $780 at O’Connor Hospital, given regardless of rotation or hours worked per shift. The O’Connor Hospital cafeteria offers lots of tasty options including grill specials (gyros and paninis were a recent feature).  Periodically, the residency program provides free meals or other perks to keep us well fed. Parking is also free.

HOW MUCH VACATION TIME WILL I GET?

The current schedule gives 3 one-week vacations for PGY-I's and 4 one-week vacations for PGY-II's and PGY-III's.