While many hospitals and health systems have shared plans for or launched physician residency programs this year, Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, Fla. is celebrating its pediatric residency program's fifth year in operation.
From welcoming its sixth cohort of resident physicians in July to having a 100% match rate throughout the program's lifespan, the hospital is focused on combating ongoing pediatrician shortages and ensuring that emerging physicians receive the best training possible.
Becker's connected with Heather Fagan, MD, MS, designated institutional official for graduate medical education at Nemours Children's, to discuss the program's progress over the last five years, as well as lessons learned and plans for its future.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What was the initial goal for the pediatric residency program? How was this goal determined?
Dr. Heather Fagan: We know that the healthcare needs of the pediatric patient population are ever-changing, and the demand for services continues to increase. It was imperative to take proactive steps toward not only ensuring that we have enough physicians to meet the needs of patients, but also that those physicians are expertly trained and prepared to provide quality care.
Graduate medical education is key to ensuring that we have a strong pipeline of clinicians to fill this need, so we established a residency program that could leverage our robust clinical expertise in an optimal learning environment. This footprint enables us to train the next generation of physicians and serve our patients into the future, both in Central Florida and beyond.
Q: What obstacles did you encounter while developing the program? How did you overcome these challenges to ensure your progress?
HF: As expected, when launching a program of this type, you have to meet the requirements of all accrediting bodies while also ensuring that you are highly confident in the process to train pediatric experts. In this case, for example, we had to meet certain criteria set forth by the American Council of Graduate Medical Education with the recruitment of additional subspecialty faculty. We also had to ensure there was space for residents to hold clinics and participate robustly in the clinical learning environment across our facility.
Fortunately, our organization was truly committed to the process, and we had the resources and support needed to ensure compliance with all accreditation standards and guidelines to enable the successful launch of the program.
Q: Do you have any improvement statistics to share from when you implemented the program to now?
HF: In July 2024, we welcomed our sixth cohort of resident physicians since we launched our training program, and the progress we’ve made in that time is remarkable. We’ve welcomed a total of 76 residents and graduated three spectacular classes of residents thus far.
We also have a 100% match rate throughout the lifespan of our program. That says a lot about the health and desirability of our program, especially considering the unprecedented number of unmatched pediatric positions we saw across the country just this year – the majority of them being in the Southeast region of the country.
Q: Tell us what this program means more broadly for your organization. What is a less obvious effect of this change?
HF: As we look to the future, the residency program is very important for Nemours Children’s Health in Florida. Florida is one of the nation’s fastest-growing states and we already have the third-largest pediatric population in the country. To keep pace with the increasing need for pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists, we must maintain a pipeline of expertly trained clinicians to ensure that we can provide high-quality care for our children.
One of the more subtle, yet critical aspects of our program has been the infusion of passion, ideas and energy around our ability to go well beyond medicine and serve the community outside of the hospital walls. Our residents have launched and supported innovative initiatives that have enhanced our ability to advocate and serve children more holistically through efforts like our mobile clinic, our parent training program and engagement with our local schools.
Q: If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
HF: You may find this hard to believe, but I don’t think we would do anything differently. We are very fortunate to have the full support of our leadership and faculty, which made it possible to solidify the investment and infrastructure to really set us up for success.
We have been very strategic, intentional and meticulous and I am pleased with the approach we have taken. Importantly, we have delivered on our promise of a high-caliber pediatric training program that has seen our graduates transition to desirable fellowships and faculty positions, with more than 70% of them choosing to stay in Florida.
Q: Any growth plans for the program moving forward?
HF: We’ve always had aspirations to grow, and we are already seeing this come to fruition. In fact, our annual complement of residents joining our program has increased from 12 to 16 this year, ultimately training 48 residents each year in a three-year training program. As a relatively new residency program, increasing our class size with a successful match of every single position in our program here in the Southeast region where the pediatrician shortage is significant is a testament to the strength and health of our program.
For us, the growth plan isn’t about increasing our complement as fast as possible. It’s about strategically and thoughtfully seeing our vision through to ensure the viability of our residency program and that emerging physicians get the very best pediatric training possible. This is the approach that has helped us succeed thus far and it’s the approach that will enable us to continue growing as we develop fellowship training programs to address the state’s pediatric subspecialty needs. I am ecstatic about our trajectory.