Ambulatory Resident Practice
Ronald Marcus, MD
Director
Anastasia Koniaris, MD
Associate Director
Housed in the state-of-the-art Shapiro Clinical Center, the Resident Ambulatory practice is an academic setting in which house officers are closely supervised by faculty preceptors, yet ownership and longitudinal care of each resident's panel of patients are encouraged. Our goal is for the residents to provide quality ambulatory care to patients in a warm, non-threatening environment. An integrated health care team provides women of diverse backgrounds with the full gamut of general and specialized obstetric and gynecologic care. This team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, R.N.s, social workers, nutritionists, counselors and patient advocates.
Residents participate actively on a continuous longitudinal basis, performing one weekly half-day ambulatory session, regardless of their other assigned hospital service functions. Throughout the course of their entire training program, residents care for their own panel of patients in consultation with a faculty member. One full-time physician is assigned as preceptor for each session, with the exclusive role of providing supervisory guidance, support and teaching for residents and students. Residents establish long-term doctor-patient relationships and study the evolution and management of pregnancy pathophysiology and gynecologic disease and prevention. Continuity of care is emphasized so that residents are expected to arrange for and participate in all office or hospital treatments and procedures needed by their patients.
Residents are divided into teams, with each team having a specific set of health assistants and nurses, as well as a social worker and attending physician (designated the "team leader"). Regular team meetings ensure patient continuity. The BIDMC computer system is used to track patients and to allow follow-up of laboratory values and other clinically relevant data.
Three community health center-based continuity experiences are offered as an option for interested residents - South Cove Community Health Center, BID Chelsea and Dimock the Center. These allow for a community-based experience as part of an integrated health care team. South Cove Community Health Center is in Chinatown in downtown Boston; Dimmock Community health center is in an urban setting in Roxbury and BID Chelsea is in an urban area serving a largely Latina population.