Most Americans view access to a ready supply of physicians in much the same way they view access to water. Turn on the tap, out flows the water. Need a doctor? There’s always going to be one available.

But the reality is that America faces a severe shortage of physicians—some estimates place it at 85,000 to 200,000 doctors—within the next 15 years.

In light of this potential crisis, Adventist Health is pursuing creative ways to prevent “physician erosion” in communities.

“We recognize the predicted physician shortage, and we’re trying to help combat the problem before it arrives,” said Ingrid Heil, Adventist Health’s director of physician services.

Small Town, Big Opportunity

In July 2006, Adventist Health launched its newest physician training program at Central Valley General Hospital (CVGH) in Hanford, Calif., a 49-bed facility that serves 12 communities in the sparsely populated agricultural region between Bakersfield and Fresno.

The Rural Family Practice Residency Program is affiliated with Loma Linda University (LLU), assuring the support of a renowned Seventh-day Adventist medical institution and access to service-oriented medical residents. They are physicians who wish to explore an alternative to the conventional setting of urban or suburban hospitals.

The new program marks two milestones for Adventist Health: its first foray into rural medicine training and a new approach to the way the training takes place.

“This program introduces physicians to what a rural medical practice is all about and encourages them to consider rural medicine as a viable career option,” Heil said. “Once they get into these small towns, physicians are often amazed at how much they really like it.”

Maximizing Educational Opportunities

In Hanford, the resident physicians have nearly unprecedented exposure to a variety of medical situations through a new training approach called a longitudinal schedule. Instead of focusing on single areas of specialty—such as emergency medicine, cardiology or pediatrics—for weeks at a time, residents will care for patients with a variety of health care needs in the hospital and its 13 rural health clinics.

“With the longitudinal format, residents are reacquainting themselves with the various specialties every week, which is pretty much what family physicians do anyway,” said Dan Engeberg, M.D., director of the new residency program in Hanford.

Preparing for the Future

This year, CVGH’s residency program is hosting three residents. Two more are expected to be admitted in 2007, and the hospital’s leadership hopes to eventually host six residents at a time.

Engeberg said that although the primary reason for initiating the program in Hanford was to further enhance the hospital’s service to its community, there was another important purpose behind the decision.

“In rural California, it’s hard to recruit doctors,” he said. “We know that there is a good chance that residents who train with us will find this community or a similar community with an Adventist hospital appealing to settle in. So this program is also a means for recruiting future primary care physicians.”

An Inner-City Experience

Four hours south of Hanford, the world is a much different place, but opportunities for medical education abound in two Adventist Health hospitals in Los Angeles County. Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC) in Glendale currently hosts 24 family medicine residents; White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC) in East Los Angeles with 67 residents representing obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and podiatry.

As in Hanford, LLU is a partner in the residency programs at WMMC—so much so that Leroy Reese, M.D., the designated institutional official for the hospital’s residency programs, is also LLU's associate dean of the Los Angeles-area affiliating hospitals. As such, he represents both WMMC and GAMC at LLU.

In addition, LLU students often come to WMMC on “rotations”—a time in their education when they visit several hospitals to decide where they will apply for residency and in what area of specialty. Many students from LLUSM, as well as other medical schools, are attracted to WMMC and its sister Adventist facilities by the Christian atmosphere that influences everything from interpersonal communication to interaction with patients and visitors.

Making Hospitals Better

As important as residency programs are for medical students, they also pay off for their sponsoring hospitals. WMMC, an inner-city facility in a medically underserved community, is a highly-respected, thriving institution.

“Having residency programs attracts very well-trained and knowledgeable attending staff,” said Georgia Froberg, director of the Department of Medical Education at WMMC. “We have a number of physicians here with board certification in two, three—even four—specialties. That’s fantastic for a community hospital like ours. When you have a bunch of young doctors around who expect you to know all of the answers, it makes you constantly aware of the need to stay up to date on things.”

In the face of an impending shortage of physicians, Adventist Health is working hard to ensure a steady supply of qualified and compassionate doctors for its communities in the decades to come. And for those wanting to become part of a health care system with a distinctive mission, Adventist Health is working equally as hard to provide mission-centered health care opportunities for doctors—from residents to seasoned practitioners. For more information regarding Adventist Health’s residency programs or physician opportunities, contact Ingrid Heil at phyjobs@ah.org.