It's personal - Community Memorial Health System

Medicine, which has a more holistic approach tomedicine and is one of the fastest growing healthprofessions in the U.S. today. There are currently70,000 osteopathic physicians nationwide andmore than 18,000 osteopathic medical students.Osteopathic physicians are fully trained andlicensed to practice in all medical and surgicalspecialties and subspecialties. CMHS’ programwill offer residencies in four specialties: GeneralSurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Internal Medicine,and Family Medicine. Two to four residents willbe accepted annually in each residency specialty;the length is from three to five years, dependingon the specialty.“We are striving to create a new residencyeducation model that teaches collaborationalong with a holistic view of the patient’s health,”Quinn explains. “We have a very talented staffof physicians at CMHS who already have aholistic and collaborative view in their ownpractices and will become an excellent teachingfaculty. This approach to medicine is importantbecause it not only leads to better care for thepatient, it also helps keep rising costs down.”For example, a stroke patient at a metropolitanteaching hospital might be examined by fiveor six specialists with each ordering their own setof lab tests and scans.“Rather than collaborating with fellowphysicians and sharing information, they arefocused on their own specialty,” Quinn says.“Our philosophy is different. Instead of being ina silo focused completely on an individualspecialty, our goal is to create a learning environmentthat provides breadth with depth ineducation. The result is better doctors – andbetter patient care.”While the inaugural class of 12 residents istwo years off, starting this summer CMH will“Our goal is to create a learning environment thatprovides breadth with depth in education. Theresult is better doctors – and better patient care.”host three fourth-year medical students fromWestern University for “clerkship” rotations.Specifically, two students will spend a month inEmergency Medicine and one student will spendsix weeks in Pediatrics.“It’s a nice way for us to get used to havingstudents here,” Quinn remarked.In truth, for the past four summers CMHhas annually hosted six USC Medical Schoolstudents for one month to teach them aboutpracticing medicine in a community hospitalsetting. The CMHS Graduate Medical EducationProgram will similarly provide invaluable experiencein community healthcare.“Large medical centers that provide transplantsand exist as ivory towers are a small part ofmedicine,” allows Quinn, who has vast experienceat both. “It is important to expose students tohigh-quality community-based medicine.”The residents are not the only beneficiaries.“Our education program will be great forour physicians and our patients and the communityas a whole,” says Quinn. “The physicianshortage is coming, so it’s important to helpgrow our own.”WhyOsteopathy ?American medicine, one of the best in theworld, is at a crossroads. The medical communityis attempting to meet multiple needs, including thedesire for continued research and development ofnew medical technologies, developing solutionsto reduce chronic conditions such as diabetes andhypertension, and grapple with the overwhelmingincrease in the costs of medical care.As we thought about the future of healthcare,we decided to be involved in their training, andbridge the gap between the academic settingand healthcare in the community. In furtherresearching the possibilities, it was clear that theosteopathic teaching model was in line with ourvision of collaborative, cross discipline training,looking at the whole human body, and theinterdependence of all the parts of the humanbody. Osteopathic physicians are trained torecognize the interdependence of all of the partsof the complex human body, and also considerthe patient’s mental and emotional status.As we, as a healthcare organization, developa system which places the patient fi rst, and thehealth of the patient as our goal, we feel that thephilosophy of approaching the human body inits entirety, and not dividing the person intomultiple components, will create the best way tobe a care provider.Looking for a Doctor?Selecting the right physician is a difficult decision andCommunity Memorial Health System is here to help.Physician Referral ServiceCall: (805) 652-5600 orvisit: www.cmhshealth.organd click “Find a Physician.”COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM | CARING 15