Program Highlights and Opportunities
DHMC offers the best of all worlds: a highly-acclaimed academic medical center, faculty devoted to teaching, research at the cutting edge of science and technology, and a modern facility where patients from throughout New England come for medical care. In short, we have the resources to accomplish our goal of training the most skilled clinicians, educators and researchers in the field of Internal Medicine.
Faculty
The Department of Medicine comprises 450 on site faculty and an additional 130 adjunct faculty throughout New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts. Ours is the largest and fastest growing department at DHMC. Faculty join the department as the result of national searches and come from the most prestigious medical institutions. The department's clinician/educators and clinician/investigators are the mainstay of the teaching activities. Our faculty view housestaff as their colleagues and professional relationships flourish here. Whether it is through bench research, clinical trials, patient consultation or teaching, housestaff and faculty work in concert to provide the best available care to the patients of DHMC.
Research
All residents are required to complete an academic project during their residency. In order to help reach this goal, PGY-1 interns are given a 2 week self-directed research block.
Dartmouth Medical School is the academic cornerstone of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Because we are a world-renowned medical school, DHMC embraces and encourages research by faculty and residents at the cutting edge of health care. Bench research and clinical trials in nearly every area of internal medicine are underway at DHMC. We have nationally recognized research programs in immunology and infectious diseases, respiratory physiology, endoscopic ultrasonography, endocrinology, hematology/oncology and molecular biology. With the recent addition of the Department of Genetics and the Angiogenesis Research Center, Dartmouth Medical School continues to extend its research presence into this new and exciting area.
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, an M.S. and Ph.D. degree granting institute at Dartmouth College, adds significantly to the teaching and research opportunities at DHMC. Housestaff can work with faculty on projects in decision analysis, clinical epidemiology, or health care delivery. To keep the housestaff apprised of this rapidly evolving field, faculty members affiliated with the Institute and other clinical science departments routinely present their research at Medical Grand Rounds and Housestaff Journal Club. Opportunities to develop expertise in statistical and critical analysis are also available to our housestaff. The Institute is also involved in our medical center's patient education programs and is an integral part of the innovative and interdisciplinary Center for Shared Decision Making.
Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 39 federally funded regional cancer sites, is an integral part of our medical center. Conceived in 1972 as a local center for the diagnosis and care of cancer patients, the Norris Cotton Cancer Center has grown into an internationally recognized cancer center which supports patients with a dynamic program of basic research, advanced clinical technologies, cancer prevention strategies, outreach care, and education programs. Patients with all forms of cancer are treated at the NCCC and receive the most technologically advanced cancer treatments, which are being developed here and in collaboration with scientists throughout the nation. The NCCC underwent a significant expansion in 2003, and it's Comprehesive Cancer Center status was recently renewed for five years with a marked increase in funding.
Simulation Training
Patient Safety Training Center, where virtual is real. The DHMC Simulation Training Center opened last November. It is an 8,000 square-foot facility consisting of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, an Adult Critical Care Unit, a Birthing Room, and an Operating Room. The goal of the Simulation Center at DHMC is to focus learning experiences linked to clinical needs through two initiatives: Technical skill training and improvement in communication/group dynamics.
Patient Population
As the only academic, tertiary care center in New Hampshire, DHMC provides care to a population base of over 1.5 million. The medical center's catchment area stretches north to the Vermont and New Hampshire Canadian borders, east to Maine, south into Massachusetts and west to New York State. Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) air-transports 700 critically ill medical and trauma patients to our medical center annually. Our faculty and housestaff also provide primary care to the communities of the Upper Connecticut River Valley. The patients we care for are rated in the highest group on the National Hospital Index of patient illness severity and complexity. Health care at DHMC is a unique and interesting mix of tertiary and primary care.
Information Technology
From DHMC's innovative Computer Information System (CIS) to the Graphic User Interface (GUI) system at the White River Junction VA Hospital, information technology is both sophisticated and accessible. The entire DHMC campus is equipped with wireless access for use with laptop and/or tablet computing. Medline, UpToDate, and other evidence-based databases as well as the DHMC intranet are available from all medical center work stations and throughout the outpatient clinics. The Biomedical Libraries of Dartmouth College have approximately 2500 current journal subscriptions, including 1500 digital journals. The libraries also provide access to over 40 digital textbooks, including Harrisons Online, and MDConsult. The biomedical librarians offer practical lectures and regularly scheduled workshops on manipulating resources and navigating medical data bases available on the web.
Leadership Preventive Medicine Residency
After completing a 3 year internal medicine residency, DHMC residents have the opportunity to apply to the Leadership and Preventive Medicine Residency, a unique program offered at Dartmouth. This innovative program allows residents from various fields to expand their training, gaining knowledge and skills in the measurement of outcomes, the leadership of change, and the improvement of health care systems. Through a combination of coursework and practicum projects, residents learn to evaluate clinical micro-systems and take leadership roles in effecting change. This training includes the awarding of a Masters of Public Health degree from Dartmouth College. More information can be found on their website.
Fellowship Programs
DHMC offers a wide array of fellowship programs, enhancing the educational experience as well as facilitating the fellowship application process for our residents. Further information regarding our fellowship programs can be found on the GME website.
