Younger doctors staying in S. Florida

Hospitals, medical schools have expanded training

South Florida is becoming home to an increasing number of younger doctors, a step that will make it easier for the growing population to obtain health care.

The region’s hospitals and medical schools have been expanding their resident training programs to combat a projected doctor shortage over the next decade. This year, South Florida welcomed about 500 new residents with M.D. degrees, up from about 319 four years ago, according to new data from the National Resident Matching Program.

Experts say residencies are key to recruiting more doctors into an area. About 59 percent of physicians who complete a residency in Florida historically have stayed in the state, according to a 2015 study by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida. About 78 percent of those who complete both medical school and a residency stay in state, the study found.

“They become well-known in the local

(medical) practice community which can recruit them when they’re finished,” said Lee Learman, a senior associate dean at Florida Atlantic University’s medical school. “They have a greater degree of comfort because they know the area and they’ve made social connections in the community that they wish to continue.”

FAU’s most recent graduating class of 61 had 23 graduates who plan to complete their residencies in Florida, the largest share ever, officials said. Most will remain in South Florida.

A resident is a doctor who practices in a hospital or clinic under the supervision of an attending physician to get in-depth training within a specific branch of medicine. New residencies have been created in recent years at several institutions and hospitals.

FAU accepted six residents in emergency medicine and five in general surgery this year, in addition to the 24 residents in internal medicine it has been offering for three years. The medical school also has been approved for four psychiatric positions starting in 2018 and is awaiting approval for three additional ones in neurology.

Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale has added 27 new residency spots in the past two years in internal medicine, orthopedic surgery and pediatrics, while Cleveland Clinic in Weston has added five new spots in anesthesiology.

Nova Southeastern University in Davie, which now has a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree program, is adding a traditional M.D. program that is expected to open in 2019, with new residency positions expected.

In Miami-Dade County, the University of Miami has added 12 internal medicine slots in the past two years through a partnership with Holy Cross Hospital. Florida International University has partnered with several hospitals in recent years for new residencies in such areas as psychiatry and family medicine. And Aventura Hospital has added 28 residency spots in the past year in emergency medicine, radiology, transitional medicine and anesthesiology, in addition to 10 internal medicine spots it added two years ago.

FAU, which opened its medical school in 2011, started its first residency program in 2013. One of the first residents was Dr. Gene Posca, who has been working at Boca Raton Regional Medical Center through a partnership with FAU. A native of New York, Posca was recently hired by Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach.

“I’ve had an excellent experience in Florida,” he said. “And I knew there were a lot of opportunities in the region.”

Florida has 20 medical residents per 100,000 people in 2015, placing it 41st in the nation, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The top state, Massachusetts, had 82.

The need for more of these young doctors prompted Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla, to introduce two bills in Congress that would create and expand medical residency programs. One bill would make it easier for some hospitals to start full-time residency programs by limiting some of the criteria they have to meet to qualify. Another would create 15,000 Medicaresupported residency positions over five years at teaching hospitals throughout the nation.

“Florida’s population continues to grow and, as a result, we now have more people seeking care than ever before,” Nelson said. “We have to train more doctors now to meet this growing demand and ensure that people are getting the care they need, when they need it.”

The federal government pays most of the costs associated with training new doctors but placed caps in 1997 on how many each school or hospital could offer. As a result, it has been easier for new hospitals and universities to create residency programs than for existing ones to expand.

FAU created a partnership with five hospitals to start its residency programs. It chose its newest one, psychiatry, because it has been identified as a critical need.

The 2015 Safety Net report said Florida had about 1,800 psychiatrists but needed 2,800. By 2025, Florida will need about 3,340 psychiatrists but is projected to have only 2,150 working in the state.

“There’s a severe shortage of mental health providers, and psychiatrists are generally the captains of the teams in taking care of the mentally ill,” Learman said.