Three years ago, Greater Seacoast Community Health
joined with Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Tufts University School of
Medicine to bring the first Family Medicine Residency Program to the New
Hampshire Seacoast. This affiliation and partnership has increased access to physician
care in the Seacoast region and put the organization on the map as a teaching
program for new physicians.
Today, the program
is at full capacity, with 12 residents serving more than 2,500 patients as one
of six primary-care teams at Goodwin and Families First. Recently, the program
welcomed a new Associate Program Director, Dr. Michael Samaan, who will
also be seeing patients at Goodwin Community Health.
‘The Full
Scope of Traditional Family Physician Experience’
Through the
residency program, Greater Seacoast Community Health – which includes Goodwin
Community Health in Somersworth and Families First Health & Support Center
in Portsmouth — offers a community-based, full-time primary care clinic at
Goodwin, called the Continuity Clinic.
“The partnership
has been a major asset for our organization as it’s allowed us to keep up to
date with newer medical innovations that come from being affiliated with a
hospital network and Tufts University,” said Dr. Joann Buonomano, a core
faculty member of the residency program and Greater Seacoast’s Chief Medical
Officer.
In addition to the
12 residents working in the Continuity Clinic at Goodwin, all 24 residents from
the Family Medicine Residency program complete specialty rotations throughout
Greater Seacoast, including prenatal care at Families First Health, mobile
health clinics in the community, and medication-assisted recovery and psychiatry
experiences at Goodwin. During their prenatal rotation, residents work with Dr.
Megan Carey of Families First, who coordinates care with Harbour Women’s Health
to deliver babies at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
“It’s the full
scope of traditional family physician experience,” said Dr. Buonomano.
How
Resident Physicians Benefit
The three-year Family Medicine Residency Program here in the Seacoast attracts
applicants from all over the country, with 500 candidates applying each year
for the eight program openings. Greater Seacoast Community Health is currently
the only Federally Qualified Health Center in New Hampshire to formally partner
with a residency program. (Plans for programs in Keene and in Berlin are in
progress.)
Community health centers like Families First and
Goodwin are desirable places for residents to practice primary care after
completing their training, as working at a community health center makes them
eligible for loan repayment as part of the National Health Service Corps.
“Residents are
passionate about delivering care to patients with complex medical challenges
and other obstacles related to the social determinants of health,” said Dr.
Buonomano. “The enthusiasm of these young doctors coming out of medical school
has been inspiring and builds a foundation of hope for the future of
compassionate health care.”
How
Patients Benefit
Dr. Buonomano,
previously a full-scope rural family physician, sees the value that the
residents’ hospital experience brings to the outpatient Continuity Clinic.
“They provide a
bridge for patients hospitalized at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and help us
fulfill our advocacy role as primary-care providers within this complex health
care setting,” she said.
One way patients
benefit from having a resident physician as their primary care provider is that
they are also seen by the resident’s preceptor or teacher, another physician
who supervises their clinical experience. Patients get the best of both worlds:
residents who have the latest medical knowledge, and the wisdom of physicians
who have been practicing medicine for many years. The program’s preceptors
include faculty and physicians at Families First and Goodwin, as well as other
physicians from surrounding community practices.
“This program is a
growing asset as we become more seasoned as a faculty team,” said Dr.
Buonomano. “We have been successful in attracting skilled core faculty and
skilled community preceptors who are passionate about the critical role of
primary care within an increasingly complex and specialized industry.”
Dr. Samaan, the
new Associate Residency Program Director, is one of these seasoned faculty
members helping to develop young doctors. He brings to this role two decades of
experience in family medicine at hospitals and practices in Alaska and Texas,
as well as having served on the faculty of the Alaska Family Medicine Residency
and being a Marine Corps veteran. He will work closely with resident
physicians and see patients as a primary care provider at Goodwin Community
Health.
Residents’
Learning Experiences
Residents say the preceptors’ knowledge and experience ensure they provide the
best care to the patients they see.
“I’m confident that
when I leave here, I will be well-prepared,” said Dr. Matthew Nagelschmidt, a
third-year resident. “I’m more confident in my clinical work, thanks to being
here.” The preceptors each bring a unique way to help mold the residents, he
said, so residents can take the best from their preceptors to better meet
patient needs.
First-year resident
Dr. Bashir Heidari said the preceptors are very thorough and knowledgeable and that
the complex cases he has seen at Goodwin have been a great learning experience
to help him further develop his skills as a physician. “The preceptors have
made a difference in ensuring the lives of our patients are improving. Dr.
Buonomano is amazing,” he said. “We’re helping people in need have access to
health care, and that’s great.”
