Humboldt General Hospital will be the first rural hospital in the state to have a medical residency program, according to local physician, Dr. Brad Granath, who will be the program's site director.
Physicians will complete the first year of their three-year residency program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Years two and three will be done in Winnemucca at HGH under Granath and Dr. Kurt Kracaw, the program's assistant site director. Both will work under UNLV School of Medicine Associate Professor and Residency Program Director Dr. Aron Rogers.
"It's a real feather in our cap" said Granath. He added Dr. Shouping Li and other Winnemucca doctors will also be involved with the medical residents.
The first doctors could be in Winnemucca to complete their residencies starting in June 2015.
Granath explained the system that matches new doctors and accredited hospitals for residency programs.
"It's kind of a complicated process involving a computer match between thousands of medical residents and hospitals throughout the whole nation," he said. "If they make an application for this residency program, they come for a very comprehensive interview, a tour of the hospital and a tour of the community."
Granath said he wasn't certain whether Winnemucca would have any doctors to interview for this first round since most medical students have determined where they hoped to do their residencies long ago.
New doctors likely apply for and visit a number of university medical programs and possible medical residency locations. Afterward, the doctors rank each residency program from 1-10 according to where they'd like to go. The hospitals also rank the applicants they've interviewed on a 1-10 basis and the computer goes to work making the matches according to both sides' desires and the number of residency spaces available.
Granath explained by the time an applicant is matched with the UNLV rural medicine program and comes to Winnemucca, he or she will already have passed all the medical boards, will have a medical license and will have completed an internship and the first year of a residency at the university.
"They'll actually be starting their own medical practice in Winnemucca with their own patients," Kracaw said.
"This residency program is going to be a real commitment for local doctors, for the hospital and staff and for the community and the benefits will be significant," said Granath.
"As we continue to try to recruit physicians who are well-trained and suited for rural medicine, this is a new strategy, said Granath. "We hope some really good residents will have a good experience in Winnemucca and we think some might just stay here."
It's difficult for a physician who has done his entire training in a metropolitan setting to make the transition to practice in a rural community, said Granath. He explained those physicians are used to turning to a nearby specialist for a quick consult on a patient. "In a rural setting, your patient may have to wait weeks to see a specialist," he said.
Granath and Kracaw said rural medicine has to be self-sustaining in some ways and a doctor must also recognize when a patient needs to be transferred to another facility.
Kracaw has taught medical students who came through Winnemucca on a rural rotation, lasting several weeks, but this is different.
"There are a lot of things you can't learn in medical school," said Kracaw. "You have to see it yourself."[[In-content Ad]]
