Hospital Serving as Primary Teaching Site for FAU’s Residency Program
in Internal Medicine
Boca Raton Regional Hospital today welcomed 36 medical residents in internal
medicine from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College
of Medicine. Boca Regional is serving as the primary teaching site for
the College’s internal medicine residency program and is part of
a Graduate Medical Consortium supporting FAU residency programs.
Post-medical school residencies provide the training necessary for medical
school graduates to become competent, board-certified physicians. A residency
in internal medicine takes three years to complete.
This residency is the first university-sponsored program for FAU’s
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and the first post-graduate training
program at Boca Regional. It completes the Hospital’s transformation
from a capable community facility into a tertiary academic medical center.
“We are most proud to be playing such a substantive role in this
development for Florida Atlantic University, the city of Boca Raton and
our region,” said Charles Posternack MD, Chief Medical Officer at
Boca Regional and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Schmidt College
of Medicine. “It is also a long-awaited and important milestone
in the history of our Hospital.”
According to Bernardo Obeso, MD, internal medicine residency program director
at FAU, the advent of residency programs at the Schmidt College of Medicine
addresses a critically important demand for the region. “Florida
as a whole, and South Florida especially, suffers from an insufficient
number of residencies to accommodate the increasing numbers of medical
school graduates,” said Dr. Obeso. “Data show that about 50
percent of doctors choose to practice within 20 miles of where they complete
their residencies. Our program will assist greatly in addressing one of
our region’s most pressing needs — a shortage of primary care
physicians.”
FAU received 3,900 applications for the available slots and conducted
353 interviews before selecting the class. Of those chosen, 39 percent
have roots in Florida.
Both Drs. Posternack and Obeso also commented on the caliber of the inaugural
group of residents. “This cadre of residents represents some of
the best and brightest from such prestigious medical schools as Johns
Hopkins, Georgetown, Tulane and the University of Miami,” noted
Dr. Posternack. “It is quite an impressive group.”
The residency program at Boca Regional is yet another reflection of the
growing relationship between the Hospital and FAU. “Given the roles
our respective organizations play in our city and in our region, and the
proximity we share to one another, it is extremely important to marshal
our collective resources and capabilities in a manner that benefits the
communities we both serve,” said Jerry Fedele, President and CEO
at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. “We’ve witnessed what that
synergy can produce through our relationships in undergraduate medical
education, nursing, allied health and in providing sports medicine for
FAU athletics. Our efforts in graduate medical education will only serve
to broaden and strengthen this dynamic partnership.”
About Boca Raton Regional Hospital – Advancing the boundaries of medicine.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is an advanced, tertiary medical center (brrh.com)
with 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff.
The Hospital is a recognized leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease
and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women’s health,
emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art
diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The Hospital is a designated Comprehensive
Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished
Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for the 10th year in a row
and was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2011, 2012,
2013 and 2014 both by Healthgrades®. Boca Raton Regional Hospital
was also recognized for the third consecutive year in U.S. News &
World Report’s 2013–2014 Best Hospitals listing as a top-ranked
hospital in the South Florida metropolitan area.
Media Contact:
Thomas Chakurda, 561.955.3586
Vice President, Marketing
Boca Raton Regional Hospital
tchakurda@brrh.com