(Courtesy of SMGH) The Prime Health Care Consortium at St. Mary’s General Hospital and Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital are coming to the end of the first year with their Internal Medicine Graduate Medical Education (GME) Residency Program. Since July 1, 2020, 50 residents are rotating among both institutions for their core and elective rotations to receive their internal medicine residency during a 36-month training program.
As a means to serve our community and invest in the future of our society, the Prime Health Care Consortium (PHCC) at St. Mary’s General and Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital residency programs are focused on the essentials of the future of medical education. PHCC is responsible for training medical students from all backgrounds while focusing on training the future medical leaders through our residency programs.
“We are excited to announce that starting July 1, 2021, working together with our sister hospital St. Clare’s we will begin our psychiatry GME program, which will aid in bringing more specialty doctors to the community,” said Ed Condit, CEO of St. Mary’s General Hospital.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, ADHD, and eating disorders. Many, but not all, psychiatrists specialize in treating a specific type or group of mental health conditions. Psychiatrists spend much longer in school than most other mental health professionals—four years of medical school and an additional four years of residency training in psychiatry. Their medical degrees allow them to prescribe psychotropic medication.
Today, there is a need for psychiatrists, especially after the year-long COVID lockdown. According to the World Health Organization1: Depression is now the leading cause of disability worldwide and is predicted by 2030 to be the leading cause of the global burden of disease. Three hundred million people in the world suffer from depression, of which a third are not responding to conventional treatments. That is 100 million people in desperate need for a better standard of care. One in five adults experience some form of mental illness each year, and of these patients, many have symptoms so severe their illness dramatically reduces their quality of life, limiting what they can and cannot do.
“In our world these behavioral health issues can harm a chance for marriage,” said George Matyjewicz, PhD, community liaison. “And of course, there is the fear of acknowledging behavioral issues, which only worsens the condition.”
Residents—doctors in training—are engaged in supervised medical training prior to independent practice. They are in an ACMGE2-accredited graduate medical education program. Residents have graduated from medical school, been awarded an M.D. degree, and now are training to be a particular type of doctor, such as a psychiatrist.
“We are excited to provide the highest quality training for our bright young resident physicians so that upon graduating from the program, they join our team and help address the unmet needs of the community,” said Sarabjit Singh, MD, corporate medical director, psychiatry, Prime Health Care at St. Mary General Hospital, St. Clare Hospital. “Our commitment towards the mental health needs of the community is unparalleled.”
By the fourth year, psychiatry residents should be fully incorporating core competencies into their daily routine. These senior residents serve as leaders and mentors to younger residents and are viewed as capable colleagues by fellows and physicians. Residents have earned maximum autonomy, yet still receive daily supervision and mentoring by faculty. The entire health care team members, including the nursing staff, PCA and ancillary staff, work together to achieve a common goal of providing high quality and compassionate care for our patients.
The WHO statistics are confirming that more patients are suffering with depression and substance abuse as they misuse substances to self-medicate or cope with depression. Given the unique issues of these patients, the referral process has been streamlined to make access to care faster and easier for both patients and their doctors.
At St. Mary’s General Hospital and our sister hospital St. Clare Hospital, the psychiatry residency program will educate new psychiatrists. But most importantly, today we can help you with either outpatient or inpatient treatments. And our Psychiatric Medical Care Unit Team and social workers are available to help provide a smooth continuum of care for patients with special post-discharge needs.
For more information or to refer a patient for admission, please call 973-365-4422.
St. Mary’s General Hospital—nationally recognized, locally preferred—among the top hospitals in America for health, quality, and patient safety. A center of excellence for maternal-child, the hospital has over 550 physicians and 1,200 employees, with every staff member committed to providing respectful, personalized, high-quality care—to satisfy patients’ needs and exceed their expectations.
St. Mary’s General is a proud member of Prime Healthcare, which has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for five consecutive years (2016-2020) than any other health system in the country including a “Top 15 Healthcare System” by Truven Health Analytics. To learn more about how St. Mary’s General Hospital, visit https://www.smh-nj.com/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StMarysGeneral.
For more information, please contact George Matyjewicz, PhD, Community Liaison at [email protected]
1 https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
2 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
