Holy Name’s legacy of education and training.

(Courtesy of Holy Name Hospital) An essential aspect of Holy Name’s mission is its commitment to shaping the next generation of healthcare providers in New Jersey. Education and the provision of healthcare are inextricable – especially when learning and training focus not only on knowledge acquisition and skill competence, but also on the practice of that information and those skills to uplift patients with a compassionate and individualized approach, lending them a sense of dignity and positivity.

For Holy Name, the education journey began the same year the hospital was established in 1925. The School of Nursing (now, the Sister Claire Tynan School of Nursing) was created to address the growing need for healthcare as Bergen County’s population burgeoned. Twelve female students were admitted and all of them graduated two years later. Today, the school is one of the largest coeducational diploma schools sponsored by a Catholic health system in the state, graduating nurses whose NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) scores exceed the national average.

Dedication to expanding access to education and training for healthcare professions continued with the creation of Holy Name’s The Russell Berrie Institute for Simulation Learning. The institute’s instructors use state-of-the-art technology and realistic scenarios to teach clinical techniques, critical thinking, communication skills and team-building to first-responders, nurses, physicians and allied health professionals. Accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, Holy Name is the first accredited simulation center in New Jersey and a front-runner and premier provider of this innovative teaching method.

Last year, Holy Name began a Pharmacy Residency Program, an intensive, postgraduate, one year course of study that provides pharmacists with comprehensive, hands-on hospital pharmacy training. The program earned accreditation from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Its first class of residents graduated just recently.

Graduate Medical Education: Building the Future of Healthcare

Today, as New Jersey—and the nation as a whole—stares down a growing physician shortage, Holy Name is preparing to initiate its new Graduate Medical Education (GME) program, in which 105 resident physicians will be trained annually. In June 2025, the health system will welcome the first class of physicians-in-training. Initiated through a $3.3 million federal grant awarded in 2022, the GME program’s breadth and scope is increasing as a result of significant support from private donors, including more than $2.5 million to endow three of the program’s directorships.

Led by Chief Medical Officer and Designated Institutional Official Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi, Holy Name’s GME is set to launch with a five-year General Surgery residency under the direction of Dr. Omar Bellorin-Marin.

On the heels of an intensive application process, successful site visits and the recruitment of exceptional faculty, both the General Surgery and Internal Medicine residencies were accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2024.

“ACGME is the gold standard of excellence for any physician training program,” says Dr. Kondamudi. “Our health system is excited to embark on this journey with our first class of graduate medical students who are receiving hands-on experience in leading-edge healthcare practices.”

The General Surgery program will offer extensive high-caliber training across a broad range of disciplines to cultivate well-rounded and skilled surgeons. Through advanced simulations and one-on-one physician mentoring, trainees will develop expertise in the latest, most state-of-the-art equipment and techniques.

The Internal Medicine residency, a three-year program led by Dr. Victoria Costales, will provide residents with a rigorous academic and clinical curriculum that prepares them to excel in their field. Incoming physicians will be taught how to provide exemplary patient care across the full spectrum of internal medicine subspecialties, in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

The GME team is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Holy Name physicians, while the residency programs will serve as vital pathways for developing new medical talent, ensuring a strong future for healthcare in New Jersey.