Kaweah Health welcomes its next class of resident physicians

Kaweah Health welcomes its next class of resident physicians

VISALIA – Kaweah Health welcomes its next class of resident physicians to its classrooms and medical center.

Forty-eight resident physicians in six programs – Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, General Surgery, Anesthesiology and a Transitional Year Program – have completed their first week of residency at Kaweah Health.

“We’re thrilled to continue to build this legacy of Kaweah Health as a teaching hospital,” said Dr. Lori Winston, Vice President of Medical Education. “I’d like to invite our community to welcome our resident physicians warmly here in Visalia.”

Last Monday, the new residents began their two weeks of orientation, before starting a two-week period of introduction to their specialties. From there, they will rotate throughout the hospital and clinics caring for patients, under the supervision of faculty physicians. A few example locations where residents provide care outside of the hospital include Kaweah Health’s Family Medicine Center - located at 202 W. Willow Ave. (fifth floor) - where the family medicine residents and faculty provide personalized care to children and adults of all ages, and Kaweah Health’s Mental Health Hospital – at 1100 S Akers St. - where the psychiatry residents and faculty provide care for patients who require an inpatient hospital stay.

When they are not caring for patients, resident physicians will train inside Kaweah Health’s Margaret Foley Graduate Medical Education Center. The center houses offices, classrooms, conference rooms, a lounge and opens up into a newly expanded Lynn Havard Mirviss Simulation and Clinical Education Center where resident physicians can be observed training on SimMan®, a portable and advanced patient simulator that challenges and tests clinical and decision-making skills during realistic patient care scenarios.

Kaweah Health received more than 4,000 applications to the residency programs. The following resident physicians matched at Kaweah Health for their respective positions:

Anesthesiology

• Jessica Chan, Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Calvin Nguyen-Ho, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Scott Riccomini, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
• Nicholas Washburn, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific

Emergency Medicine

• Matthew Bordbari, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• David Castro Palomino, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Amy Chuang, Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Giulia Di Bella, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
• Ethan Hartman, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
• Kevin Lieu, UC Davis
• Oliver Marigold, UCSD
• Melissa Mueller, Western University of Health Sciences – Pomona
• Aubtin Saedi, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Christina Seto, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
• Maria Tobar, UCLA
• Alex Tsai, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Irene Velarde, Touro University College – California

Family Medicine

• Eduardo Amezcua, UCSF
• Roberto Bonilla, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Jasmeen Chahil, Gian Sagar Medical School – India
• Grace Guadalupe, Jacobs School of Medicine and Bio Sciences at University of Buffalo
• Elise Kahn, Edward Via College of Ostepathic Medicine – Alabama
• Rebecca Kawagoe, Touro University – Vallejo
• Sparghai Ludin, Ross University

Psychiatry

• Saina Gill, St. George’s University
• Christopher Jaime, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Maureen Karina, American University of Antigua College of Medicine
• Jessica Kuo, Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Yusuf Sherzad, California Northstate University College of Medicine
• Madhuri Sudan, Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine

Surgery

• Rachel Handelsman, University of Miami Leonard M Miller School of Medicine
• Emily McNabb, Albany Medical College
• Alex Petrak, The University of Toledo College of Medicine
• Michael Owyong, University of Miami Leonard M Miller School of Medicine
• Maggie Xiong, University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix

Transitional Year

• Ryan Bennion, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Tyler Dalton, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Vineeth Gangaram, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Harmandeep Grewal, AT Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
• Abhinav Komandur, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Kevin Kwan, University of Louisville School of Medicine
• Madeeha Lughmani, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Kevin Nasre-Esfahani, AT Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
• Navjot Singh, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – Piscataway
• Anup Sonti, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
• Jason Wei. New York University Grossman School of Medicine
• Andrew Yu, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Kaweah Health’s six programs now support the training of 130 total resident physicians for the upcoming academic year. Kaweah Health’s Graduate Medical Education Program began in 2013, and offers residency programs in emergency medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, surgery, anesthesia, and transitional year. To date, 118 residents have graduated—excluding Transitional Year residents. The first class of physicians graduated in June 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions about resident physicians

Q. What are resident physicians?

A. Resident physicians (or residents) have earned medical (M.D. or D.O.) degrees after 4 years in medical school. They are then in “residency” training for an additional 3 to 5 years to complete their specialty education in the art and science of medicine and become board certified in their chosen field.

Q. Will residents work in all the parts of the hospital?

A. Yes. Residents will “rotate” throughout the entire hospital.

Q. How will I know residents are part of my healthcare team?

A. Residents are instructed to introduce themselves as residents, resident physicians, or doctors-in-training and their name badges will state that they are resident doctors. Their supervising attending physicians will also introduce themselves so that you are always aware of who is a part of your health care team and what their respective roles are.

Q. What are the benefits to me of having resident physicians at Kaweah Health?

A. Having graduates of some of the finest medical schools at Kaweah Health with their
bright young minds, caring hearts and skillful hands will raise the bar for medical care you’ll receive. Training residents places more doctors in the hospital at all hours of all days. Additionally, studies have shown that when resident physicians work in hospitals, the quality of care improves and patients are more satisfied. Approximately 40% of the residents that graduate from Kaweah Health stay in the Central Valley to practice medicine.

Kaweah Health is a publicly-owned community healthcare organization that provides comprehensive health services to the greater Visalia region and Tulare County. With over 5,000 dedicated medical professionals and employees, Kaweah Health is committed to meeting the community’s health needs through state-of-the-art medicine, high-quality preventive services and specialized health centers and clinics. For more information, visit www.kaweahhealth.org #