MDNews - Greater Kansas

SOUND PHYSICIANS PROVIDES NE W DOCTORS WITH GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT WHILE THE Y ADJUST TO THEIR ROLES. A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM being imple- mented by Sound Physicians seeks to help smooth the transition for new doctors, many of whom just completed their residencies, as they join the practice. "We wanted to launch a program, espe - cially for new graduates, to make the start as smooth as possible," says Chady Sarraf, MD, chief hospitalist for Sound Physicians in Wichita. He adds, "We contracted with Don Hackett, PhD, a Wichita State University professor who has extensive experience in teaching about mentorship and how it can impact many practices." The resulting program pairs new doctors with experienced physicians to help them overcome the anxiety and challenges that any new provider may have. This summer, several of the practice's new physicians went through training with Hackett, and then spent their first three shifts working side by side with their mentors. "It went very well," Dr. Sarraf says. "Their anxiety levels were much lower than you would expect on the first few shifts. Moreover, they were able to manage the coming shifts in a better way, and the feedback was very positive." The mentorship progra m provides support through different phases, up to 12 months, which will not only benefit the providers but also the practice and its patients. "Our ultimate goal, the long-term part, is to create a relationship of trust and respect that allows mentees to share their real problems and solve them," Dr. Sarraf says. A s Sound Physicia ns continues to grow, Dr. Sarraf says, the program will be eva luated, ref ined a nd of fered to additional hires. "Acknowledging the fact that through this program they will be provided with the needed support and assigned mentors who will o§er them the necessary guid- ance, doctors will feel more confident to join our group," Dr. Sarraf says. He concludes, " Mentorship is more tha n just a work relationship; it actu- a lly promotes essentia l va lues such as f r iend sh ip a nd t hou g ht f u l ness t hat tra nsform the work environment into a better place. ■ Eileen Wong, MD UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMA S PHILIPPINES INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENCY: Philippine General Hospital INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENCY: Cook County Hospital, Chicago The doctor who helped diagnose her father's illness as she was growing up in the Philippines helped set a course for Dr. Wong's career. "If you're a doctor, you can do a lot for another person," she says, adding her interest has always been in internal medicine. In addition to her education, Dr. Wong worked in Via Christi's Clinic, but she says she enjoys the challenges and pace that are part of her work with Sound Physicians. "Everything is fast," she says of her role as a hospitalist. "When you order the tests, they're on the same day, and you can see the patients recover quickly." Jonathan Pankow, MD BAYLOR UNIVERSIT Y RESIDENCY: KU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ° WICHITA A desire to help people, merged with a love of physical sciences, led Dr. Pankow toward a career in internal medicine. "I like to think about things such as signs and symptoms and then use labs and physical evidence to narrow down diagnoses," he says. Dr. Pankow joined Sound Physicians in July and says the organization's mentorship program has provided a smooth transition into the high-paced but enjoyable work of a hospitalist. "I like the dynamics," he says, praising the practice's decision to pair each new hospitalist with a mentor who helped them ease into carrying a full patient load. "It's a really good system to distribute admissions and workload and to maximize efficiency. By the time we actually started our service, we were familiar with the system." BY SARAH GOODING A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM that Helps Smooth the Path to Practice 2 9 M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S G R E AT E R K A N S A S ■ 2 017

• Cover