Selected Podcast
Introducing the Family Medicine Residency Program
We're training the next generation of physicians right here in Pullman! The Family Medicine Residency Program is a partnership between Pullman Regional Hospital & Washington State University. Learn more about the program, meet the program director, and find out how you can help support the program.
Featuring:
Stephen Hall, MD
Dr. Stephen Hall has been providing family medicine and obstetrical care since 1997 in Pullman, WA. He is the Program Director for the Family Medicine Residency Program- Pullman, through Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, as well as one of Pullman Regional Hospital's Chief Medical Officers. Transcription:
Intro: With a relentless focus on excellence in healthcare, Pullman Regional Hospital presents the Health Podcast
Deborah Howell (Host): All right. Maybe you've heard of the family medicine residency program right here at Pullman. Well, to learn a little bit more about training the next generation of physicians, we'll talk to someone who knows all about it. Today, we'd like to welcome Dr. Stephen Hall, program director for the family medicine residency program, Pullman through Washington State University's Elson S Floyd college of medicine, as well as one of Pullman Regional Hospitals, chief medical officers. Hello, Dr. Hall and welcome.
Dr Stephen Hall: Hello. Hey, thanks for your time.
Deborah Howell (Host): Lovely to have you with us today. So for those who are unfamiliar, could you briefly describe what a residency program is.
Dr Stephen Hall: your time. Sure. I guess the first thing to know is that residents are actually physic. they've already done four years of undergraduate studies and then four years of medical school and they've earned their degree in medicine and our doctors. So what a residency is, is it's further training them in specfic areas. So in family medicine, it's a three year residency beyond medical school and it furthers their knowledge in all the areas that a family practitioner would need to know. And so they learn more about hospital medicine, pediatrics women's health, orthopedic, sports medicine. these are all areas that the national family medicine board says are important for a family physician to know. And so we make sure that as we're training them here in a residency over those three years, that they're exposed to and learn those areas very well.
Deborah Howell (Host): Got it. That's well said. Now your residency was quite a while ago, but I'm sure you remember, many parts of it. What type of experience are you hoping to create for residents at Pullman?
Dr Stephen Hall: Well, there's some things that I hope they experienced that I did. And there's other things that I I'd rather forget about myself,. Residency, it was a long time ago and it's a lot different now. residencies today are monitored more closely, they're watching the wellness of residents, as well as making sure the safety and quality and, care of the teaching, of patients and residents. I hope they're able to capture the excitement and the fulfillment of being able to provide full scope medical care. That's what I remember, that just wonder and excitement of going through that.
and I also want, them to be able to experience what it is like to give long term care. To build relationships with patients, and to nurture those relationships and to use that, to provide better care, understanding how knowledge of the whole person allows them to provide, a more holistic and, better care.
Deborah Howell (Host): The residents will be practicing out of the family medicine residency clinic at Pullman Regional Hospital. What are the benefits to patients seeing a resident for care?
Dr Stephen Hall: Well, so residents, they're learning, they're being taught. And so generally they have more time to spend with patients. The focus is on learning rather than, you know, numbers and. SO you benefit of getting more attention and more care. You also have the benefit of your care being, reviewed or co-managed by a family physician who's in the clinic and involved in teaching the residents. So you're kinda getting two for the price of one. The care you receive also, follows the latest expert recommendations, since the instruction that the residents are receiving is based on the most current learnings.
And so you're getting the latest and greatest, and also you get to know that you're involved in teaching a new generation of physicians, your story, your medical journey can greatly influence the way medical care is delivered in the future. And if that physician stays in the community, maybe even you're influencing the way that they provide care to your friends, your neighbors, or maybe even yourself.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah. There's benefits to all the new knowledge and you know, all the old wise experience.
Dr Stephen Hall: Right. I mean, you're getting all of it. you're getting the experience of the faculty that are teaching the residents, as well as the most up to date learnings,
Deborah Howell (Host): What excites you personally about welcoming residents to Pullman?
Dr Stephen Hall: So I moved to Pullman over 25 years ago and we moved here To raise our family. our oldest daughter was starting, high school and we really looked around and we figured out where we wanted to raise our family. That was, most important to us at that time. And what I'm excited about is welcoming residents to Pullman for them to be able to experience the family like atmosphere. And also the excellence of teaching. People don't recognize that the [inaudible] has been involved in teaching, medicine for about five decades now. and so over that time, the level of caring teamwork that's developed, it's an experience that's hard to find any place else.
Pullman, it combines the small town atmosphere with large scope medical care. And, I've been teaching medical students for quite a long time and excited to start teaching residents. But many times the medical students, they'll approach me and they'll go, can I practice family medicine the way that you do? Can I do all the things that you do? And I tell them in order to do that, what you really have to do is you have to find the right place and Pullman's the right place. So we have it all. And for our family medicine residents, to be able to experience it and to learn in this environment, is pretty awesome.
I'm also excited for our community physicians as well. So studies show that where residents are being taught the level and quality of care provided by all physicians in that community is elevated. So I'm excited for our community physicians as well.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, that leads me to my next question. What type of community support will help physician residents and the program succeed?
Dr Stephen Hall: The first thing I'd ask is for the residents to be welcomed. Pullman is such a wonderful place to live, and I want them to experience that welcoming family atmosphere, you know, open up to them, allow yourself to be a teacher by sharing your experiences with them. Anyone can learn facts from a book, and what you have to offer is more important and is the human side of medicine. So if you find yourself encountering a family medicine resident, please share, it will impact their learning so much. and if you want to go a step further, you could actually sign up to be a patient in the family medicine resident clinic. .
And if you're seen there, you'll receive the latest up to date care. You'll be seen by kind and compassionate residents and their faculty. And you'll be able to teach and to share your experience with residents and to impact their life and the way that they provide care.
Deborah Howell (Host): Sounds wonderful. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation, Dr. Hall?
Dr Stephen Hall: I'm just super excited to be able to teach residents in Pullman. I brag about Pullman all the time and the medical care that's able to be offered here and to be able to teach residents in that environment is just so exciting to me. it's been a long journey in getting to this point and, there's been bumps in the road and I've just appreciated the support of my patients, of the physicians around me. And of Pullman regional hospital and Washington State University. It's just been so supportive. And, it's just so exciting to see this come to fruition.
Deborah Howell (Host): And how about the philanthropy side of things?
Dr Stephen Hall: Teaching, residents is not a inexpensive endeavor. The finances are based on, Medicare numbers that haven't changed in decades and have not been able to keep up with the costs. so because of that, there's always a shortage in funding for residencies and being able to teach them. So there's always a need for philanthropy. I guess the last thing to ask is that if you find it in yourself and you think you want to help financially, I would strongly encourage you to contact Pullman Regional Hospital or the Elis S Floyd College of Medicine Foundations, and to, make a generous donation. If you do donate to these causes, then what you're doing is you're investing in the future of Medicine in [inaudible] and in rural environ.
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, Dr. Hall, your enthusiasm for both the program and the philanthropy side of things come shining through. We so appreciate your time and everything you do to help our wonderful residents and patients. Thanks so much for being with us today.
Dr Stephen Hall: Oh, again, thank you so much for your time.
Deborah Howell (Host): We'd like to invite you to come be a patient at a state of the art residency program. Visit Pullmanregional.org/residency/center to learn more. And you can learn more about this subject providers and services at Pullman Regional Hospital This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This has been the Health Podcast from Pullman Regional.
I'm your host Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a terrific day.
Intro: With a relentless focus on excellence in healthcare, Pullman Regional Hospital presents the Health Podcast
Deborah Howell (Host): All right. Maybe you've heard of the family medicine residency program right here at Pullman. Well, to learn a little bit more about training the next generation of physicians, we'll talk to someone who knows all about it. Today, we'd like to welcome Dr. Stephen Hall, program director for the family medicine residency program, Pullman through Washington State University's Elson S Floyd college of medicine, as well as one of Pullman Regional Hospitals, chief medical officers. Hello, Dr. Hall and welcome.
Dr Stephen Hall: Hello. Hey, thanks for your time.
Deborah Howell (Host): Lovely to have you with us today. So for those who are unfamiliar, could you briefly describe what a residency program is.
Dr Stephen Hall: your time. Sure. I guess the first thing to know is that residents are actually physic. they've already done four years of undergraduate studies and then four years of medical school and they've earned their degree in medicine and our doctors. So what a residency is, is it's further training them in specfic areas. So in family medicine, it's a three year residency beyond medical school and it furthers their knowledge in all the areas that a family practitioner would need to know. And so they learn more about hospital medicine, pediatrics women's health, orthopedic, sports medicine. these are all areas that the national family medicine board says are important for a family physician to know. And so we make sure that as we're training them here in a residency over those three years, that they're exposed to and learn those areas very well.
Deborah Howell (Host): Got it. That's well said. Now your residency was quite a while ago, but I'm sure you remember, many parts of it. What type of experience are you hoping to create for residents at Pullman?
Dr Stephen Hall: Well, there's some things that I hope they experienced that I did. And there's other things that I I'd rather forget about myself,. Residency, it was a long time ago and it's a lot different now. residencies today are monitored more closely, they're watching the wellness of residents, as well as making sure the safety and quality and, care of the teaching, of patients and residents. I hope they're able to capture the excitement and the fulfillment of being able to provide full scope medical care. That's what I remember, that just wonder and excitement of going through that.
and I also want, them to be able to experience what it is like to give long term care. To build relationships with patients, and to nurture those relationships and to use that, to provide better care, understanding how knowledge of the whole person allows them to provide, a more holistic and, better care.
Deborah Howell (Host): The residents will be practicing out of the family medicine residency clinic at Pullman Regional Hospital. What are the benefits to patients seeing a resident for care?
Dr Stephen Hall: Well, so residents, they're learning, they're being taught. And so generally they have more time to spend with patients. The focus is on learning rather than, you know, numbers and. SO you benefit of getting more attention and more care. You also have the benefit of your care being, reviewed or co-managed by a family physician who's in the clinic and involved in teaching the residents. So you're kinda getting two for the price of one. The care you receive also, follows the latest expert recommendations, since the instruction that the residents are receiving is based on the most current learnings.
And so you're getting the latest and greatest, and also you get to know that you're involved in teaching a new generation of physicians, your story, your medical journey can greatly influence the way medical care is delivered in the future. And if that physician stays in the community, maybe even you're influencing the way that they provide care to your friends, your neighbors, or maybe even yourself.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah. There's benefits to all the new knowledge and you know, all the old wise experience.
Dr Stephen Hall: Right. I mean, you're getting all of it. you're getting the experience of the faculty that are teaching the residents, as well as the most up to date learnings,
Deborah Howell (Host): What excites you personally about welcoming residents to Pullman?
Dr Stephen Hall: So I moved to Pullman over 25 years ago and we moved here To raise our family. our oldest daughter was starting, high school and we really looked around and we figured out where we wanted to raise our family. That was, most important to us at that time. And what I'm excited about is welcoming residents to Pullman for them to be able to experience the family like atmosphere. And also the excellence of teaching. People don't recognize that the [inaudible] has been involved in teaching, medicine for about five decades now. and so over that time, the level of caring teamwork that's developed, it's an experience that's hard to find any place else.
Pullman, it combines the small town atmosphere with large scope medical care. And, I've been teaching medical students for quite a long time and excited to start teaching residents. But many times the medical students, they'll approach me and they'll go, can I practice family medicine the way that you do? Can I do all the things that you do? And I tell them in order to do that, what you really have to do is you have to find the right place and Pullman's the right place. So we have it all. And for our family medicine residents, to be able to experience it and to learn in this environment, is pretty awesome.
I'm also excited for our community physicians as well. So studies show that where residents are being taught the level and quality of care provided by all physicians in that community is elevated. So I'm excited for our community physicians as well.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, that leads me to my next question. What type of community support will help physician residents and the program succeed?
Dr Stephen Hall: The first thing I'd ask is for the residents to be welcomed. Pullman is such a wonderful place to live, and I want them to experience that welcoming family atmosphere, you know, open up to them, allow yourself to be a teacher by sharing your experiences with them. Anyone can learn facts from a book, and what you have to offer is more important and is the human side of medicine. So if you find yourself encountering a family medicine resident, please share, it will impact their learning so much. and if you want to go a step further, you could actually sign up to be a patient in the family medicine resident clinic. .
And if you're seen there, you'll receive the latest up to date care. You'll be seen by kind and compassionate residents and their faculty. And you'll be able to teach and to share your experience with residents and to impact their life and the way that they provide care.
Deborah Howell (Host): Sounds wonderful. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation, Dr. Hall?
Dr Stephen Hall: I'm just super excited to be able to teach residents in Pullman. I brag about Pullman all the time and the medical care that's able to be offered here and to be able to teach residents in that environment is just so exciting to me. it's been a long journey in getting to this point and, there's been bumps in the road and I've just appreciated the support of my patients, of the physicians around me. And of Pullman regional hospital and Washington State University. It's just been so supportive. And, it's just so exciting to see this come to fruition.
Deborah Howell (Host): And how about the philanthropy side of things?
Dr Stephen Hall: Teaching, residents is not a inexpensive endeavor. The finances are based on, Medicare numbers that haven't changed in decades and have not been able to keep up with the costs. so because of that, there's always a shortage in funding for residencies and being able to teach them. So there's always a need for philanthropy. I guess the last thing to ask is that if you find it in yourself and you think you want to help financially, I would strongly encourage you to contact Pullman Regional Hospital or the Elis S Floyd College of Medicine Foundations, and to, make a generous donation. If you do donate to these causes, then what you're doing is you're investing in the future of Medicine in [inaudible] and in rural environ.
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, Dr. Hall, your enthusiasm for both the program and the philanthropy side of things come shining through. We so appreciate your time and everything you do to help our wonderful residents and patients. Thanks so much for being with us today.
Dr Stephen Hall: Oh, again, thank you so much for your time.
Deborah Howell (Host): We'd like to invite you to come be a patient at a state of the art residency program. Visit Pullmanregional.org/residency/center to learn more. And you can learn more about this subject providers and services at Pullman Regional Hospital This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This has been the Health Podcast from Pullman Regional.
I'm your host Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a terrific day.