How Well Are You Prepared For The Next Step?

Q: In general, how well do you feel residency prepares you for your next step professionally?

A:

Karla De La Mata, DPM feels her program’s structure prepares her well through strong, four-week long rotations through various departments, including infectious disease, vascular, and orthopedics. She adds that tackling emergencies while on-call, along with frequent opportunities to work alongside different attendings allows her to see and learn various surgical techniques, business practices and instances of patient care.

“By the end of residency, I should have broadened surgical knowledge and a skill set allowing me to swiftly progress into an attending physician,” she says.

Zabdi Sanchez Prada, DPM says that she feels residency allows her to build upon the foundational principles learned during podiatric medical school.

“My clinical skills, decision-making, professionalism, practice management skills and self-confidence continue to develop throughout residency; all which contribute to the ultimate shift from doctor-in-training to attending physician,” she explains. “I also strongly believe self-awareness is crucial in identifying areas of growth as one strives to become a patient-centered physician.”   

Q: How do you go about learning relevant financial strategies for your future while in residency? Does your program/facility offer any tools for this?

A:

Dr. Sanchez Prada relates that her program holds regular discussions with attendings on financial strategies to prepare for entering the work force. Topics range from managing practice finances, coding and billing, understanding RVUs, to tips and tricks for personal investing strategies. She goes on to say that attendings share weekly surgical case discussions that include what codes they use to bill a particular surgery, any modifiers, etc.

“In clinic, we then apply our knowledge by completing the billing forms for the patients we treat. Coding and billing is such a hot topic that we participated in a discussion over dumplings after hours!” she says.

While financial strategies are important, Dr. De La Mata feels that as a second-year resident, building on her clinical and surgical skills are her priority.

“Beyond this, my strategy at the moment is increasing my financial awareness, personally and professionally,” she explains. “I collect information and make brief notes for later reference on subjects spanning compensation, billing/compliance practice, practice revenue and management, and medical group affiliations.”

Q: How do you go about learning about relevant business-related strategies for your future while in residency? Does your program/facility offer any tools for this?

A:

Dr. De La Mata shares that having exposure to private practice, hospital-affiliated clinics and multidisciplinary facilities allows her opportunities to speak to and learn from attendings regarding business tips and strategies, such as insurance in- and out-of-network dynamics, reimbursement, benefits of performing in-office procedures, and building a referral network. 

Dr. Sanchez Prada agrees that business-related strategies are often a topic of discussion with attendings during morning meetings and clinic rotations. She adds that in these interactions she learns about attendings’ personal experiences, along with relevant courses that are available. She cites resources she finds valuable, like Podiatry Today, the New York State Podiatric Medical Association (NYSPMA), the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), that provide insights support the professional success of the podiatric community. In addition, Northwell- LIJ Forest Hills provides many resources including, but not limited to, one-on-one meetings with financial advisors.

Q: Are there any non-clinical areas in which you feel residents would benefit from having pathways to learning other than the above? (ie self-care, mental health, group dynamics, public speaking, social issues, etc.)

A:

Public speaking workshops and local community speaking opportunities are potential avenues that Dr. De La Mata believes that residents could benefit from.

“This would allow us to be more at ease when presenting research, serving as moderators for different organizational lectures, and even interviewing for fellowship or employment opportunities following residency,” she elaborates.

Dr. Sanchez Prada points out that residency is quite demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“Self-care and mental health awareness are of monumental importance to residents and those who depend on us to be at our best, especially our patients,” she says. “At Northwell, we have a physician well-being committee that provides resources in various areas such as mental health, physical activity, nutrition, and community building which have been tremendously helpful to me. I believe it would be greatly beneficial for residents to have access to resources in areas that lead to personal development not only within their residency program but also within the podiatric community.”

Dr. De La Mata is a second-year resident at Lenox Hill Hospital at Northwell Health in New York City.

Dr. Sanchez Prada is a second-year resident at Northwell - LIJ Forest Hills in Queens, NY.