HCA Healthcare Magazine - Winter 2019 - 5

"When I met
all the residents,
I felt right away
that I had found
a new home."
"There is
always a research
project that you
can start and
they are very
supportive
of that."
"Our standards
are very high.
Our program
director has
standards [for us]
that are next level
and he always
wants us to
get there."
- Laura Gomez, MD
Emergency Medicine
Aventura Hospital &
Medical Center
Aventura, Fla.

While medical schools have increased enrollment by more
than 30% since 1996, there hasn't been a hike in the number
of residency positions. By 2032, the U.S. is expected to have
a shortage of some 122,000 physicians, according to a 2019
study by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Strength in Numbers
HCA Healthcare is in a prime position to make the best
use of GME programs. We're the nation's largest sponsor of
residency and fellowship programs, with more than 3,990
residents and fellows across more than 260 programs in
56 hospitals throughout 15 states.
Our scale also allows GME personnel to share ideas and
academic support services between facilities. "If we were
to develop just a series of GME programs at local hospitals,
each one would have to have its own research staff to meet
the accreditation requirements," says Dr. Deighton.

GME
NUMBERS
(as of October 2019)

HCA Healthcare's
nationwide ranking by
size of GME programs

3,990+

Approximate number of
residents and fellows in
GME programs

260+

Accredited residency and

Growing the Program
We continue to extend the reach of our GME program,
entering new markets in Texas, Tennessee and California.
"We're also expanding into some specialty fellowship
programs and adding complex surgical specialties," says Dr.
Deighton. The organization hopes to have more than 7,000
residency and fellowship positions in place by 2025.
"We're trying to meet a variety of different needs,"
says Dr. Deighton, who recently attended a conference at
the White House on the need for more addiction medicine
fellowship programs to help address the country's opioid
addiction problem.
"What was interesting was our capability-because of our
scale-to quickly develop multiple new addiction medicine
fellowships," says Dr. Deighton. "There was no other organization at that meeting that had that same capability. We're
utilizing our scale to meet the needs out there and trying to
do it in a way that's oriented to quality and to our standards
for patient care."
In short, residencies provide a win-win-win scenario,
enhancing clinical excellence, providing essential
opportunities for medical students to complete advanced
training and developing lasting relationships with
residents who complete their training in HCA Healthcare
GME programs.
"We're meeting the organization's physician workforce
needs and, more importantly, the needs of the patients
and the needs of the community for access to care," says
Dr. Deighton. "I'm very proud of what we've done." ■

fellowship programs under
the HCA Healthcare umbrella

Hospitals hosting
GME programs

States with
HCA Healthcare
GME programs

7,000+
Residents and
fellows that
HCA Healthcare
plans to have by 2025

HCA Healthcare Magazine | 5

HCA Healthcare Magazine - Winter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of HCA Healthcare Magazine - Winter 2019