A message from:
Susan T. Kaye, MD
Department Chair
You have certainly chosen a wonderfully exciting time to be entering family medicine. The emphasis on population health management, preventive medicine and ambulatory care puts family medicine and primary care front and center as we work towards lowering the cost of care, increasing quality, and solving the issue of health inequity in our country. At Overlook Medical Center's Family Medicine Department, we are invigorated by the resources that Atlantic Health System, is investing to improve and grow our Family Medicine Residency Program.
The mission of Overlook Family Medicine Residency Program is to offer residents a high-quality, comprehensive primary care education that:
- Understands and addresses the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of health and illness;
- Provides collaborative, holistic, family-centered health care which supports and relies on our patients' autonomy, strengths, and value;
- Appreciates patient perspectives, engagement and the capacity for self-care
- Supports and inspires residents from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences to embody and enact the ideals of Family Medicine.
Atlantic Health System's five-year strategic plan includes a significant focus on primary care, including training and retaining family physicians. Our commitment to innovation and excellence is exemplified by our:
- State-of-the-art electronic health records
- Primary Care Medical Home designation by The Joint Commission
Overlook Family Medicine Residency Program was established in 1973, four years after the birth of our specialty. Our mission is to provide high quality, evidence-based education to our learners and compassionate, cost-effective, evidence-based services to patients and families. Our two busy community-based Family Medicine Centers provide our faculty and residents with the ideal setting for learning, teaching and delivering services to a diverse population.
As a regional medical center located just 20 miles from New York City, Overlook Medical Center provides all the services of a larger university-based program in the atmosphere of a smaller, community setting. Our parent company, Atlantic Health System, also has a medical school affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Our residents get the best of both worlds – a multi-residency training environment with advanced technologies in a setting where family medicine is respected and embraced. In fact, Atlantic Health System has been rated as one of “100 Best Companies to Work For®” by Fortune Magazine, highlighting our high quality, high touch attitude toward health care delivery. In addition to learning the full spectrum of family medicine in an academically challenging and supportive environment, our program offers several learning tracks and opportunities not often found elsewhere:
- Palliative Care – an area of concentration with both didactic and clinical experiences, including: participation in palliative care team activity: consults, daily interdisciplinary team meetings, inpatient rounds; monthly Schwartz Center Rounds; bi-monthly bioethics committee meetings; and participation in hospice team meetings and home visits; among other activities.
- Sports Medicine – monthly conferences presented by sports medicine fellows, procedure workshops and sideline management experiences.
- Medical Humanities – learning opportunities in ethics, medical narrative and the arts (including Metropolitan Museum visits in NYC) and conferences highlighting patient experiences and perspectives.
- Global Health – financial and organizational support to faculty and residents who want to pursue an opportunity to be involved in the delivery of health care in a global setting and make medical volunteerism a part of their life's work. Financial support is available through the Benjamin H. Josephson MD Fund.
- Obstetrics and Gynecology - a two-year experience with additional hours in obstetrics and gynecology to gain experience in performing gynecologic procedures and providing prenatal care for low risk obstetrical patients.
As a resident at Overlook Medical Center, you will have the opportunity to explore your own personal and professional interests. We are especially proud of our graduates, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in our specialty. Our graduates have entered fellowships in palliative care, geriatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, women's health, sports medicine and faculty development. Twenty percent of our alumni are in academic medicine, including faculty, residency program directors and department chairs. Others have chosen careers in medical management or industry, and several of them have established practices in international settings.
Whatever your interests include, our staff and faculty are here to provide you with an atmosphere of camaraderie, intellectual challenge, innovation and guidance as you train to become a culturally competent, clinically astute, highly compassionate family physician.
We look forward to meeting you.
