Program Highlights
Faculty
The Department of Medicine comprises 450 on-site faculty and an additional 130 adjunct faculty throughout New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts. Ours is the largest and fastest-growing department at DHMC. Faculty join the department as the result of national searches and come from the most prestigious medical institutions. The department's clinician/educators and clinician/investigators are the mainstay of the teaching activities. Our faculty view housestaff as their colleagues, and professional relationships flourish here. Whether it is through bench research, clinical trials, patient consultation or teaching, housestaff and faculty work in concert to provide the best available care to the patients of DHMC.
Research
All residents are required to complete an academic project during their residency. In order to help reach this goal, PGY-1 interns are given a two-week self-directed research block.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is the academic cornerstone of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Because we are a world-renowned medical school, DHMC embraces and encourages research by faculty and residents at the cutting edge of health care. Bench research and clinical trials in nearly every area of internal medicine are underway at DHMC. We have nationally recognized research programs in immunology and infectious diseases, respiratory physiology, endoscopic ultrasonography, endocrinology, hematology/oncology and molecular biology.
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, an MPH, MS and PhD degree-granting institute at Dartmouth College, adds significantly to the teaching and research opportunities at DHMC. Housestaff can work with faculty on projects in decision analysis, clinical epidemiology, or health care delivery. To keep the housestaff apprised of this rapidly evolving field, faculty members affiliated with the Institute and other clinical science departments routinely present their research at Medical Grand Rounds and Housestaff Journal Club. Opportunities to develop expertise in statistical and critical analysis are also available to our housestaff. The Institute is also involved in our medical center's patient education programs and is an integral part of the innovative and interdisciplinary Center for Shared Decision Making.
Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 39 federally funded regional cancer sites, is an integral part of our medical center. Conceived in 1972 as a local center for the diagnosis and care of cancer patients, the Norris Cotton Cancer Center has grown into an internationally recognized cancer center which supports patients with a dynamic program of basic research, advanced clinical technologies, cancer prevention strategies, outreach care, and education programs. Patients with all forms of cancer are treated at the NCCC and receive the most technologically advanced cancer treatments, which are being developed here and in collaboration with scientists throughout the nation. NCCC underwent a significant expansion in 2003, and its Comprehesive Cancer Center status was recently renewed for five years with a marked increase in funding.
Simulation training
The DHMC Patient Safety Training Center is an 8,000 square-foot on site facility consisting of a simulated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, an Adult Critical Care Unit, a Birthing Room, and an Operating Room. The goal of the Simulation Center is to focus learning experiences linked to clinical needs through two initiatives: technical skill training and improvement in communication/group dynamics.
Patient population
As the only academic, tertiary care center in New Hampshire, DHMC provides care to a population base of over 1.5 million people. The medical center's catchment area stretches north to the Vermont and New Hampshire Canadian borders, east to Maine, south into Massachusetts and west to New York State. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) air-transports 700 critically ill medical and trauma patients to our medical center annually. Our faculty and housestaff also provide primary care to the communities of the Upper Connecticut River Valley. Our patients are rated in the highest group on the National Hospital Index of patient illness severity and complexity. Health care at DHMC is a unique and interesting mix of tertiary and primary care.
Information technology
From DHMC's implementation of eD-H, a new electronic medical record to the Graphic User Interface (GUI) system at the White River Junction VA Hospital, information technology is both sophisticated and accessible. The entire DHMC campus is equipped with wireless access for use with laptop and/or tablet computing. Medline, UpToDate, and other evidence-based databases as well as the DHMC intranet are available from all medical center work stations and throughout the outpatient clinics. The Biomedical Libraries of Dartmouth College have approximately 2500 current journal subscriptions, including 1500 digital journals. The libraries also provide access to over 40 digital textbooks, including Harrisons Online, and MDConsult. The biomedical librarians offer practical lectures and regularly scheduled workshops on manipulating resources and navigating medical data bases available on the web.
Leadership Preventive Medicine Residency
After completing a three-year internal medicine residency, DHMC residents may apply to the Leadership Preventive Medicine Residency, a unique program at Dartmouth that allows residents from various fields to expand their training. They gain knowledge and skills in the measurement of outcomes, the leadership of change, and the improvement of health care systems. Through a combination of coursework and practicum projects, residents learn to evaluate clinical microsystems and take leadership roles in effecting change. This training includes the awarding of a Masters of Public Health degree from Dartmouth College at no cost to you.
Fellowship programs
DHMC offers a full array of fellowship programs, enhancing the educational experience as well as facilitating the fellowship application process for our residents.
