As needs grow, Modesto hospital teams with UC Davis to train heart surgeons, specialists
As population growth in the region increases demand for medical services, Doctors Medical Center of Modesto and UC Davis Health have entered a partnership creating two residency programs for new physicians.
A cardiothoracic surgery residency began in January 2024, training doctors in surgeries of the heart, lungs and esophagus. The hospital's second new program is training young doctors in obstetrics and gynecology.
Officials at DMC said the Modesto hospital needs to fill gaps created by retirements and train the next generation of specialists for the community.
"By expanding our relationship with UC Davis, we are growing the breadth and quality of advanced services that we provide the communities we serve," said Dr. John deGraft-Johnson, a thoracic surgeon at DMC and expert in robotic-assisted operations.
The cardiothoracic program is an opportunity for resident physicians to get away from the academic setting and gain experience in a community-based hospital.
Devon Anderson, a cardiothoracic resident, found out last week that the unexpected is part of community hospital territory, as a cardiac emergency kept her in the operating room until 10 p.m.
A patient came in with with a tear in the aorta and underwent surgery for what's called a type A aortic dissection. DeGraft-Johnson explained that a patient with this type of medical emergency has blood flowing between layers of the aorta and is dying.
Doctors put the patient on a heart and lung bypass machine, and the person is frozen to bring down the body temperature. Blood is then drained from the patient to stop the flow, so that open heart surgery can repair the aorta.
"It's like death and resurrection all in one," deGraft-Johnson said. "We try to repair the damage as quickly as we can. It's an unpredictable emergency that always comes in at odd hours."
Anderson said she was the second assisting physician for the life-saving procedure, passing instruments and helping with suction. "It's a great learning experience to see how it's managed, how it's orchestrated and handled calmly," said Anderson, who's in her third week of rotations at DMC.
The hospital and UC Davis Health said the resident physicians are gaining clinical experience outside of Sacramento, in rural and underserved areas of the Central Valley. The idea is that resident physicians trained at DMC may choose later to practice in the Modesto area, but it's not a requirement.
"Not everyone who trains in an academic program stays in academia," deGraft-Johnson said. "It's more hands-on in the community medical center and they learn about the patient population in this community."
Right now, senior-level cardiothoracic residents in their fifth and sixth years are training at the hospital.
Anderson said her interest in the heart began in the first year of medical school. She is learning surgical techniques at DMC and performing surgery with a robotic system.
Rotations for OB-GYN residents
An OB-GYN program also is offering elective and mandatory rotations with a broad scope of training.
Angie Guignard, director of Women and Children's Services at DMC, said the hospital serves an area with a shortage of OB-GYNs. About 15 additional OB-GYNs are needed in the community.
Residents in the program, which started in 2023, spend 60% of the time in obstetrical care and 40% learning gynecological surgeries.
"You may see patients who have never had prenatal care until their first visit to the hospital," Guignard said. "Two of our residents grew up in the Central Valley. It was rewarding for them to come back and take care of patients in the community where they grew up."
UC Davis Health said it's aligned with state goals of providing for workforce needs to improve healthcare access in underserved areas like the Central Valley. The residents in the four-year OB-GYN program spend much of their time at Sacramento hospitals, where they often see patients referred there for severe medical conditions.
The rotations in Modesto give them training in more routine medical issues.
Mehnoor Haseeb, an obstetrician-gynecology resident, agreed that practicing in the community environment is a valuable experience. Haseeb is from a Pakistani immigrant family and was raised in Modesto.
"Training at DMC was really rewarding because I got to serve some of the populations I grew up with, in a community where I spent my formative years," she said. "The physicians at DMC trained me in some procedures that OB-GYN residents usually don't see until the latter part of their residency."
