Thousand Oaks, CA — Los Robles Health System was thrilled to welcome the inaugural Graduate Medical Education class of 2021 at the traditional White Coat Ceremony that took place on Monday, June 28.
Family, friends, faculty, and hospital administration witnessed this special occasion as 20 new residents joined the Los Robles family.
The White Coat Ceremony is a memorable event and experience for new residents as they transition from medical school to the next part of their journey to become practicing physicians. Next to a stethoscope, the physician’s white coat is seen as the most recognizable symbol of the medical profession.
Earlier this year, the hospital announced the successful match of 20 residents as part of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which took place in March. More than 1,700 applicants applied for the 20 coveted positions at the hospital. The talented group will become the first GME class at Los Robles Health System and officially begin July 1, just a few days after their White Coat Ceremony.
“Our team is thrilled to welcome our medical residents to our campus and community,” says Natalie Mussi, President and CEO of Los Robles Health System. “We have talented physicians and staff that have a lot to offer our new residents. We will provide them with a strong multidisciplinary perspective that will give them the foundation to thrive in their future specialty.”
The addition of a GME program at Los Robles ensures that our community has access to physicians even in an era of physician shortages. 1 in 3 physicians are older than 55 and expected to retire within the next 5-10 years. The sheer number of applicants to the new GME program at Los Robles demonstrates the health system’s appeal to new physicians and their desire to practice medicine where they live. Studies show that 70% of physicians settle down in the community in which they complete their training. This is great news for our community.
Internal medicine residents will be completing three years of training across multiple specialties and services. During this time the residents are trained in their specialty and get hands-on experience at the hospital. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (AGCME) evaluated and approved Los Robles’ program for accreditation in April of 2020.
“We are excited to offer an exceptional training environment for our incoming Internal Medicine Residents,” says Dr. Jasprit Takher, program director of the internal medicine residency program. “The residency process is important and will give our future physicians the ability to practice internal medicine while utilizing a high standard of quality care in a professional clinical setting.”
The 2021 Main Residency Match® was the largest on record in the organization’s history with a record-high 40,084 applicants, as reported by the National Resident Matching Program®, which matches fourth-year medical students with hospitals.
ACGME is a private, non-profit organization that evaluates and accredits graduate medical education (GME) programs. Residency is the final phase of a long educational process, required for a physician to practice medicine, and is most influential in determining where a physician eventually practices.