Doylestown Hospital family medicine residency and practice extend the culture of learning

Throughout its first 100 years from 1923-2023, Penn Medicine Doylestown Health consistently and compassionately cared for the local community while continuing to evolve in a variety of ways to meet the needs of patients.

“During the last few decades, especially, we’ve seen exponential growth in not only our reputation but the quality of care we can deliver,” said Scott Levy, MD, chief medical officer and vice president of Doylestown Health.

Doylestown Health’s first residency program and practice

One of the most notable leaps taken toward the future in Doylestown Health’s centennial year is starting the system’s first medical residency program, in Family Medicine Residency. As part of this program, Family Medicine residents rotate through the many clinical areas of the health system, guided by supervising (attending) board-certified physicians in a variety of specialties. This program fosters a higher level of learning throughout the health system for not only the residents but for the all the physicians and clinical teams involved in the program.

“I look at this as a major crossroads, evolving to the next generation... In other words, a culture of learning. This requires our entire team to be up to date on technology and advances in medicine,” Levy said. “It also helps us with recruiting... Where we stand right now at our centennial is evidence of our commitment to continue to provide high-level, high-quality care to people of this region.”

A major part of the residents’ experience is working in primary care, taking on patients of their own. A new primary care office, called Doylestown Health Family Medicine Residency Practice, which opened in July 2023 at the Health and Wellness Center in Warrington, provides residents with hands-on experience preparing for their futures as board-certified Family Medicine physicians. Working alongside practicing Family Medicine physicians, residents are caring for patients with a variety of diagnoses (many are chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma) from diverse backgrounds.

Satisfied patients

One of those new patients, a woman from Hatboro, PA, was frustrated with her primary care office in another health system but loved the idea of being a part of the Doylestown Health network. She interviewed the attending physicians and residents at Doylestown Health Family Medicine Residency Practice first, saying she also appreciates being a part of a learning environment. She decided to make the switch.

“I like helping people, so I’m helping the residents. They take their time with me, so they’re really helping me,” said this patient, who has seen the same resident for two separate health issues.

“One of the times I visited, I had a [symptom] of Raynaud’s syndrome in my one finger and I was very nervous about it. The resident and the attending were able to really calm me down and helped me,” she said. “The facility is very soothing…The people there are so nice, and the doctors are extremely thorough. I felt very comfortable.”

This patient added that it’s also comforting to know if her resident physician is not available, she can see someone else relatively quickly as walk-ins are also an option.

Similarly, Erik Melling of Doylestown explained that he chose to schedule an appointment at the practice because he needed a new primary care practice. After visiting Doylestown Hospital’s Emergency Department for severe orthopedic pain, he learned he needed to follow up with a primary care physician. His prior primary care practice couldn’t see him for about six weeks because he had to be reinstated as a patient as it had been years since he was there. Not able to wait that long, and after a few phone calls, his wife learned of Doylestown Health Family Medicine Residency Practice. She was able to schedule an appointment for him.

“The staff got me in quickly. I was seen by two MDs (resident and physician), so that was nice… The resident doctor was very kind,” Melling said, explaining that he is happy with his choice. “They are treating me for Lyme Disease and I’m already getting better.”

Eager residents

Over the past few months, the residents working in the practice are becoming more comfortable in their patient interactions, so their skills continue to grow along with their enthusiasm, according to Levy.

One of those eager residents, Veneela Koppolu, MD, explained that she’s thrilled to be able to establish a “patient panel” (the collection of new patients she will see regularly) and a rapport with her patients.

“I am able to build that relationship with them. I feel like if we’re able to continue that relationship, we can decrease the barriers to healthcare,” she said. Koppolu added that as part of their training, each resident spends one full month in the practice, as well as several half days a week through the rest of the year seeing their panel of patients at the practice.

Koppolu explained that each patient interaction starts with a resident examining the patient first. Then the resident discusses the plan with the supervising attending physician. “We work together to address the problem from an evidence-based perspective, and develop an optimal management plan tailored to the specific patient,” she said. After that point, the attending and the resident join the patient to discuss the plan of care.

“Our attendings are well-experienced, excellent physicians. They wholeheartedly support us and are deeply committed in training us to become compassionate and competent physicians,” Koppolu said. “My fellow residents are thoughtful, engaging physicians who look out for each other and always keep the big picture of the whole patient in mind.”

It’s not just the attending physicians and residents who are great to work with but so are the patients. “I’ve found that our patients are willing to take care of their health,” she said. “To make for the best patient-doctor relationship, it is extremely important for patients to feel their problems are being heard. They feel valued under our care and it’s our goal to keep building that trust so they understand that we are here to improve their health and well-being,” Koppolu said.

Plus, the friendly front desk staff make it easy for patients to schedule appointments, fill out paperwork, and refill prescriptions, according to Koppolu.

She added, “It’s a privilege to take care of the community where I live. Happiness is a big deal for me, and my residency program and the community which I serve is an essential part of that.”