Following a Thanksgiving surge that led to record numbers of admissions of patients with COVID-19, residents and fellows from multiple disciplines have come together under the direction and supervision of critical care attendings to provide the best care to critically ill patients in Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which oversees physician certification in the United States, announced the adoption of a “progressive leave policy that will offer residents and fellows more flexibility, reduce stress and increase autonomy in making life decisions, especially with regard to family and parental leave.”

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been accredited as a Comprehensive Accredited Education Institute (AEI) by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Throughout June Vanderbilt University Medical Center is welcoming 330 new residents and fellows, and onboarding the physicians-in-training looks a bit different this year.

In early March Vanderbilt University Medical Center established a telephone hotline for its patients and employees concerned that they could be ill with COVID-19. The hotline has since received more than 20,000 calls.

Christina Bailey, MD, MSCI, assistant professor of Surgery, has been named the new program director of the general surgery residency training program in the Department of Surgery, Section of Surgical Sciences.

Exactly 88 years from the day he was born at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, J. Kenneth Jacobs, MD, professor of Surgery, emeritus, returned to the institution to present a financial gift to the Section of Surgical Sciences to support the future education and research efforts of surgical residents.