Primary Care Track to Graduate Third Class of Residents, Sixth Class of Interns 

This summer, the Internal Medicine Residency Primary Care Track will graduate its third class of residents and welcome its sixth class of interns. Elizabeth Murphy, MD, director of the Primary Care Track Program, credits its success to the collaboration and quality education delivered by faculty since the program received its first interns in June 2020.  

“I’m incredibly proud of the collaboration we have had with the Department of Medicine, clinical system, UMass Chan Medical School, and especially the Division of General Internal Medicine,” said Dr. Murphy. “Since our program started, we have always done well in the match, and this year, we have a record number of UMass students applying to the Primary Care Track. Our residents get great primary care training, incredible specialty training from our providers, and strong inpatient training as well.” 

The Primary Care Track was approved in the fall of 2019 and had its first match in March 2020. Dr. Murphy noted that there were several key reasons for establishing the track for residents. “There was a decreased number of residents going into primary care, and an increasing need to replace the aging workforce among the primary care community. We also had a significant number of UMass students who were going to primary care residencies in New England and across the country, and we wanted to keep some of those great people here,” she explained. 

Primary care residents are fully integrated into the categorical program and do the same rotations as categorical residents. They have their primary continuity clinic at the Benedict Primary Care Clinic, and also have a second primary care clinic site in order to see different patient panels and different practice models. Primary care residents also have a supplemental curriculum to augment their clinical training, along with personalized mentorship and scheduling to help them achieve their career goals.  

One unique aspect of the program is the Benedict Leaders Clinic, where each primary care intern is paired with a leading physician in Benedict who has been in primary care for 25 years or longer. These leaders have included Drs. Deborah Blazey-Martin, division chief of General Internal Medicine, Bruce Weinstein, clinical chief of General Internal Medicine, David Hatem, and Howard Sachs. “The interns work with these experienced clinicians for one half clinic every five weeks. They get to see what it’s like to provide longitudinal care, see how they utilize their support staff and EHR to care for the patients in front of them and their panel, and learn how they have maintained joy in their careers for so long,” said Dr. Murphy. “When we presented this to the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine last spring, we received first prize in posters for medical education innovation.” 

With its third class of residents nearing graduation, the Primary Care Track has achieved great success in its post-graduate outcomes. Including upcoming graduates and their plans after fellowship, 62 percent will be practicing primary care, compared to the national average of 57 percent of primary care track graduates. Nationally, approximately 10 percent of categorical Internal Medicine residents pursue primary care careers. Three former Primary Care Track residents, Varun Ayyaswami, MD, Victor Acosta-Rivera, MD, and Elizabeth Douglas, DO, have gone on to practice at the Benedict Primary Care Clinic. Jacob Paulson, MD, a resident in this year’s graduating class, will be joining Benedict and bringing point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to the clinic which is used as a rapid diagnostic tool.  

Other primary care graduates include Lauren Needell, DO, who went on to practice at CMG-Auburn Primary Care; Eric Nielsen, MD, who joined Reliant Medical Group in Shrewsbury; Patrick Teebagy, DO, a chief resident in internal medicine at UMass who plans to practice sports medicine and primary care after his sports medicine fellowship; and Alexia Hwang, MD, who is completing her Rheumatology fellowship at UMass Chan.  

“When people ask me what I'm most proud of regarding the Primary Care Track, it’s seeing the relationships that the residents form with each other and the community that extends beyond graduation,” Dr. Murphy said. “We've always tried to be innovative and creative with our clinical experiences and curriculum, and I'm so grateful for the support we've had since we started.”