With Florida’s ever-increasing population and seniors living longer than ever before, there is a tremendous need for skilled physicians. To tackle this ever-rising challenge and meet the needs of the South Florida community, Broward Health expanded its medical education residency programs across all four of its hospitals and launched new training programs – general surgery, internal medicine, and emergency medicine at Broward Health North and psychiatry at Broward Health Imperial Point. Residents will continue to rotate in various specialties at Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Coral Springs.
“Broward Health has long recognized the predicted shortage of primary care and specializing physicians. We have taken proactive steps to help ensure that all those we serve have access to the highest quality physicians, many of whom are groomed through our expanding Graduate Medical Education program,” said Shane Strum, president and CEO of Broward Health. “The incoming residents are key to the future of healthcare, and we are committed to providing world-class training to this accomplished group of physicians.”
Broward Health Medical Center, the county’s first statutory teaching hospital, has been leading the health system’s Graduate Medical Education program for nearly 25 years. On Jul 1, the hospital system hosted a “white coat” ceremony, welcoming 92 brand new medical residents, the largest class in its history.
One promising medical resident who hails from South Florida is Jean Dominque (JD) Foureau. Foureau, 29, grew up in Pompano Beach, graduated from Deerfield Beach High School in 2010 where he was football standout and graduated from Florida State University. In 2016, he enlisted in the United States Army as a medic which prepared him for his goal of becoming a physician. JD recently became Dr. Foureau as he proudly accepted his “white coat” and began his emergency residency program at Broward Health.
“I was born and raised in the community, and I consider myself to be a ‘Broward Baby’. It’s amazing to be able to give back to the community which has provided me with so much,” said Dr. Foureau. “I’ll be working in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale caring for under-served communities. It’s a dream come true to be able to do exactly what I want to do and pour my talents back into the community, same as my mother did as a nurse and my father did as an activist.”
Dr. Foureau is excited to have just started his three-year residency and will be working in the emergency departments at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach.
“This represents what I have been trying to get to all my life,” said Dr. Foureau. “When I start working this will be a full circle moment for me. I came here to the hospital as a patient when I was younger and then as a medical student, and now I will be working as a doctor here.”
“The expansion of the Broward Health Graduate Medical Education program signifies the diversification in how our system serves our community as an academic center of excellence in training,” said Patricia Rowe-King, M.D., graduate medical education faculty, pediatrics, Broward Health. “We are preparing our physicians to treat patients with tomorrow’s medicine and training the next generation of caregivers in a diverse patient population, which is paramount in engaging future leaders of health care at an early stage.”
According to a study by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States could see a shortage of up to 139,000 physicians by 2033. Broward Health is addressing this significant workforce issue by steadily increasing the number of residency slots year over year. The health system is a conduit for new physicians to train and ultimately practice in the region, mitigating shortages while having a positive economic impact for Broward County.
“By conferring their white coat and placing it on their shoulders, what we hope to do is pass on our love of the profession, the importance of our role. We hope to inspire these residents and empower every single patient and person that they come in contact with and help them realize they need to respect every single human being that they’re treating or interacting with,” said Dr. Rowe-King. “We want our new medical residents to know that this huge healthcare network we have is critical to keeping our community safe and healthy.”
This year, Broward Health welcomed an incoming class of 191 new medical residents who encompass 13 programs, including Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Dermatology, Cardiovascular Disease, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Orthopaedics Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pharmacy Hospitalists, Pharmacy Informatics, Transitional year Residency and Psychiatry.
“Broward Health is very excited to welcome our medical residents, not just the faculty within the emergency department but our nurses and extended staff and eager to work with this incredibly gifted new class,” said Kevin Boehm, DO, FACEP, Emergency Medicine program Director at Broward Health. “This is the first year we’ve launched the emergency medicine residency program. It’s a very important step as the need for specialized training in emergency medicine has grown significantly. With Broward Health’s accreditation, we are now able to better accommodate the increasing demand and provide the crucial training they need.”
For more information, visit BrowardHealth.org.
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