Left to Right: Joshua Chitwood, MD, Bomaonye Tienabeso, MD, William Moore, DO, Cole Swayze, DO, Bryan Gibson, DO
A new era started at Stillwater Medical on August 1, 2022. The very first class of Internal Medicine Residents started their practice under the guidance of Dr. Steven Cummings, Dr. Gilbert Emde, and other local physicians who practice at Stillwater Medical.
“The Residency Program, in conjunction with OSU (Oklahoma State University) Medical, has been in the works for several years,” said Dr. Cummings. “The program is structured to further prepare the residents for general internal medicine practices or seek additional specialized training at another facility.”
Completion of a residency program is required for a physician to become board certified in their specialty, which is a pre-requisite at many health systems, including Stillwater Medical, to obtain staff privileges. The process of residency allows new physicians the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and training opportunities.
Cummings explained that each resident will spend three years serving as part of the care team to assist patients throughout their journey. They will also complete rotations at the various clinics in the Stillwater Medical Health System and time at other area health systems around the state as part of their required curriculum. By establishing the residency program, Stillwater Medical is able to increase access to primary care services, which is vital to the community.
“Based on the latest rates on poverty, death, and doctor-to-patient rations, Payne County is federally designated as a medically underserved area, “said Dr. Cummings. “Research shows that areas of the country without easy access to health care have poor health outcomes. This combined with the current aging population has caused the need for primary care to increase rapidly. Seeing these events on the horizon made the establishment of the program critical to the long-term recruitment and retention of Internal Medicine physicians for our community.”
Cummings said the growth of Stillwater Medical from a small community hospital into a busy regional medical center allows the residents to have a variety of academic opportunities.
“We are fortunate to have the backing of OSU and their great team to assist us in creating and maintaining the residency program,” said CEO, Denise Webber. “We felt with their backing, along with our culture of excellence, we would be able to assist with creating compassionate and well-trained physicians.”
The new Internal Medicine Residents are now accepting new patients who are not already established with a primary care provider. The clinic is located at 809 S Walnut and can be reached by calling (405) 533-5041.
