St. Barnabas Hospital in New York is terminating its osteopathic radiology residency program.
The decision will leave 11 radiologist residents without a program or the funding to continue in the current program as of June 30, according to a recent AuntMinnie.com article,
Steven Carter, a spokesman for St. Barnabas, told AuntMinnie.com that the funding for the radiology residents will be shifted to fund primary care residents in order to meet anticipated demand expected with the passage and upholding of the Affordable Care Act.
"Although financial implications were considered when making the decision, we were very motivated by the desire to place more training slots into areas where the healthcare focus is these days, such as primary care," Carter said. "This decision was not based on any real or perceived oversaturation of radiologists in the market. We will move the slots to other programs to support the shift in healthcare, especially in the Bronx, where primary care is a significant need."
The affected radiologists were informed by letter Feb. 11, and many of them believe they have been left in an untenable position by the hospital. In a post on AuntMinnie.com's residents forum, one St. Barnabas resident wrote, "St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx has decided to terminate our residency program. ... The hospital plans to use the funding for other spots, likely medicine/family practice. We are outraged!"
"If we're not receiving our funding, we're in a bind because what hospital is going to take us without our funding?" said third-year resident Nirav Shelat, M.D., said in an interview with AuntMinnie.com. "They would have to pay not only our salary, but our malpractice and all of that, so it just seems unreasonable."
To learn more:
- read the AuntMinnie.com article
- see the posts in the residents forum