Broward Health’s Graduate Medical Education Program Continues to Expand
By Patricia Rowe-King, MD
Dr. Patricia Rowe-King
At Broward Health, we know that the future of healthcare is shaped by the physicians we train today. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to invest in the next generation of doctors through our highly regarded and expanding Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. This year marks a historic milestone for Broward Health as we welcomed the largest incoming class of residents and fellows in our 87-year history. With 140 new residents and fellows, our total number is now 365 across the system, which is a 9% increase over last year.
With its historic role as Broward County’s first statutory teaching hospital, Broward Health laid the groundwork for physician education and today continues its long-standing legacy and commitment to medical education. Broward Health’s 26 residency and fellowship programs now include eight new specialties added in the past two years, among them nephrology, infectious disease and otolaryngology. Plans are also in the works to expand the program with additional specialties, including OB/GYN and interventional cardiology.
Each of these programs was designed to address specific healthcare needs in our community, particularly the long wait times of six to ten months that many patients are facing when trying to see specialists. By increasing training capacity in high-demand fields, we’re not only preparing new physicians to enter the workforce but also expanding access to care for our region’s growing and aging population.
Our GME expansion doesn’t end with new specialties. We’ve also increased the number of residents in existing programs such as internal medicine, family medicine, orthopedic surgery and cardiology, which are all essential practice areas in demand of highly trained and compassionate physicians.
We are also investing in the physical infrastructure of our education system to support our GME growth. In 2024, we opened a dedicated GME space at Broward Health North, and this month, we will unveil a new 28,225-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art training facility at Broward Health Medical Center. Five times larger than our current space, this new center is designed to meet the needs of modern medical education and will include cutting-edge simulation lab, modern classrooms, private on-call rooms, wellness and respite areas for activities that support mental health, and collaborative workspaces designed to support learning.
More than just clinical training, Broward Health’s GME programs prioritize wellness, mentorship and meaningful community engagement. Each resident and fellow is paired with both a faculty and peer mentor to guide their development throughout the program. Through initiatives like “Desk to Docs,” trainees also have opportunities to mentor local high school students interested in STEM and healthcare careers, helping to shape a healthcare workforce that is both highly skilled and reflective of the communities we serve.
We’re proud to welcome trainees from a wide range of backgrounds and medical schools, many of them from Florida, while others come from across the country and around the world. We hope that by training at Broward Health and establishing community roots here, these physicians will choose to stay and practice in our community long after they complete their programs.
The strength of Broward Health’s GME program is not going unnoticed. Our orthopedic surgery program was recently ranked as the fifth most-viewed program on the American Medical Association Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access, which is a testament to our growing national reputation for excellence in medical education.
Behind every program are the stories that bring our mission to life. One of our incoming residents, Louise Francesca Inocentes, is a former fashion industry professional now pursuing a medical career at Broward Health North where her father, Ariel Inocentes, M.D., serves as medical director of the hospital’s Rehabilitation Institute. She says it’s a full-circle moment to be working in the same hospital as her dad. Her journey reflects Broward Health’s mission to not only deliver high-quality, compassionate care but also to inspire and invest in the next generation of caregivers who are deeply connected to the communities we serve.
Whether continuing a family legacy or mentoring future medical minds, our residents are outstanding examples of how Broward Health’s GME program is building the future of healthcare in our own community. As we continue to grow, we remain focused on providing exceptional education, improving access to care and investing in the people who will define the future of healthcare.
Dr. Patricia Rowe-King is a practicing pediatrician and serves as the Designated Institutional Official for Broward Health, supervising all residency and fellowship training programs. For more information on Broward Health’s GME program, visit www.BrowardHealth.org/GME.
