The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University has received notice of accreditation from the national Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for its residency program in internal medicine. Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the primary site for the program with participation from Bethesda Hospital East and Delray Medical Center, three of the five hospitals participating in the Graduate Medical Consortium (GME) supporting FAU residency programs. This residency, the first for the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, marks an important milestone in bringing additional trained physicians into these communities and is FAU’s first university-sponsored graduate medical education program.
The internal medicine residency will bring a total of 96 physicians to FAU, with the first class of 36 residents starting in July 2014. This residency in internal medicine seeks highly qualified medical school graduates from across Florida and the nation. Furthermore, this residency program will provide the opportunity for FAU medical school graduates to continue their post-medical school training in Palm Beach County.
All residents will be employed by FAU with funds provided by the three participating hospitals who receive reimbursement for these costs through complex formulae from Federal Medicare and Medicaid funds. The College of Medicine will provide administrative support and oversight of the GME program, in partnership with the three participating hospitals, with the financial support from the hospitals, grant funding awarded by the Quantum Foundation, and direct funding from the Florida State Legislature starting in FY2014. Quantum Foundation made an early commitment in 2011 to fund the FAU GME programs with a grant to develop infrastructure to launch residencies in Palm Beach County.
