Thank you for your interest in our program! I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to train at this institution and I am thrilled that you are considering joining our community!

I had a feeling Kettering Health was a special place the day I stepped in for my interview, and the last three years have only served to deepen that belief. I am honored to have the opportunity now as chief resident to help maintain the culture of inclusivity, compassion, and academic excellence that made me fall in love with this unique program.

There is a long list of reasons that make this program so special in my eyes but allow me to highlight a few points that will help demonstrate just that!

Culture of support

Residency is challenging and your learning environment shouldn't add to it. Kettering is unique in a way that we often say, "you have to see it to believe it!" From the moment you walk in you feel like part of a big family. Our medical education staff are nothing short of amazing and you will feel their support at every point in your training. Our culture has been intentionally cultivated to be positive, nurturing, and inclusive, and with your professional growth in mind. Residents are always encouraged to ask questions and give feedback to help continually improve and strengthen our program. In fact, many of the changes in our program are resident-led!

Academic opportunities

At Kettering, you have ample opportunities for numerous publications and presentations, with some recent graduates having 40+ publications during their residency as well as writing book chapters and presenting at national conferences. There are also plenty of opportunities for those interested more in teaching and/or leadership roles both within the residency and in the hospital. For those that are more clinically inclined, you can choose to focus on spending extra time to get additional proficiency on procedures or other areas of patient management.

If you are particularly interested in fellowship training in the future, your curriculum can be customized to focus more on a chosen specialty and gain additional experience relevant to your interests. We have a strong track record of our residents consistently matching into their top 2-3 fellowships. To assure continued success we have developed a "Pathway to Fellowship" program that provides support and guidance from the start of your residency to help you realize your goals.

Success after graduating

Our attendings provide excellent clinical and didactic training that prepares us for success after residency. They do a fantastic job of balancing autonomy and independence with support, availability, and teaching, to give us the ability to grow into confident and proficient physicians. We see a wide variety of pathologies with a good patient workload that keeps us learning and busy. Many of our residents go on to competitive fellowships or hospitalist positions at excellent institutions and have excelled with their skills and knowledge level from their training at Kettering. As I am now transitioning into the role of attending, I can appreciate the quality of teaching and confidence that I have been provided by my training.

We also focus on preparing our residents for success on their boards, with a current 97% pass rate (3-year-rolling average). Teaching for boards is woven into noon conference didactic sessions and residents are provided free board review materials with MKSAP, UWorld and Mayo Board Review at different times during their training.

Additional perks

And of course, I can't forget to mention some of the perks of being a Kettering IM Resident that make resident life a lot more enjoyable:

Abundance of delicious food! (Always with vegetarian options as well)
Free covered parking
Low cost of living with competitive pay
Dragon dictation devices for note-writing (saves SO much time and probably prevents some carpal tunnel cases from typing those H&Ps)
EPIC access from home (including Dragon dictation using your phone)
Free Up-to-Date access (including on your smartphone)
Free MKSAP for all 3 years of residency (excellent national IM board review course)
Hospital sponsored resident activities
2 recently remodeled resident lounges with lots of computers and space to work (one lounge at each hospital)

I hope this helps explain why I think Kettering Health is such an incredible place to train. I look forward to meeting you, introducing you to our wonderful residents, and possibly having the privilege of welcoming you into the Kettering family in the future!

Best wishes,
Kish Bhalla, MD

Contact:

Jessica Fox
Residency Administrator
Transitional Year Residency Program

(937) 395-8693