Patients benefit from new Geisinger residency and fellowship training programs

WILKES-BARRE – Studies show that graduate medical education programs — residencies and fellowships — are good for patients, good for communities and good for local healthcare. That’s why Geisinger is celebrating the latest expansions in its residency training programs.

“Research shows that residency training programs improve patient care outcomes and decrease provider burnout.” said Michelle Thompson, MD, Geisinger’s chief education officer, vice dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official. “And we know that teaching residents and medical students keeps the care team’s skills sharp and that an academic environment encourages fresh thinking and innovation. That’s why we’ll continue to focus on developing programs that meet the needs of our community.”

In the last two years, Geisinger has added nine new programs in everything from child neurology to vascular surgery. 

David Lisbon, MD, is program director for the new Emergency Medicine Residency program at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center. The program will welcome emergency medicine (EM) residents beginning in August 2023.

Dr. Lisbon was invited to establish the Geisinger Wyoming Valley-based EM Residency program when emergency rooms at that hospital as well as at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre had significant rises in number of cases and acuity. 

“Geisinger recognized the potential for Geisinger Wyoming Valley to be an EM training site, the markers being high-acuity patients — patients who are very sick and need to be hospitalized — and patients who have complex diseases and present with two or three concurrent problems,” Dr. Lisbon said. “Geisinger was also in a good position to start the program because all its emergency room staff is residency trained and boarded in emergency medicine. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is looking for enough patients, the right kinds of patients, a rich learning environment and a spirit of scholarship, which means research and other learners. With surgical, internal medicine and pharmacy learners, as well as medical students, Geisinger Wyoming Valley (GWV) was the right place.”

While the residency program will raise the academic bar for attendings and students, the community stands to gain the most. “Patients benefit the most from residents,” Dr. Lisbon said. “When you’re in a place with these learners, you have multiple eyes looking at you — sometimes, when you add medical students, you get a triple layer of thought and differing perspectives going into your care. In addition, attendings must be aware of new studies and data. It’s our job to adopt those things — GWV’s Comprehensive Stroke Center designation being a good example.”

In the past 24 months, Geisinger has added the following residency and fellowship programs:  

• Child Neurology, Geisinger Medical Center 
• Emergency Medicine, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
• Vascular Surgery – Integrated, Geisinger Medical Center
• Infectious Disease, Geisinger Medical Center
• Sleep Medicine, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
• Colon and Rectal Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center
• Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center
• Surgical Critical Care, Geisinger Medical Center
• Interventional Radiology, Geisinger Medical Center

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.