UNMC prepares to welcome new house officers

As the UNMC College of Medicine prepares to welcome nearly 200 residents and fellows in the next three weeks, administrators will be drawing on the experiences of last summer — and the challenges that were overcome in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — to ensure a smooth onboarding of the new house officers.

“Well, we’ve done this once already,” said Chandra Are, MD, associate dean of graduate medical education. “That is an advantage.”

The annual arrival of house officers represents one of the largest onboardings of staff in the entire university, Dr. Are said – almost 200 people over the course of about three weeks, all of whom have to undergo an intensive orientation.

“For the residents, who have just finished medical school, the orientation will last one-and-a-half to two days,” Dr. Are said. “For fellow, who already have been residents, it can be a little shorter — one-half to one day.”

This year, as in 2020, most of the orientation will be virtual, through Zoom meetings. House officers will meet with the legal department, infection control, diversity officers and many others as they prepare to join UNMC.

The one in-person event will be personal protective equipment fitting.

Since planning for the event started in March, Dr. Are said, the decision was made to keep most of the onboarding virtual, especially since 2020 went relatively smoothly.

“Last year, every day was a surprise,” Dr. Are said. “This year will be a little easier.”

The one disadvantage Dr. Are sees to the virtual onboarding is the loss of the chance for incoming house officers to make personal connections. “It’s a lost opportunity to building relationships with their peers,” he said. “When I was a resident, some of the people I met during orientation became lifelong friends. It will be harder for that to happen here.”

Still, he said, the actual orientation is more or less the same than in pre-COVID times and, if 2020 was anything to judge by, will be a success. This year, there will be approximately 120 residents and approximately 60 fellows.

“As I said, this is the largest single onboarding of people on our campus, and it happens every year, and it happens like clockwork,” he said. “I’m excited to welcome our new house officers to UNMC and to see the impact they have during their time here.”