Message from the Program Director
Thank you for your interest in Albany Medical College's Med-Peds Residency Program! Our residents have an outstanding reputation and we're proud to have a nationally recognized, thriving program that has the flexibility to provide individual trainees with the learning experiences they desire to fulfill their career goals. We are a diverse program, and in turn serve a diverse population.
Our residents enjoy a nice balance of work and play. They get the hands-on experience they need to become excellent clinicians as well as time to study to solidify their knowledge base. We expect that our future residents will be hardworking, dedicated, and have a love of learning that is evident with our current trainees.
Our practice is a NCQA Level 3 certified primary care site serving as the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) to our 11 full time ambulatory faculty, 16 residents, and over 12,000 patients. The residency includes dedicated nursing and administrative support staff to help promote continuity of care and foster better provider-patient communication.
We have an embedded behavioral health program, including both pediatric and adult psychiatric services available for our patients, as well as academic pharmacists to help our patients. We have two direct observation suites allowing for timely feedback for our residents on their clinical skills, an onsite lab facility, radiology, and a conference room used for our ambulatory Resident Education Days (REDD). These sessions offer protected teaching time for our Med-Peds specific ambulatory curriculum, journal clubs, board review, wellness, and much, much more! With our established Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship, we are able to collaborate our efforts with focused musculoskeletal exam and sports medicine workshops.
As a med-peds family, I couldn’t ask for a more fun, dedicated, and inspiring group of people to choose to spend my weekdays with, as well as my weekends. If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us the value of friends and family. There is still a lot of uncertainty as we move forward in the world around us, but we move forward with the confidence of knowing that we have each other. I look forward to meeting you and introducing you to my med-peds family.
Sincerely,
Ivelisse Ann Verrico, MD, FACP, FAAP
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program Director
Message from the Chief Residents
These are some of the qualities of our program that make it so special:
Academics: Albany Medical Center is the major tertiary referral center in our region, serving over 25 counties spanning northeastern New York, western Massachusetts, and southwestern Vermont. This large catchment area affords us the opportunity to care for the region’s most complex pathology in both pediatrics and internal medicine. Through the numerous subspecialty services we offer, we are well-equipped to handle anything that walks through our doors. We also have the opportunity to rotate through the Albany Stratton VA Hospital, giving us insight into the health care of our veterans.
Our continuity clinic truly embodies our combined med-peds spirit as a place our residents and patients can call home. In our Patient Centered Medical Home, all of our clinic attendings are medicine-pediatrics trained and serve as mentors for us during our residency and beyond. Each resident has their own dedicated patient panel promoting continuity that spans the entirety of one’s training. There is a dedicated team of nurses, case managers, and ancillary staff to assist with our more medically complex patients. Additionally, our sports medicine specialists share part of this space and we have easy access to their expertise whenever the need arises.
Our Residents: The true heart of any residency program is its trainees. We have had the privilege to attract some of the most well rounded and talented residents. Both our program and our residents are held in high regard among Albany Medical Center’s faculty, staff, and leadership. Our residents hail from different areas of the country, diverse walks of life, and have varied personal and professional interests. Being able to both relate to and learn from each other, we foster a collegial environment whether we are in the clinic, the hospital, or at a gathering outside of work. Our camaraderie permeates through our relationships with resident and faculty colleagues at all levels and specialties within the Albany Med Health System. We love our med-peds identity while also finding joy in integrating with our fellow categorical residents!
Our Community: Whether local or abroad, we feel a deep sense of pride in the communities we serve. Our residents have worked on projects spanning from increasing literacy among children to ensuring proper education and colon cancer screening in our adult population. We have partnered with local community programs to foster healthy eating habits and highlight the importance of physical activity, especially in low income families. Our residents and faculty have also traveled to Uganda as a part of our partnership with the Engeye Clinic, providing acute medical care in a resource-limited setting.
Living in Albany offers a ton of exciting opportunities. As the state capital of New York, we are steps away from the development of important legislative policies, giving access to numerous opportunities for advocacy. The region’s changing seasons afford us beautiful hiking trails and ski slopes in the Adirondacks, boating on the Hudson River or in many of the area’s lakes, or enjoying the local parks and festivals throughout the year. Albany has a diverse food scene along with several local and regional entertainment venues that host major artists and theater productions. If you are looking for a quick day trip out of town, Boston, Montreal, and New York City are only a few hours away by train or car.
We wish you the best of luck this upcoming application cycle and look forward to meeting you!
Ayesha Ropri, MD
Omar Merdan, MD
Chief Residents, 2023-2024