Newswise — Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s new four-year Anesthesiology Residency Program, launching spring 2024, recently earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). 

“We’re excited to launch this new program and eager to receive our first class of applicants,” said Michael H. Entrup, M.D., FASA, Founding Program Director, Anesthesiology Residency Program & Chair of Anesthesiology, Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Regional Chair of Anesthesia Services, Southern Region, Hackensack Meridian Health. “As a leading academic medical center with a complete range of adult and pediatric patient services, our residents will  be exposed to the broad range of anesthesia services and work collaboratively, and learn from anesthesiologists as well as an array of specialists and leading experts in such fields as cardiology, neurology, nephrology, critical care medicine, surgery, and obstetrics & gynecology, to name just a few.”

Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s graduate medical education program dates back to the 1950’s and now includes 10 residency and 10 fellowship educational specialties.  

“By 2033, The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts that there will be a shortage of 12,500 anesthesiologists, nearly 30 percent of the current staff across the U.S.,” said David S. Kountz, M.D., MBA, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Jersey Shore University Medical Center; Chief Academic Officer, Hackensack Meridian Health; Senior Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education, and Professor of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “Anesthesiology is an essential specialty in medicine. As a leader in medical education in New Jersey, we identified a need to expand our programs and provide this vital education for the next generations of physicians.”

“With a newly accredited school of medicine, three nursing schools and graduate medical training, our network is dedicated to providing exceptional medical education,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “I applaud Jersey Shore’s graduate medical education team for achieving this new and important accreditation, which is a tribute to the strength of their medical education program.”

Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) is a major affiliate of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine; St. George’s University School of Medicine, and the Physician Assistant Program at Monmouth University. “As just the sixth Anesthesiology Residency Program in our state, I’m delighted that our graduates will have an increased opportunity to specialize in Anesthesiology right here in New Jersey and at a network academic medical center,” said Jeffrey R. Boscamp, M.D., President and Dean, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

JSUMC sponsors ACGME-accredited residency training programs in General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, as well as residencies in Pharmacy, Podiatry and Dentistry.  

“Our graduate medical education program continues to grow in Monmouth and Ocean counties at Jersey Shore and Ocean University Medical Center. In fact, JSUMC has seen its largest graduating classes grow the past few years,” said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, Regional President, Southern Market, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Our hope is that these graduates, as they familiarize themselves with HMH, will elect to stay and practice in New Jersey.”

Additionally, JSUMC provides a Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship through the Department of Pediatrics; six fellowships in the Department of Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease, Endocrinology, Critical Care, Pulmonary Disease, Nephrology, and Hematology/Medical Oncology; and fellowships in the Department of Psychiatry; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine.

“This is an important addition to our medical education program,” said Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, President and Chief Hospital Executive, Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “The collegial relationship of our physicians and nurses, across various specialities, ultimately benefit our patients through their collaboration leading to high-quality care.” 

Residency training after medical school allows a graduating physician to specialize in specific areas of medicine and surgery. Fellowship training after residency enables physicians to specialize further in specific fields of their specialty. JSUMC welcomed 96 new residents and fellows on July 1, 2023, to begin their respective training programs.  

Medical students and physicians interested in applying for the new Anesthesiology Residency Program or any JSUMC graduate medical education program should apply through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). For more information about JSUMC’s programs, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/Healthcare-Professionals/JSUMC