Ask Dr. Chadwick Densley about the OB/Gyn Residency Program at McLaren Greater Lansing and he will give you several reasons why he’s enjoying his time in what he describes as a “very conducive educational environment.”
The third-year resident will talk excitedly about the camaraderie residents feel for each other, as well as for the attending physicians mentoring them.
He will tell you he loves the program because he feels like he’s part of a family. That “everyone has each other’s backs and gets along really well.”
He will speak about how the program helps its residents grow and learn by granting them a lot of autonomy.
He will sing the praises of being involved in a statewide campus system through Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine that enables residents from several hospitals across the state to learn from one another by getting together for monthly presentations.
He will also talk passionately about the benefits residents will gain when a new state-of-the-art colposcope goes into use in the OB/Gyn Resident Clinic.
The colposcope, which is used during a colposcopy, will be one of two purchased with grants from the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation. The other one will be for use in the Family Medicine Resident Clinic. Each instrument will possess lenses and lighting abilities that will give attending and resident physicians an improved view of the area they are examining, as well as video capabilities that will be helpful to both doctors and patients.
“The teaching aspect is going to be great,” Dr. Densley said, “because we might not be exposed to every pathology while we are in the program. But seeing video images of pathologies we haven’t been exposed to will be very educational and helpful.”
Dr. Christina Downer, who is in the final year of the Family Medicine Residency Program, said the new instruments’ digital imaging component will “benefit everyone” because it will give doctors and patients a “clearer view” of what’s going on.
Brenda McCaige, manager of the Multi-Specialty and Family Medicine clinics since 2011, added that the ability to project images onto a screen will help patients be more informed.
“The doctor will now have the availability to show their patient and say, ‘See . . . this is the area we are focusing on,’ ” McCaige said.
While advanced technology plays a crucial role in health care, the attending doctors in the residency programs at McLaren Greater Lansing are also focused on developing physicians who value the importance of communication, and understand patients want to be treated with respect and told in an understandable manner why they are receiving a particular treatment or undergoing a specific test.
“You can’t talk in technical terms,” said Dr. Robert Seiler, who is in his fourth year as director of the OB/Gyn Resident Clinic. “It’s really important you relate and communicate well with your patients.”
For Dr. Seiler, a state-of-the-art colposcope will be a valuable addition to a residency program with a history of producing outstanding obstetricians and gynecologists who possess a wealth of knowledge in their field, as well as superb people skills.
“I’m passing on what I think is the right way to do things,” he said. “Not just when it comes to procedures, but how to treat people, how to interact with patients, and how to treat staff. It’s important to pass that along to the next generation.”
Dr. Densley, who interviewed with 9 or 10 residency programs and earned his doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Kansas City (Mo.) University of Medicine and Biosciences, feels the combination of guidance and autonomy he’s receiving at McLaren Greater Lansing is helping him develop into a high-quality doctor, one who will be able to hold his own professionally when he graduates from the four-year program.
“Ultimately, you want to be able to go out and be an independent and effective attending physician,” he said. “This program is helping me do that.”
To learn more about the residency programs at McLaren Greater Lansing, please call (517) 975-7875 or visit McLaren Greater Lansing Residency Programs.
If you would like to make a gift to support the Family Medicine or OB/Gyn residency programs, or another program, department, or unit at the hospital, please contact McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation at (517) 975-7100 or mglfoundation@mclaren.org, or visit mclaren.org/lansingfoundation.