The question I have been asked repeatedly since becoming a residency program director is, “Why would you leave your job to build a new program? Why take the risk?” For me, the answer is simple:

I have dreamt of running a residency program since I was an intern. To be able to build one from scratch is an opportunity I could not refuse. It is a dream come true for me.

How I got here:

I grew up in Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. I went to college and medical school at Tulane in New Orleans. I met my wife there in medical school, couples matched, and stayed at Tulane for the rest of our training.

As a second-year resident, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and forced my wife and I to spend the next five months training in Houston. During my time there, I had the privilege of watching my program director give of himself endlessly to keep our program together, despite it being spread across multiple states. I learned a great deal from his dedication to the residents and his ability to adapt to the challenges we faced.

After completing our training, we moved to New York where I became a hospitalist and Associate Program Director at Westchester Medical Center. After a few years, I found my way across the street to New York Medical College where I was the Director of the Medicine Clerkship and Assistant Dean for Clinical Sciences, overseeing the third and fourth year of medical school. For those nine years, I continued to work with residents in various didactic settings and precepted with them in clinic.

As Assistant Dean, I had the benefit of working with many residency programs to see how they constructed their programs to fit the needs of their hospital and their residents. I also saw how the programs look from a student and faculty perspective. All of this gives me a unique view of how to build and run a program.

All that time, I kept tinkering with ideas of how I would make a residency program. Now I have the privilege of building my dream program and training physicians to be the best physicians they can be. To say that I am excited for our first class of residents is an understatement.  

Sincerely,

Dr. Stallings