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Incoming Residents and Fellows

Welcome 2023 Incoming Residents and Fellows

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga and our entire GME Community are pleased to welcome you as you prepare to join our programs in the summer of 2023.  We sincerely believe that you will enjoy living in Chattanooga and will quickly consider it "home."

Key GME Office Staff include:

  • Jacqueline Hogan, CAP, GME Financial Specialist, 423.778.3899 (GME@erlanger.org
  • Tiffany Nabors, CMA, AAMA, Medical Student Services Specialist, 423.778.7442 (MSE@erlanger.org)
  • Rosalyn Stewart-Kalaukoa, GME Lead Coordinator:  423.778.3894
    (pmh233@uthsc.edu
  • Pamela Scott, C-TAGME, Director, Graduate and Medical Student Education, 423.778.7673 (pam.scott@erlanger.org

We are returning to in-person program and institutional orientation sessions this year.  We will continue to utilize online Onboarding Checklists within our New Innovations Residency Management Suite for communicating information that you need to review and have access to keep.  Departments will offer numerous smaller program-level, in-person sessions (e.g., boot camps, team building exercises, etc.).  Please check back via this page frequently for the must current information. Please note that dates and times are tentative and subject to change.  Also, please check with your department to confirm plans, and we encourage you to check back on this page on a weekly basis.  The updated calendar will be posted via the first green button on the right-hand side of this page.  We recommend that you plan that, during the last two weeks of June, you will be scheduled almost every day for activities in your department or GME Office.  Please double check schedules with your departments periodically throughout May and June.

We encourage you to move to Chattanooga or our surrounding area by the end of the first weekend in June (June 3 or 4, 2023).  You can begin making appointments for your immunization screening and pre-employment drug screens, OSHA respirator mask fit tests, etc., at Erlanger Express Care on Market Street) as early as Monday, May 1, 2023.  If you are unable to undergo a physical examination before moving to Chattanooga, you can also call and schedule that at the same Erlanger Express Care at a discounted cash rate ($65) if you are not covered by your current health insurance at the time.  A detailed schedule is posted via the green button to the right.

  • Before orientation sessions, please stop by your Coordinator's office so you can log into your Erlanger email account on a computer connected to the Erlanger network.  You will use you initial credentials and then be able to change your password to something you will remember.  You should be able to set up your access to patient care information from outside the Erlanger network and even be able to access your Erlanger email through a webmail link.

  • Our institution-wide GME Orientation will be held in-person on Thursday, June 29, 8:00 am ET - 4:00 pm ET) in Probasco Auditorium on the Ground Floor of the Erlanger Medical Mall (near Elevator C). We recommend that you bring your tablet or personal laptop to this session so Jacqueline Hogan can go over how to access the Concur travel website used for conference reimbursement during your GME training and setting up several apps and resources you will need.  Light breakfast and lunch will be served, and you will have opportunity to meet with our insurance reps on that day as well.  You will meet your Chairs, Program Directors, and Coordinators that morning, as well as our new DIO (Dr. Paul Schwartzberg), Deans (including Dr. James Haynes, Dean for the Chattanooga Campus), and the Erlanger CEO (Jim Coleman, MBA).  Please come dressed professionally in business or business casual attire (no jeans, shorts, or t-shirts).  The final interactive session that day will be with our Assistant Dean for Well-Being (Dr. Mukta Panda) and our FT Counselor (Lucy White).

  • Official UT white coat photos have been scheduled with professional photographer, David Humber, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 from 9 am - 2 pm ET.  Mr. Humber will be in our UT Computer Classroom (1st floor, Whitehall Building across from our GME and Deans Offices) for your professional photos.  The GME Office will distribute your monogrammed lab coats that day for the photos, as well as items including your official ID badges, badge reels, meal cards, badge buddies, etc.   IT Staff will be available while you are waiting to have photos taken so they can assist you in setting up 2-Factor authentication (with thumb print ID) for e-prescribing through a software app (Imprivata).  We will make sure that your proxy badge access is correctly set so you can access appropriate Erlanger buildings, doors, and parking as described in the gray box on the right hand side of this page.  We will also distribute your initial PPE (N95 mask and eye protection) at that time.

  • Wednesday, June 28, 2023, (registration at 5:30 pm ET):  Family friendly Welcome Event -- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the ATT Lookouts Stadium.  This will feature a family friendly picnic under the pavilion to watch our Chattanooga professional baseball team play and get to know your colleagues and guests.  All Faculty, Residents, Fellows, and Administrative Staff are invited.

We thank you for all the work you will be doing during April and May to be prepared and ready to begin this next step in your GME training.  

Orientation Schedules and Details

We're excited about the next academic year, and we look forward to setting you up for success in our GME Programs.

The 2023 GME Orientation Schedule has been updated as of May 18, 2023 for our incoming Residents and Fellows who officially begin their clinical training as of July 1, 2023.  We recommend that you be moved to Chattanooga by the end of the first week in June so you can be sure to meet all the deadlines, have your immunization screening, drug screen, OSHA mask fit test, TB Skin Test, etc., by the deadline on the calendar, complete all onboarding checklists, submit all documentation, attend all certification training and testing required by your program, complete all online training required by Erlanger and the University for HIPAA, EPIC, etc.; and attend all required orientation sessions so you can receive our Orientation and GME Electronic Communication Stipend of $950 (added to your first paycheck at the end of July 2023).  The pdf version of the calendar is linked to the first green button below:

Revised GME Orientation Schedule List (June 2023)GME Fast FactsGME Program LengthsGME Salary/BenefitsErlanger Health System websiteChattanooga Apartment GuideHomes and Land Magazine for Chattanooga and North GeorgiaChattanooga LivingChattanooga Major Employers ListThere is a City - Chattanooga VideoTravel Inspiration Magazine Chattanooga:  Fall & Winter 2022Living in Chattanooga - Training at ErlangerWhy Chattanooga?

Requirements:

All incoming residents and fellows must -- 

  1. Give permission for and pass a Criminal Background Check (online) through a third party company called the "Cora Croup."
  2. Pass a drug screen, mask fit test, 2-TB skin tests, and immunization screening (including necessary titers and immunizations) performed by the Erlanger Employee Health arm of Erlanger Express Care.  Erlanger Health System, your primary clinical training site and our major affiliated partner, requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination (or a request for medical or religious exemption).  Male residents and fellows must be clean- or close-shaved\n in order that the respirator will be able to seal for the OSHA-required mask fit test which would be used in negative pressure patient rooms.
  3. Document a physical exam conducted since January 2023, and have a health statement form stating that the resident/fellow is physically and mentally fit to begin duty in our residency program. The form must be signed by a U.S. licensed physician.  Residents or Fellows may not conduct and sign the physical exam/health statement form for one another.  If you do not have a primary care physician and cannot get the physical exam done prior to July 1, you will be able to contact Erlanger Express Care to schedule a physical exam earlier this upcoming Spring (at your own cost: $65).
  4. You can begin scheduling appointments for your pre-employment drug screen, mask fit-tests, TB skin tests, and immunization screening, as well as physical exams if you cannot get one otherwise as early as May 1, 2023.

You will receive emails to log into our secure, web-based Residency Management Information system (New Innovations) and complete several onboarding checklists and upload required documents during the next few months.  You must complete all checklists and upload all required documentation by June 14, 2023 in order to be eligible for the GME Orientation and Electronic Communication Stipends on your July 2023 paycheck on the last working day of the month.  In addition, you must also attend all required certification training, Department Orientation Sessions, and GME Institutional Orientations Sessions in order to receive those Orientation Stipends as well.

Everyone is working to find creative ways to meet our requirements and ensure a smooth transition to your residency and fellowship programs. We will keep you posted about changes.

Other Key Points to Remember:

You will be an employee of the University of Tennessee and not our affiliated hospital, Erlanger.  Please be aware that your first official day of residency/fellowship training will be Saturday, July 1, 2023, unless you have already been given a later start date by your Program Director.   Fellows in Cardiology, Emergency Medical Services, and Gastroenterology also start on July 1, 2023.  Surgical Fellows, including Colon and Rectal Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery, and Vascular Surgery, have a start date of August 1, 2023.  

Life support certification: Depending on your specialty, you will need to obtain BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP, ALSO, and/or ATLS certification before you officially begin your residency or fellowship on July 1. If you can obtain the required certifications prior to July 1 at your medical school or current training program, you will just need to send the GME Office a copy of your certification cards denoting dates of certification.  Please note:  The Internal Medicine Residency has requested that, even if you have current certification for ALCS on your own, the incoming Internal Medicine Residents should participate and complete the RQI ACLS training at our institution -- during the June orientation designated sessions duing the last two weeks of June.

If you cannot obtain certifications on your own, you will need to participate in our online training through RQI, a provider approved by the American Heart Association, for Part 1 of each course and then required Part 2 in-person sessions and skills tests in Chattanooga the last two weeks of June.

Please let us know if there is anything else with which we can assist you.  Welcome to Chattanooga, UT, and Erlanger!

May 18, 2023