Valleywise Health Marks 40 Years of Training Arizona’s Emergency Physicians Through Residency Program

PHOENIX, Ariz. - A popular hospital drama has given millions a look at a single, adrenaline- charged shift inside a fictional emergency department. At Valleywise Health Medical Center, that world isn't fiction. For 40 years, Valleywise Health has trained the next generation of emergency medicine leaders at Maricopa County's public teaching hospital.

Founded in 1986 at what was then Maricopa Medical Center, the Emergency Medicine Residency Program was the first in Maricopa County and is one of Arizona's longest-running physician training programs. Now part of the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, the program has grown from a single class of eight to 12 residents to 16 physicians per class in a three-year program, producing an estimated 400 to 410 graduates. It now receives more than 1,600 applications from medical school graduates each year.

Residents train inside a Level I Trauma Center and one of the nation's busiest burn centers, treating some of the state's most complex, high-acuity patients, including many who have nowhere else to turn.

"The quality of education our residents receive alongside our District Medical Group physicians is a big reason so many choose to stay in Arizona, whether with us at Valleywise or another health system," said Michael White, MD, Valleywise Health president and CEO.

At a time when Arizona faces a well-documented physician shortage, many graduates choose to build their careers here. A survey of 232 alumni found:

• About 73% currently practice or work in Arizona
• About 59% started their first job in Arizona after residency, well above the 45% to 48% retention benchmark typical of Phoenix-based graduate medical education programs
• Graduates staff hospital systems throughout the Valley, including Banner Health, Abrazo Health, Mayo Clinic Arizona, HonorHealth and Valleywise Health
• About 18.5% hold or have held formal leadership roles, such as medical director, department chair, chief medical officer and EMS director, and roughly 10% completed fellowships in areas including toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, ultrasound and critical care

For four decades, Valleywise Health hasn't just trained emergency physicians. It has been building Arizona's own emergency medicine workforce, one resident at a time.

"Caring for patients and training the next generation of emergency physicians have been the core missions of this department for four decades," said Jeffrey Stowell, MD, emergency department medical director at Valleywise Health. "Our greatest legacy isn't a building or a milestone. It's the people we've trained. Our learners make us better. They challenge us to keep asking questions, keep learning and keep improving the care we provide. For 40 years, generations of faculty have devoted their careers to this department, and generations of residents have gone on to care for patients, teach others and lead emergency medicine throughout Arizona and beyond. There is an incredible sense of purpose in knowing that the work we do today will continue through the physicians we train."

As Valleywise Health looks toward the next 40 years, it continues to expand its role in training physicians, alongside the more than $900-million investment in modernizing facilities and expanding access to care across Maricopa County. For more information, visit valleywisehealth.org/teaching.