Welcome to the Medicine-Pediatrics residency program at the University of Missouri - Columbia.  Thank you for considering our program, as I feel it is one of the hidden gems in Med-Peds.  The MU Med-Peds program has been in existence for eight years and has already produced many outstanding physicians who have contributed greatly to the medical field both in Missouri and across the country.

Our program has produced primary care physicians who serve the people of rural Missouri, academic and community-based hospitalists, and emergency physicians.    In addition, two of our graduates have been active in the transitional care of adults with cystic fibrosis, and we have sent several graduates to fellowships - including to Washington University, SUNY - Downstate Medical Center, and Harvard University.

But what we’re most proud of is the wholehearted involvement of our residents in going beyond their clinical rotations and making contributions in the medical center and in the community. We have had a Med-Peds resident as president of the MU House Staff Organization in three of the last four years. One of our graduating residents was awarded a CATCH grant from the AAP in 2004 for addressing health care disparities in underserved children. Another resident was part of a group that won the prestigious Clarion Competition in patient safety in 2005. And one of this year’s graduates won the 2006 Walter W. Tunnessen, Jr, MD Award, given annually by the Med-Peds Program Directors Association to the one Med-Peds resident in the country who demonstrates outstanding contributions to Med-Peds.

Our outstanding residents are not the only reason we can be enthusiastic about MU Med-Peds. The program has also made considerable advances in the last several years. We have added several Med-Peds faculty, we have developed a more robust didactic curriculum designed to address the special challenges that face Med-Peds residents trying to learn two specialties, we have added a dedicated, salary-supported Med-Peds chief resident who serves during the PGY-4 year, we have started an alumni association for our MU Med-Peds graduates, and we have continued to expand our outpatient Med-Peds program.

The future for Med-Peds at MU looks both bright and challenging at the same time. We are planning to add faculty to staff our ambulatory care resident education initiative and we will continue to recruit top-notch residents to carry on the tradition of leadership and community service that has been pioneered by our previous graduates. We look to the start of ACGME accreditation of Med-Peds programs as a giant step forward for Med-Peds but as an additional burden for Med-Peds residencies. As a program we will continue to stay ahead of the curve in terms of resident professional development and competency evaluation, in partnership with our parent residency programs here at MU. And we will continue to foster the creativity and ingenuity in our residents that has led to so many positive changes in our residency program over the years.

Our program’s growth added to the accomplishments of our outstanding and dedicated residents have the MU Med-Peds program brimming with pride and looking confidently to the future. I hope that you will consider joining us in leading the way.

Robert Lancey, MD

Med/Peds Program Director