Orientation

Springfield Orientation

Orientation of new residents and fellows to the Springfield site occurs June 25 of each year (unless it falls on a weekend, then will be held the preceding Friday). It is a joint effort between SIU Medicine, Springfield Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Preparation for orientation begins in March. Orientation is required for all new residents and fellows regardless of training level. If the trainee has a 7/1 or 8/1 start date, an alternate orientation meeting is arranged with Pam Brown at Memorial to provide a brief overview of orientation materials and the program is required to have them review orientation materials sent by OGME.

Orientation begins with breakfast, official photograph of each resident/fellow for Graduate Medical Education and registration at 7:30 a.m. and generally finishes by 3:30 p.m. Once the itinerary is confirmed, it will be emailed to the program directors and coordinators so that they can provide it to their new residents/fellows. Things to be accomplished at Orientation:

  • Welcome and instructions from SIU Medicine
  • Welcome and instructions from Springfield Memorial Hospital, HSHS St. John’s Hospital and SIU Medicine leadership
    • Human Resources
    • Risk Management
  • Physician Competencies, Professionalism, and Clinical Work Hours
  • Physician Health & Wellness
  • Welcome from the Office of Antiracism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Introduction to Social Determinants of Health
  • Acquisition of identification cards and parking passes for HSHS St. John’s Hospital and Springfield Memorial Hospital
  • Resident Life Presentation
    • Social
    • Family
    • Cultural
    • Wellness

Food is provided compliments of the hosting hospital. 

Parking Cards / Stickers / Security

All HSHS St. John's and Memorial parking lots and garages are monitored in real time by multiple security cameras. Security personnel are available 24 hours a day to provide escorts to or from the parking area. Residents/Fellows should not hesitate to utilize this service if they have any concerns for their personal safety. 

SIU School of Medicine

SIU stickers may be obtained from the Security Office at 801 North Rutledge. When an SIU sticker is displayed, a vehicle may be parked in any of the SIU parking areas. 

Springfield Memorial Hospital

The security office at Springfield Memorial Hospital issues a blue hang tag to residents after they complete an application card. 

HSHS St. John's Hospital 

The security office at HSHS St. John’s Hospital issues a hang tag to residents after they complete an application card. 

Hospital Parking Maps

To get current maps of the designated parking areas at HSHS St. John’s and Memorial, contact the security office at the hospital or the Office of Graduate Medical Education. 

Identification

For security reasons, photo identification badges will be issued by both HSHS St. John’s Hospital and Springfield Memorial Hospital at the beginning of training at SIU. All residents and fellows are required to wear a hospital photo identification badge when on duty in the hospital. 

Lab Coats

All residents will be given lab coats at the beginning of their training. The maximum number is determined by the years of training (1 coat per year of training). All fellows will be given 2 coats for the entire length of their fellowship. If it is a 3-year fellowship, the program can opt to order 3 coats.  Each department will submit their order for coats online through the vendor. The coats will be directly shipped to the program’s office and the invoice will go to the Office of Graduate Medical Education. Current residents or fellows can purchase additional coats at their own expense. OGME will pay for the embroidery of the SIU logo for each coat. Additional embroidery or sewing on of patches is an expense to the program.

Stipends

In November, OGME meets with the administrators of both affiliated hospitals in Springfield to discuss stipends for the upcoming year. Once the stipends are approved by GMEC, an email is sent to the program directors indicating the new stipends.

Beginning fellows are compensated based upon the minimum number of prior accredited graduate medical education years required for admission to the fellowship program. Fellows without accredited core residency training will be paid at the PGY1 level. 

Residents who must repeat a year for academic reasons, will be paid at their functional level of training. Residents who have completed prior residency training and transfer to SIU, will be paid at their functional level of training. 

English Speaking Skills

Certification of English Proficiency

According to Public Act 84-1434: English Proficiency in Instruction, it is mandatory that all individuals who provide “clinical teaching” must be certified as being proficient in the use of the English language. After the program director completes the form provided by OGME for each new resident, it should be forwarded to the OGME where it will be retained in the resident’s file.

English as a Second Language Class

If English is a resident’s second language, they may experience some difficulty being understood by English-speaking listeners.  Accent differences can create significant difficulties when communicating with patients and their families. The resident may also experience reduced effectiveness during formal presentations and clinical interactions with medical colleagues.

Lincoln Land Community College (located in Springfield) offers a free “English as Second Language” class which they can join at any time. Click here for information about this class or contact the Office of Graduate Medical Education.  

Accent Reduction

A program for accent reduction is http://www.accentpros.com/.