MountainView Hospital, UNR medical school adding 150 residencies

With the goal of keeping graduates in-state, MountainView Hospital and the University of Nevada School of Medicine agreed Thursday to expand the state’s only Graduate Medical Education program, opening about 150 new residency positions within the Las Vegas hospital by July of 2016.

This expansion nearly doubles the number of residency positions available in Southern Nevada, UNR medical school spokeswoman Susan Hill said.

There are currently more than 200 residency positions available in Las Vegas, Hill said, and the opportunities are based at both the University Medical Center and the North Las Vegas Veterans Administration Hospital.

MountainView’s additional 150 positions will increase the chances that Nevada medical school students will practice in the state after graduation, UNR Vice President and medical school Dean Thomas Schwenk said.

“If a student graduates from school and leaves the state, they have a 40 percent chance of coming back,” Schwenk said. “If a student graduates and stays within the state, there is an 82 percent chance they will practice within the state. It’s a dramatic difference.”

Schwenk said a handful of fellowship opportunities will open at MountainView as well, but the exact number is to be determined.

MountainView and UNR are still planning which departments the residency positions will be available in, but Schwenk said primary care is the focus. Other areas of interest include geriatrics and urology as well as internal and family medicine.

“This is good for Las Vegas,” Schwenk said. “It provides opportunities for UNLV students for teaching and residency. We’re doing this because we are the only body that can sponsor residency programs in the state right now; this is not exclusive to us.”

The only other residency programs available in the state are the 90 positions and 11 fellowships currently available in Northern Nevada, Schwenk said.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.