Program Director's Message

Edward "Ted" R. Bollard, MD, FACP

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine.

The central Pennsylvania area provides a beautiful backdrop to our academic medical center. You will have the opportunity to experience the tertiary and quaternary care delivered to patients from our broad referral base. In addition, the Medical Center and its supporting practices are considered the source of primary care for a large population of patients from the surrounding communities.

We are very proud of our tradition at Penn State Hershey. Our program has the reputation of not only training excellent internal medicine physicians, but also continues to be very successful in preparing those who choose to pursue subspecialty training or enter academic medical positions following their residency.

As a Program Director, I realize the concerns that the current health care environment may present to our graduates entering the practice of medicine. To prepare our residents for these challenges, the necessity to balance the educational and service aspects of the training experience is paramount. We have moved toward a more individualized prescription in the training of each resident. Within the context of the standard curriculum, we tailored the third year of training according to one’s professional goals, whether it be general practice, subspecialty fellowship training, research endeavors, hospitalist medicine, information technology, or academic medicine. The answer to the needs of our future internists is our ability to provide a more customized approach to this phase of their graduate medical education.

I hope you will take this opportunity to review the information contained within our web site. I believe you will find that the educational curriculum, research and scholarly activities, facilities, and the surrounding area offer a residency training experience in internal medicine that is unique in every aspect. The most accurate description of the success of any program, however, is in the competency and accomplishments of their graduates. So please take a few minutes and read the comments of those who have completed their training at Penn State Hershey and how well they feel they were prepared for their careers in medicine.

Edward (Ted) R. Bollard, MD, DDS, FACP
Professor of Medicine
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program
Vice Chair for Educational Affairs for the Department of Medicine