General Information
SIU School of Medicine issues an email address to each incoming resident/fellow. All residents and fellows are required per their contract to check their siumed.edu email account at least every other day. Important communication from the hospitals and Graduate Medical Education are sent regularly via e-mail. Additionally, an app can be downloaded for smart phone/devices to make access easier. Consult your program coordinator for instructions and information for the smart phone/device app.
English skills service
If English is your second language, you may experience some difficulty making yourself understood by English-speaking listeners. Accent differences can create significant difficulties when you are communicating with patients and their families. You may also experience reduced effectiveness during formal presentations and clinical interactions with your medical colleagues.
Lincoln Land Community College (located in Springfield) offers a free “English as Second Language” class. For information about this class, https://www.llcc.edu/career-training/adulted/adult-education/.
You can also access www.accentpros.com.
Fatigue
Acute and chronic sleep loss can substantially impair physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning in human beings. Overworked residents report sleepiness tendencies that are equivalent to those found in some clinical populations of patients with sleep apnea or narcolepsy. After one night of missed sleep, cognitive performance may decrease by as much as 25%. Sleep debt tends to accumulate until enough catch up sleep is obtained.
Chronic sleep loss results in lower cognitive and fine motor performance, and has negative effects on mood, motivation, life satisfaction and on professional and personal relationships. Fatigued drivers are at higher risk for accidents and near accidents.
SIU policy states all clinical and educational work hours must be consistent with ACGME requirements. Programs are responsible for monitoring resident activities to ensure that resident fatigue does not contribute to diminished learning or detract from patient safety. Residents can help by ensuring that they get enough sleep during their off hours and by monitoring themselves for the following signs of fatigue:
- Sluggish thinking or inability to concentrate.
- Inability to stay awake in the absence of external stimulation.
- Irritability.
- Tremors.
A resident experiencing any of these symptoms must immediately get some rest. The most effective strategy to counter fatigue is sleep. Even a short nap can temporarily reverse the impact of sleep loss. Any resident who is experiencing these symptoms or feeling overly fatigued at the end of his or her work day should take a short nap before driving home or catch a ride with a coworker or taxi/car service (i.e. uber). If you take a taxi/car service home, submit your receipt to the Office of Graduate Medical Education and we will reimburse you. You can also submit your receipt for a return trip in order to retrieve your car, if needed.
Mail service
Your department will have a designated mail area for you to receive incoming mail.
Resident well-being
Residency training is a time of tremendous personal and professional growth. It can also be very stressful. It is not uncommon for residents to feel stressed, overwhelmed, burned-out, or even to develop clinical depression. If you experience any of these, we encourage you to seek or accept help. You do not need to shoulder these burdens alone. If you feel overwhelmed, find someone you trust to talk to, whether it be a colleague, friend or family member, your doctor, a religious advisor, or your program director. For any resident who needs some professional assistance, multiple resources are available. A list of resources is available.
Smoking and Drug Free Guidelines
Smoking is prohibited in and around all facilities used by SIU School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals. A urine drug screen will be part of your employing hospital’s onboarding process. Even though marijuana is legal in Illinois and a number of other states, it remains illegal on a federal level. Your pre-matriculation drug test will include cannabinoids, and “failure” of the test will negate your contract. There is no appeal for this and you will lose your training slot. If you are using medical marijuana (or any other controlled substance) under a doctor’s supervision, please discuss this with the employee health nurse before you take your test.
Student loan deferment, forbearance/forgiveness
Residents seeking loan forgiveness via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program will need to send a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Employment Certification Form to their employing hospital to be completed. Not all student loans apply, so the resident will need to look into this on the PSLF website or check with their loan carrier. Memorial and St. John’s qualify as employers under this program. PSLF forms can be sent to Brown.Pam@mhsil.com for Memorial employed residents or to the Colleague Service Center at myhr@hshs.org for St. John’s employed residents. Forbearance/deferment forms can be sent to the Office of Graduate Medical Education for completion.
Student loans
The AAMC's FIRST (Financial Information, Resources, Services, and Tools) program provides free resources to help you make wise financial decisions. Whether you’re thinking about how to afford medical school, applying for student loans, or determining your loan repayment options, you’ll find unbiased, reliable guidance from FIRST.
Telephones
The SIU telephone system was specifically developed for the telecommunication requirements of a large medical institution. It provides many unique features. Dictating to SIU Medical Records and Springfield Memorial can be done by keying in the code that will be provided to you.
Long-distance calls relating to the care of patients may be dialed directly through the system (dial 9-1-area code and number). Personal long-distance calls must be charged to your residential telephone or personal credit card (dial 9-0-area code and number).