Q&A: The challenges and rewards of chief residency

A chief resident is an experienced resident who serves as a vital link between trainees and program leadership. However, many people do not know what goes into being a chief resident because much of their work is administrative and goes unseen during their yearlong term.

To learn more about the challenges and rewards of chief residency, we spoke with Sandy Ngo Moubarek, chief resident for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  Here is a glimpse into the role.

Why did you choose to do your residency at UC Davis Health?

I went to medical school at UC Davis School of Medicine, and during that time, I was part of the Professionalism Committee. Our group was charged with implementing strategies to promote the development of professionalism in medical students. So, I worked directly with many UC Davis Health residents and attending physicians early on. Seeing how the different training levels worked together throughout the health system inspired me to want to be a part of it.

Additionally, I felt like Sacramento was a great place to work. It was located close to the Bay Area, where I grew up, and it has a diverse patient population. It offers both the urban and small-town lifestyle I wanted.

Why did you want to be a chief resident?

I wanted to understand how our residency program worked and get a better feel for our health care system in general. I felt that being a chief resident would provide me with the experience to understand these systems and help me learn more about academic medicine.

I was also inspired by Belinda S. Bandstra, residency program director for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences who encouraged me to apply to be a chief resident. Seeing a fellow woman of color in leadership inspired me to realize I could also be a leader in our department.

What does a chief resident do and what is the position’s role within the medical team?

One of the goals of a chief resident is to optimize the training and education of our residency program. I work on many committees where I can be the voice of residents in creating change in our program’s curriculum.  

However, the biggest part of being a chief resident is serving as the liaison between co-residents and leadership. Residency can be challenging and being there to help colleagues navigate the challenges is critical. I try to consistently check in with my colleagues to provide support and address any of their concerns.

What have you found to be some of the benefits of being a chief resident?

I have learned a lot about myself during this time. I can sometimes be a workaholic, so the chief resident role has really forced me to learn to balance my time better — especially because of all the different hats you wear in this role.

One of the other great things I was able to experience was the hands-on leadership training I got from our weekly chief meetings and chief onboarding training. It included  a curriculum from our program director and Leadership Skills Training Program for Chief Residents held by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). During this three-day conference we met with fellow chief residents from across the nation and trained on skills critical to success and satisfaction as both a clinician and leader. I learned a lot about my own leadership style and the type of team I wanted to build in our department. 

What are some of the challenges associated with being a chief resident?

In every department it is different. Here in psychiatry, our chief year is our last year of residency. Some departments have their chief resident be an extra year after residency, where you are already an attending physician. 

One of the benefits of still being a resident in this role is you can better relate to what your fellow residents are experiencing. However, sometimes it can be a double edge sword where you sometimes can be viewed as part of the “administration.” When your actual role is to advocate for your peers to the administration, this can be hard. 

What do you consider to be your leadership style?

Part of being a chief resident is learning what kind of leader you are. When I hear about a problem or an issue, I want to find a way to fix it. But I have learned that not everyone wants that.

So, I have tried to adopt a more democratic leadership style, where I listen to my colleagues and involve them in the decision-making process. This leads to a more collective mentality where we are team-oriented and have trust in one another.

How has being a chief resident enhanced your career?

I first want to say that one does not have to be a chief resident to become a leader in academic medicine. 

However, being a chief resident has helped me better understand why I want to work in academic medicine. Working closely with our program directors has inspired me to continue to grow and try to be better every day. Being a small part of the process of planning trainings and rotations, I now understand this is how our medical community continues to grow and get better.