For decades, Drexel University College of Medicine has relied on a distributed model of education for its third- and fourth-year students, rotating them through a variety of clinical sites. The addition of its newest regional campus, Bayhealth Medical Center, in Dover, Del., highlights an apparent paradox in this educational model — namely, that its greatest assets seem to be opposites. Faculty and students reveal that the synergy, between stability on the one hand and change on the other, creates a dynamic environment. In this educational setting, students become better, more well-rounded physicians.

In the distributed model of education, the College of Medicine acts like a hub or centralized base while third- and fourth-year medical students experience their clinical rotations at sites outside the main campus or a university hospital. Drexel enjoys affiliations with 25 hospitals where students can elect to do core rotations. Additionally, the College has eight regional campuses in Pennsylvania, California and now Delaware, where students may complete their required rotations. In a class of around 300 students, about 220 are based at one of the regional medical campuses as opposed to rotating through multiple sites.

Dana Farabaugh, MD ’03, senior associate dean of undergraduate medical education, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, states that in Drexel’s distributed education model, “Students are in the hospitals, learning from faculty who are doing bedside teaching with patients. They’re going into the OR and doing rounds. It’s truly a campus unto itself.” Ryan Gibson, a third-year student who is part of Bayhealth’s inaugural cohort, attests to this approach. Having done two rotations, he says, “The very first day, [faculty] threw you in the pool and said, ‘Time to see some patients. We’re here to help if you need help.’ I thought it was a fantastic approach.”

Because Drexel has a long history of employing this educational model, the College has developed strong relationships with many clinical partners. In the case of Bayhealth, a former clinical affiliate has become a regional medical campus.

“Students are in the hospitals, learning from the faculty who are doing bedside teaching. It’s truly a campus unto itself.”
Dana Farabaugh, MD ’03, senior associate dean of undergraduate medical education

THE TRANSITION TO REGIONAL MEDICAL CAMPUS

Bayhealth Medical Center was a clinical site for Drexel for 15 years, meaning students could choose to do some, but not all, clinical rotations there. During the application process to become a regional medical campus, which is conducted through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, Bayhealth needed to show they could satisfy all Drexel’s requirements for third- and fourth-year students. Farabaugh says they also needed to demonstrate that “the campus has the resources required to meet the needs of the medical students.” Fortunately, Bayhealth does have experience in undergraduate medical education since the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has worked with them as a regional campus for five years.

The expansion into Delaware is new territory for Drexel. Ten students started their third year at Bayhealth in spring 2024. Should they choose, they are able to continue their clinical requirements there as fourth-year students as well. Shalini Shah, MD ’05, MPH, program director of the Bayhealth Undergraduate Medical Education Department and regional dean, Bayhealth campus, says, “As a clinical site, we had students here for five or six weeks. Previously, we had students coming in for OB-GYN, family medicine and internal medicine… Now [we’re doing] all their core rotations, their entire education.” Although the cohort is based at Bayhealth, “Drexel still provides the overall structure and support for their students.”

Gibson, who’s originally from the Smyrna area of Delaware, says that he weighed the pros and cons when deciding whether to rotate through multiple sites or remain at one regional campus. Ultimately, a regional campus made more sense for him, since he wanted to be near family in Delaware and Maryland, and he needed consistent housing that would accommodate his cat. He was already familiar with Bayhealth Medical Center, since he’d worked in the emergency room as a scribe while an undergraduate at the University of Delaware. So, Gibson knew he would “get a very good education at the hospital.” Choosing to do his third year at Bayhealth “made a lot of sense,” he says.

Drexel University graduate Atharva Bidaye, originally from South Brunswick, N.J., is also part of the inaugural cohort at Bayhealth. He says the decision to continue his clinical education here was two-fold. First, he wanted the stability of having “one home base for the entire year.” Since “the third year has a lot of change,” that consistency was important. And secondly, the Delaware location was central to his loved ones in Maryland and New Jersey. Bayhealth “hit all the things I was looking for,” he explains.

Third-year MD students Atharva Bidaye (left) and Ryan Gibson (right) with Shalini Shah, MD ’05, regional dean, Bayhealth campus.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSISTENCY

Bidaye, Gibson, Farabaugh and Shah all emphasize that the primary appeal of the regional campus for both students and faculty is stability.

From a practical standpoint, housing and the routines of daily life can be consistent. There is less physical upheaval than with a shorter-term rotation. There is also the benefit of becoming familiar with one hospital, along with the ease of learning one electronic health record system.

At a deeper level, however, stability gives students the ability to join and invest in a community. Farabaugh explains that this tends to be important to Drexel students. “They enjoy becoming part of not only the health system community, but the community they’re living in,” she says. “I think institutions are looking for more stability as well,” she elaborates. “They want to have a cohort of students who are there all the time. They can really get to know them.” Another benefit of having a consistent group of students is that this can serve as a potential pipeline for future physicians. “If this gets students interested in the area, gets them interested in the system, maybe they’ll want to do their residency training there. If not residency, maybe they will ultimately want to come back and practice there,” Farabaugh explains.

Related to this sense of community is the access to research opportunities. Shah says, “It’s easier to do research when you are in a location that’s consistent for two years. You get to know the various programs.” Farabaugh echoes this, saying, “Students are always interested in their ability to do some research.” Conversely, the faculty develop substantial relationships with these students as well.

Shah points out that this mentoring relationship is quite important for burgeoning physicians. As students navigate personal and professional challenges, “Just having someone lean over and say, ‘Hey. Something’s off. What’s going on?’” can make a difference in their academic life and personal wellbeing.

The Bayhealth undergraduate medical education team intentionally cultivates these opportunities for mentorship. Shah says that she and her colleague, Zohaib Ghatala, MD, undergraduate medical education associate director, meet one on one with every core student twice a year. They’ve done this with their PCOM students and are looking forward to continuing the practice with the new Drexel cohort.

Their meetings go beyond academic advising, Shah says. They are able to get to know the students as individuals and ask, “What are your dreams? How can we support you to become the physician you want to be?” Since students will remain at Bayhealth for all of their clinical rotations, faculty “have a whole year — potentially two years — to help them become the physician they want to be.”

Gibson affirms this mentoring mindset from a student perspective. “The physicians at Bayhealth — not only are they respectful and nice — they’re very willing to teach,” he says. “They help guide you…I don’t feel nervous or scared to ask my question. I know they’re very willing to listen.” Shah hopes that while the Drexel cohort is at Bayhealth, they will develop personally as well as academically. She says part of learning to become a physician is realizing one needs to care for oneself. “You don’t need to sacrifice yourself in order to take care of the patient,” she explains. “You can take care of yourself and the patient. You can achieve both.”

THE UNEXPECTED BENEFIT OF NOVELTY

Interestingly, while stability is cited as a regional campus’s greatest asset, Bidaye and Gibson are also quick to point out the opposite: namely, that being in an environment outside of Philadelphia is equally enriching. Residing in Dover “is a nice change,” Bidaye says. “All my post-high school education has been in a city, so it’s nice seeing how a community hospital runs, seeing different types of patient populations and what might be different here… I’ve been excited and open for this environment and to get my education here.” Gibson echoes, “I like exciting and new things. I like to be tested. I knew this hospital would do just that.”

Bidaye points out the seeming contradiction between a student wanting stability and at the same time recognizing that change can be beneficial. He says that starting out as a medical student, it can seem very important to have a main university hospital. “‘I’m here for four years. I have more stability and more answers,’” he says of the logic. “But now that I’m not in that, and I’ve had to adjust to this educational system, I appreciate having this exposure to different types of health care systems, a different city, a different environment. There’s only so many times we can see something different.”

One of these new opportunities while at Bayhealth is a wellness curriculum for core students. The months-long course addresses topics such as perfectionism, coaching and finances. Shah says that as a student progresses through their medical career as a resident and then an attending, it is beneficial to have been introduced to these concepts. She adds that it will be interesting to see the cross-pollination between Drexel and PCOM students, particularly the conversations and learning that may occur between a DO and an MD student. Gibson already recognizes this diverse population as an asset. “You’re exposed to other students, other universities, so you get to see what everyone’s thinking,” he says.

Another unique aspect of the Bayhealth campus is that the medical center has the first lifestyle medicine interest group in the state of Delaware. The young specialty is based on six pillars (nutrition, sleep hygiene, mental health, connectivity, substance abuse cessation and physical activity) aimed at helping reduce the risks and rates of chronic disease conditions. Shah says Bayhealth’s interest group is run by students and residents, elects officers and is formally recognized by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.