More than happy to stay.
Internal medicine resident Piper Hughes has lived a lot of places in her life — including major cities on both coasts. So it’s no small thing when she says she’d be happy to stay in eastern North Carolina and build her career here — at ECU Health Medical Center or another ECU Health hospital.
Communication is the Key
As a resident, Hughes spends a lot of time collaborating and coordinating with everyone involved in a patient’s care — from specialists to social workers. What’s the takeaway for her? That communication is key to improving quality care. And not just communication across caretakers, either — any system that’s dedicated to patient satisfaction needs to keep the patient in the loop “so the patient is on board with everyone else,” Hughes says.
Support From All Directions
Five years from now, Hughes wants to be a practicing nephrologist. What is ECU Health doing to help her get there? Everything. “My goals are accepted, and my program understands that that’s what I want to do,” she says. She also appreciates ECU Health’s culture of inclusion. “I spend a lot of time with the nephrology fellows, and they’re very welcoming and accepting,” Hughes says. As a military spouse, Hughes also notes how supportive ECU Health and the community are. “The ECU Health system has allowed me the opportunities to follow my dreams and to reach my goals while keeping my family together,” she says.