Program & Curriculum

Model Office

At the center of the training program is the Family Medicine Residency Clinic. This 24,000 square foot facility opened in July of 1996, and serves as the headquarters for the resident physicians. This state-of-the-art clinic provides ample examination room space, as well as medical records, laboratory, X-ray, library, conference facilities and administrative offices. The Clinic offers minor surgical care, cryosurgery, flexible sigmoidoscopy, OB ultrasonography, colposcopy including biopsy and LEEP, laboratory evaluation, and radiographic imaging

Nutrition support, clinical psychology, and clinical pharmacy staff are also housed in the clinic. First year residents (PGY-1) begin with one half-day per week in the outpatient clinic. This expands to two half-day clinics the second half of the first year and three during the second year (PGY-2). Third year residents (PGY-3) average four half-day clinics.

Team Care

To simulate group practice, residents, clinic staff, and faculty physicians are organized in a team structure to share patient care, educational meetings and staff meetings. Teams provide continuity of care to the assigned patient panel and foster a cooperative atmosphere among its members.

Noon Conferences

Didactic and case presentation conferences are integrated into the educational experience. These conferences are an integral part of the educational experience and augment the resident’s clinical experiences. A comprehensive conference schedule has been developed and is coordinated by the chief residents.

Research

Ongoing clinical research is conducted by the full-time faculty members. Residents contribute to current projects or work to develop and implement new ones. Residents may also contribute to the body of medical knowledge by conducting an extensive literature review and preparing a review article for submission for publication.

Call

The average annual in-hospital night call frequency for PGY-1's is every 5th day. PGY-2's and PGY-3's take 1 month of night float call from home. Weekend call coverage is shared by PGY-2's and PGY-3's on a rotating basis.
Obstetrical coverage for clinic patients is provided through the obstetrical rotation call schedule, which is a separate schedule. Backup for all on-call issues, questions, and admissions is provided by an upper level resident, full-time faculty or individual patient physician depending on the situation. The faculty will staff all procedures, OB deliveries, and hospital admissions, and is available for other issues upon resident request.

Curriculum

High quality, comprehensive Family medical care requires the input and cooperation of a variety of specialists, subspecialists, and ancillary health care providers. The curriculum is carefully designed to afford residents with broad-based training and exposure to those disciplines necessary to provide comprehensive care. The curriculum is also in compliance with the requirements of the Residency Review Committee, the accrediting agency for post-graduate medical training. The rotational grid is shown below and emphasizes those disciplines felt most relevant to this medical specialty. Please note that training includes a rural training month during the PGY-2 year. Off-site experience is also required for pediatric experience with one month in Salt Lake City during PGY-1 and one month in Minneapolis during PGY-2. Housing and stipend are provided for out-of-town rotations.