All residents receive BLS, ACLS, and NALS training during orientation. The first year focuses on inpatient medicine as residents work one-on-one with family medicine and pharmacy preceptors who enjoy teaching and involve residents in patient-care decisions and activities.
The second and third years blend training in inpatient and outpatient medicine, incorporating a variety of subspecialty rotations while increasing responsibilities in the family medicine clinic.
First Year Rotations
OB/GYN Residents are paired with a second- or third-year resident for their first week, including call shifts, to provide guidance and support. Residents have direct responsibility for the management of many high-risk obstetrical patients and their newborns from Bethesda Family Medicine. The clinic delivers approximately 300 women annually, with residents being responsible for the longitudinal care of these women from prenatal visits to labor, delivery, and post-partum care. Residents are also actively involved in the management and deliveries of the community family physicians’ and obstetricians’ patients. An obstetrician provides lectures on relevant topics four days each week for residents rotating through OB.
Family Medicine Teaching Service There are two first-year residents, one second-year resident, one third-year resident, and a faculty member on the teaching service at any given time. Residents manage in-patients at St. Joe’s in every ward, including telemetry, ICU, medical/surgical wards, and psychiatry.
Emergency Medicine St. Joe’s has a busy emergency room, and a first-year resident can expect to see a wide variety of patients while rotating here including those with cardiovascular emergencies, such as acute MIs, arrhythmias, GI bleed, surgical abdomens, orthopedic problems, lacerations. Excellent supervision and education are provided by the ER physicians and staff.
Internal Medicine First-year residents spend four weeks working with our hospitalists, who have an interesting case mix and are known for their high quality teaching. This gives the residents an opportunity to have an “internal medicine” perspective on the approach to patient evaluations and care.
Surgery Residents rotate with a local group of general surgeons and divide their time between the operating room and clinic. Residents provide pre-operative and post-operative care and often first-assist in the OR. Experience with minor procedures is also available.
Pediatrics Four weeks at St. Paul Children’s Hospital. Residents are assigned to a team of pediatric and family medicine residents providing care in the PICU and on the floor. Longitudinal outpatient pediatrics training occurs through our numerous pediatric visits at Bethesda Family Medicine.
Neonatology Four weeks on neonatology managing our patients at St. Joe’s and St. John’s Hospitals in conjunction with a neonatologist and a team of neonatal nurse practitioners. Residents participate in the initial resuscitation management of more common disorders of the newborn including sepsis, prematurity, meningitis, and jaundice.
Orthopedics The resident is paired with an orthopedist from one of two local orthopedic groups. Residents primarily participate in the clinic, but may also assist in operative cases.
Second- and Third-Year Rotations
The second and third years of residency have more time for electives and the outpatient clinic setting. Call is also markedly different—and better! Family medicine call (senior call) is approximately once every two weeks. OB call is every third night while on the OB rotation at St. Joe’s Hospital. While on the OB rotation at Woodwinds Hospital, residents remain in the senior call pool and are not on call at Woodwinds.
Second Year Rotations
Third Year Rotations
Electives
Residents choose from a wide variety of electives; elective time increases with each year of residency. Some of the more popular electives include two weeks training at the International Diabetes Center, one week at Hazelden chemical dependency treatment program, USA Soccer Cup sideline experience and didactics, international electives (residents have gone to Africa, Honduras, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic), endocrine, rheumatology, nephrology, pharmacology, sports medicine, geriatrics, gastroenterology, high risk OB, and radiology.
In addition to the sports medicine elective, residents volunteer at Henry Sibley High School for after-school sports events. This includes hands-on experience at the sidelines during football and soccer games and is available weekly.
A two- to six-weeks parental newborn elective is available for residents who have recently given birth and desire additional time with their families.
Didactic Opportunities