Curriculum

2012 - 2013

The curriculum at the University of Washington Family Medicine Residency Program prepares residents for the full spectrum of competencies needed for providers of the future. These competencies include not only excellence in providing medical care for individual patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings, but also a wide range of skills in other areas critical to excellence in professional and personal life:

• Cultural competency.
• Behavioral health, including patient-focused care, motivational interviewing, care of a wide range of mental health needs, and primary care psychiatry.
• Community health.
• Future of Family Medicine concepts of the office of the future, as well as Medical Home model.
• Leadership skills, including team building and leadership, change management, organizational planning.
• Health policy and advocacy skills.
• Teaching skills.
• Effective use of information technology.

Over all three years, didactics are structured as a half-day every week on Wednesday afternoons, and are scheduled to cover the range of topics essential for practicing family physicians.

UWMC: University of Washington Medical Center
HMC: Harborview Medical Center, Seattle
SCH: Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle
VA: Veterans Administration Hospital, Seattle
Valley Medical: Valley Medical Center, Renton
Group Health: Group Health Cooperative, Seattle
Specialties A: Colposcopy, Columbia Health Prenatal Clinic
Specialties B: Neurology, Family Medicine Weekend Senior, Outpatient Surgery – VA
Specialties C: Geriatrics, ENT
Specialties D: Psychiatry, Rheumatology, Cardiology
Specialties E: Urogynecology, Breast Clinic, Ophthomology

Shaded areas indicate difference between two continuity clinic sites!!

 

R1 AND R2 YEARS

The first two years prepare residents for inpatient medical and emergency care, including obstetrics and pediatrics, and lay the groundwork for essential outpatient skills and practice. Residents work collaboratively on many rotations with residents from other University training programs, building relationships and taking advantage of the broad and exceptional educational opportunities. Teaching of other residents and medical students, particularly as the R2 senior on many rotations, is a bonus.

The specific rotations in the R1 and R2 years are shown in the preceding table. The differences between educational experiences of the Roosevelt-based and Harborview-based residents are highlighted with the educational content being identical.

Our Family Medicine Inpatient Service includes both adult patients from our own practices, those of family physicians in the UW system and regionally, and obstetric patients and their newborns from those practices and a local community health clinic, Columbia Health Center. The R-1 Core Skills block is a half-month block of time devoted to enhanced orientation and integration prior to resuming R1 rotation experiences. Home Focus Month is a month rotation where the whole R1 class shares outpatient learning experiences geared to providing residents family and community medicine expertise early in their residency career. In the R2 year, the Family Medicine Community Practice Rotation (CPR) places residents in a full-service primary care practice in either rural or urban areas where excellent family medicine care is provided and modeled. The resident is embedded in a community to gain insight into components of a future practice they plan to join. The R-2 residents' general surgery outpatient month is community based as well and scheduled back to back with their CPR month in the same location, if possible.

R3 YEAR

The third year intensively focuses on the Family Medical Center continuity clinic practices, building on knowledge and skills already gained and carrying them to new levels through focused learning sessions, longitudinal application and intensive seminars. Outpatient rotations take advantage of a number of specialty clinics that address common primary care problems, such as rheumatolgy, geriatrics, ENT, cardiology, neurology, gynecology and uro-gynecology, breast clinic, outpatient pediatrics and adolescent medicine.

Outpatient skills and procedures for which specific learning experiences are structured in the third year include:

• Prenatal care in an urban under-served community health clinic, Columbia Health Clinic.
• Outpatient pediatrics, working with community pediatricians and adolescent health care providers.
• Outpatient procedures, including colposcopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and vasectomy, in addition to the full range of dermatologic, orthopedic, and gynecologic procedures included as part of everyday practice.
• Outpatient services within our Family Medical Centers, including nutrition, sports medicine and psychiatry.
• Specialty clinics in geriatrics, palliative care and long-term care.
• Specialty clinics in neurology, breast problems, urogynecology, sexual assault center, urology, otolaryngology, and ophthalmology.
• A structured month of cardiology experience.
• Clinics in adult dermatology.
• Longitudinal care of nursing home patients, and home visit care.
• Advanced practice seminars in behavioral medicine and practice management education.
• Skills for all residents in academic focus pathway topics: health policy and advocacy, teaching, leadership, and research.

Inpatient skills are maintained and honed through 1/2 month of Family Medicine Service day time senior resident, ½ month of Family Medicine Night Float and occasional coverage of the Family Medicine Inpatient Service and weekend night float, including supervision and teaching of the R1 on the Service.

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