FAQ

What methods of communication are used by the residency to offer interviews and follow up on applications?

The UW Family Medicine program will send either an email or post letter offering an interview once your application has been reviewed. If you will not be able to receive a particular means of communication or your contact information has changed, please contact our office so that we can make other arrangements as necessary. Not all applicants are offered interviews. Subsequent communication occurs by email unless otherwise specified by applicant. Our residency does not promise training spots to applicants prior to the formal NRMP Match process.

What is the frequency of call that Family Medicine Residents take?

R1s

On our inpatient Family Medicine Service, we take rolling admissions. Interns alternate admit days, but never take night float.

The MICU rotation has day and night shifts but no long call.

R1s also do 2-3 weekend 24-hour shifts on their OB rotation, night float on their inpatient pediatrics rotation, and some night shifts during their emergency medicine rotations at UW Montlake, Harborview, and Seattle Children’s. 

R2s

On the three-week surgery rotation, R2s take call 1 night per week and 1 weekend. They also take “home call” during the surgery rotation which involves being available by pager for questions related to their patients, but may not involve going into the hospital overnight.

R2s do night float (Mon-Fri nights) during their family medicine service and OB rotations. There are 4 weeks (5 nights/week) of FMS night float and 2-3 weeks of OB night float depending on the individual schedule. 

R3s

R3s do FMS night float for 2-3 weeks (5 nights/week) and 5-7 FMS “weekend night float” shifts which are Saturday and Sunday nights. R3s are also on “jeopardy” for 5-7 weeks of the year and could be called to cover any rotation including one with call responsibilities. 

What are the Covid-19 Vaccine requirements?

Per Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.1, employees of higher education and healthcare institutions must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than October 18, 2021 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees – including residents and fellows – will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination.Details on how to provide proof of vaccination prior to commencement of training will be provided at a later date.

Are any curricular changes anticipated in the near future?

We are constantly evaluating and improving our curriculum to evolve with changes in medicine. We completed our move of our family Medicine Service to Northwest Hospital in October of 2020. The Family Medicine Service is the primary inpatient service line for NWH, caring for secondary and low tertiary inpatient needs. The Family Medicine Service now joins other resident rotations in surgery, obstetrics and cardiology at NWH. Residents continue to benefit from educational breadth and depth by rotating at large area hospitals (Harborview, Seattle Children’s Hospital, the VA and UWMC) but also the community feel of a smaller regional hospital at NWH.

In 2020, we launched our longitudinal Point of Care Ultrasound Curriculum. With new ultrasounds at Northgate and Harborview, our POCUS curriculum includes regular didactics and workshops and rotation in a “POCUS clinic” with the chief goal of increasing resident comfort with the use of POCUS.

In 2022 we launched our version of a “clinic first” curriculum.  This major revision will increase resident time in clinic, improve access for patients, and promote continuity for residents and patients.  Our goal is for residents never to be out of clinic for more than two weeks unless on an away rotation.

We are looking carefully at the anticipated new ACGME curricular requirements that will go into effect in July of 2023.  As currently written our program is well positioned to meet these requirements without significant curricular revision.  We are evaluating our OB curriculum, consulting with our obstetrician colleagues, and considering an OB track for those residents who are committed to reaching 80 deliveries during residency.

What education support, time, and stipends are available to residents for continuing medical education (CME)?
  • Please review the University of Washington House Staff Association Contract (RFPU) for specific stipend information.
  • The residency pays for CME training modules: ACLS, ALSO, and NRP. Additionally, the residency covers the cost of USMLE Step 3 which residents are required to pass for graduation. Residents, however, are responsible for the American Board Family Medicine boards, which are taken near the completion of residency training.
Does the UW Family Medicine Department use an electronic medical record (EMR)?

UW uses EPIC Care in all inpatient and outpatient settings across the system.

Are any fellowships associated with the UW Department of Family Medicine?

The UW Department of Family Medicine directly sponsors well known fellowships in Sports Medicine, Reproductive Health Advocacy, and Global Health. We also sponsor a junior faculty Academic Chief Resident faculty development year. Our family medicine residency graduates are also eligible to apply for multiple fellowships throughout UW.

What jobs do graduates find?

One of the most exciting outcomes of this residency is the diversity of career paths chosen by our graduates. Many follow paths to community and private practice, including many choosing work in community health centers and other underserved areas. Others have pursued fellowship training in sports medicine, obstetrics, geriatrics, adolescent medicine, addiction medicine, and psychiatry. Recent graduates have found themselves in far away lands with relief groups such as Doctors Without Borders, while others have found jobs with the CDC and EIS. Others have taken academic faculty positions. As you can tell, our residents have ended up in a broad spectrum of practice opportunities, and this is something that we take pride in as we provide a comprehensive training experience.

What is the program’s policy for international medical graduates (IMGs)?

International graduates are screened and interviewed using the same criteria as other applicants, with these additional requirements:

  • IMGs need to be fully ECFMG -certified at the time of application. Strong applicants who will receive certification following their initial application and would still like to be considered are encouraged to provide proof that certification will be received promptly and prior to the academic year. Students of the Fifth Pathway program should ensure that their certificate is provided and the program is informed. If certificate is pending, program must verify status with the student’s medical school.
  • Applicants are required to have at least 2 months of clinical experience in the United States, Canada or UK. (Observerships do not count towards this requirement.)
  • If an applicant is more than 2 years beyond graduation from medical school, there must be evidence of ongoing direct patient care.
Are there any leadership or faculty changes expected in the next year?

After five years as the Program Director, David Evans, MD stepped out of this role in April 2023 to support and develop residency programs around the WWAMI region as the Associate Director of Developing Programs.  He remains in the Department of Family Medicine and continues to teach in the residency.  Nelson Chiu, MD has been serving as Interim Program Director since. This purposeful and planned change was designed to allow for transparency to applicants and to also allow time for recruitment of a new PD, which we hope to finalize soon.

We have recently recruited a new Associate Program Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Joseph Nelson, MD, who just completed his service as Chief Resident. The creation of this new position reflects the commitment of the residency and the department to building a more inclusive and just program in which to work and learn.

We have welcomed a new APD for Curriculum, Kim Collins, MD. Jackie Raetz, MD will continue in her APD position. 

On the faculty front, we have hired and are still recruiting for several new psychologists. These new faculty members will further strengthen an already robust behavioral health curriculum and clinical service line. We are also hiring for additional FM-OB faculty to enhance our OB patient care and teaching.

Does the UW Family Medicine Residency participate in the NRMP match?

The UW Family Medicine Residency participates in the NRMP exclusively. We highly recommend that applications are complete on the day that ERAS opens.  We only accept applications through ERAS.

NRMP Program Codes:
Family Medicine (Northgate Site): 1918120C0
Family Med/Harborview: 1918120C1
Chelan RTT: 1918120M0

Do you offer observerships?

No, unfortunately we do not offer observerships at the University of Washington Family Medicine Residency program due to our heavy time investment in UW medical student and residency training. Our department is, however, affiliated with WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region residencies. To obtain information about observerships, you must contact each affiliated residency individually. Contact information for each program is available on the WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network’s web site on a drop down list at the bottom of the main page.

What is the typical resident’s OB experience?

Our residents receive 12 weeks of dedicated OB training in the R1 and R2 years at UWMC-Montlake, UW Northwest Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente Washington. In addition, residents rotate on the Family Medicine Service for 26 weeks throughout their three years, during which there is OB experience under the guidance of faculty family physicians. Residents who wish to include OB in their future practice are able to receive the needed training at our program.  They will often do an elective in the R3 year to build on the required OB training.  With the new ACGME curricular requirements, we anticipate the creation of an OB track by 2023 for residents committed to a future OB practice.   

About 1/3 of our graduates include labor and delivery in their practice.

So what’s the deal with the opposed vs. unopposed program?

We prefer to think of our program as “collaborative” rather than “opposed.” Our residents rotate alongside internal medicine, pediatric, surgical, ER, and OB residents during their training. However, given our institutional and national recognition, and given the quality of our residents historically, our program enjoys respect among specialties and works in a collaborative fashion with other residents and services. Residents value the education received from the residents and attendings on other services and feel this is an integral part of their training. We have ample clinical opportunities to care for a VERY broad spectrum of patients. In fact, our residents enjoy a strong camaraderie with our colleagues in the other programs and hold leadership positions in UW-wide organizations. Residents from other specialties are often found at family medicine resident get-togethers! Our residents are respected and appreciated for their hard work on these other services.

Do residents get adequate pediatric care experience during their residency?

Residents get extensive inpatient and ER pediatric training at Seattle Children’s Hospital. R3s spend four weeks in an outpatient pediatric clinic. Historically, pediatric care exposure in the continuity clinics has been a relative weakness of the program. Northgate visits are just over 10% pediatric and Harborview visits are just under 10% pediatric. Pediatric patients are commonly less available in urban settings due to the high cost of living expenses for a family.

What are UWFMR’s strengths?
  • Our Faculty: We have a diverse group of attending physicians, with a wide range of clinical expertise and personal teaching styles. All are very dedicated, committed to resident education, and are excellent role models of family physicians.
  • Our Residents: We also have a group of energetic, spirited, and intelligent residents from a broad range of training locations, who have come together to form their own community of support, caring, and intellectual pursuit.
  • Our Staff: Our residency staff is a dedicated group of individuals, who work together to provide residents with a well supported curricular framework and resources useful for training, including scheduling, clinic flow, and assistance in procedures.
  • Breadth of training: Residents are exposed to the broadest spectrum of family medicine, from a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings to community, volunteer, and research experience. Please see “Highlights of the Program.”
  • Research: A wide range of opportunities to participate in research is available for residents. The UW Family Medicine Department is nationally known for the strength of its Research Section, and residents can be mentored and become involved in projects with highly respected faculty.
  • Academic & Leadership Focus: During their three years of training, all residents are offered the opportunity to develop skills as leaders, teachers and scholars in the field of Family Medicine. Our program has academic and leadership focus tracks for those residents interested in dedicating additional curricular time to develop future skills in teaching, health policy, or research
  • Sports Medicine affiliation: An accredited sports medicine fellowship program is closely affiliated with the Family Medicine Department, accepting one fellow per year. Family medicine residents rotate with Sports Medicine faculty in their clinics, providing excellent training in orthopedics and sports medicine.
  • Practice Management and Behavioral Science Curricula: Residents participate in a year-long longitudinal curriculum to emphasize the areas of behavioral science and of practice management, which prepare residents with key skills for excellence as practicing family physicians.
  • Our Location: Seattle. Seattle has so much to offer; sample some of its best through the Seattle Life link.
  • Clinical Area of Concentration: Some residents wish to carry their education in a particular field further for more concentrated and indepth training. They choose this field and plan to spend two months of their elective time to pursue their interest. This area is designated on their residency diplomas at graduation.
  • Palliative Care: Family Medicine provides faculty for the Palliative Care Fellowship in conjunction with the Internal Medicine Department. A one-year fellowship is for those interested in furthering their education in this critical developing field. R2 and R3 residents have an opportunity to work with the faculty and fellows of palliative care with elective time.
  • Collaborative Educational Training: Some family medicine residencies in both academic as well as community settings are challenged with “opposed” programs or specialty attendings. Our program has had unparalleled success in working with other departments in our hospitals and feel this is a “collaborative” rather than “opposed” program in our educational goals. The high-caliber, adaptable and inquisitive prior UW family medicine residents have blazed the trails to allow current residents to function in full intern roles on all teams and even co-lead teams on some services as an R2. We have excellent relationships with our major specialty training departments of internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics.
What are UWFMR’s areas for improvement?
  • Travel: Residents are required to travel to several training sites, including our Family Medicine Clinics and a variety of medical centers situated in the greater Seattle area. Maximum travel time is 45 minutes, although most sites are within 25 minutes. The utilized training sites were selected to maximize the value of specific educational experiences for residents and most are accessible by car, bike, UWMC/HMC shuttle or public transportation.
Do Family Medicine residents teach medical students?

Medical student teaching is an integral part of our residency training. Family medicine residents supervise third-year medical students, on our family medicine service, in our family medicine clinic, as well as fourth-year medical students who participate in sub-internships on the family medicine service at UW Medical Center. Our residents also teach medical students on various internal medicine, pediatric and OB rotations. Additionally, some residents choose to be involved in teaching first and second-year medical students at the UW School of Medicine.

I am interested in both the UWPC-Northgate, HMC (Harborview), and Chelan Rural Training tracks. Are there separate applications for these two sites?

There is a single application and interview process for both Northgate and HMC sites. The Chelan RTT will have a separate interview process. However, each site has its own match number and match list, so candidates rank each site individually on their rank list.

Family Medicine (Northgate Site): 1918120C0
Family Med/Harborview: 1918120C1
UW School of Medicine Rural Program: 1918120C2

 

Does the UW Family Medicine Residency have minimum USMLE/COMLEX score requirements?

The residency does not have minimum USMLE or COMLEX score requirements. You must pass Step/Level 1 and Step/Level 2. We ask that you complete Step 1 and 2CK testing by December of the year you apply to our program and your application will be strengthened by completing these prior to your interview date or soon thereafter. Step 3 is not required prior to residency but must be completed during residency training.