The Merced Family Medicine Center is a beautiful facility
that is located next door to the main hospital. It contains twenty-two
examination rooms in a setting that also includes a conference room, a
library with computer access, minor surgery and procedure room, office
laboratory, and residency and faculty offices. There are three nursing
stations with residents working in teams at each station, with mid-level
practitioners and nurses helping to provide continuity of care. There are
opportunities to learn many procedures, including flexible sigmoidoscopy,
colposcopy, LEEP biopsy of the cervix, cryotherapy, vasectomy, and
obstetrical ultrasound. In late 2005, the clinic acquired a new
state-of-the-art obstetrical ultrasound. Specialty clinics in dermatology,
gynecology, and behavioral medicine, to name a few, help round out the
educational experience available in the Center. Other services that we offer
to our patients include the ability to provide comprehensive perinatal
services, nutritional counseling, diabetic teaching, and on-site pharmacist
consultation.
During their three years in the Family Medicine Center,
residents will develop a panel of patients and provide the full spectrum of
family practice care. It is one of the joys of residency training to learn
what it means to be a "family doctor" and provide personalized care to
patients and their families. There is a great diversity of patients from all
walks of life and cultures, which adds to the experience. Residents spend
one to two half-days a week in the Center as a first year resident, three
half-days a week as a second year resident, and four half-days a week as a
third year resident.
The Family Medicine Center is the real hub of the residency
experience in Merced!