Our intention is to train family physicians to provide the full spectrum and
scope of family practice in areas that do not have the large number of
sub-specialties found in the larger cities. Inpatient and outpatient
experience is broad and extensive, including rotations in medicine,
pediatrics, neonatology, obstetrics, dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT,
psychiatric and behavioral medicine, urology, and orthopedics. There are
also opportunities to arrange electives in most areas of interest. A noon
conference is held Monday through Friday for formal teaching. Specialty
clinics take place one morning a week. Specialists from nearby institutions
such as Stanford University and University of California at San Francisco
are regularly involved.
A particular strength of the program is the intensive nature of its training
in a number of areas. Each resident will spend three months in the ICU/CCU
working under the direction of the faculty. The obstetrics experience is
also extensive because of the large number of deliveries at MMCM.
With this background, upon graduation many residents feel comfortable
providing a variety of services often routinely relegated to other
specialists. Many resident graduates maintain an OB practice and also feel
competent providing ICU/CCU care and doing procedures such as arterial
lines, central venous lines, intubations, and neonatal resuscitations.
Graduates are also competent to assess psychological and emotional problems
and respond with various forms and degrees of treatment. Residents are well
prepared to practice in rural areas.
 
Medicine
During the first year, residents spend sixteen weeks on the Inpatient
Medicine Service. Residents acquire experience in EKG interpretation and
gain expertise in procedures, such as thoracentesis and lumbar puncture.
Residents also spend one month in the ICU. During the second year, residents
spend an additional month on medicine and on the ICU/CCU rotation. This
training is supervised by the faculty internist, as well as family practice
faculty, who round daily on the medicine wards and in the critical care
unit. Each resident is responsible for an average of six to eight patients
while on the service. In the third year, residents will spend four weeks on
ICU/CCU and four weeks on the medicine service supervising and teaching the
first year resident. At this time, they have an opportunity to refine skills
and study further to fill any gaps in knowledge.
 
Pediatrics
The first year resident spends eight weeks in pediatrics. Four of these
weeks are spent at the pediatric ward at MMCM. They make daily rounds with
the faculty pediatricians and attend the daily pediatric clinic. The other
four weeks are spent in an outpatient pediatric clinic learning from the
faculty pediatricians. During the second year, residents spend four weeks on
the pediatric rotation at MMCM. Residents have primary responsibility for an
average of four to six inpatients on our 20-bed pediatric ward plus the
infants in the newborn surgery. To give further experience in inpatient
pediatrics, an additional four weeks is spent at
Children's Hospital Central California
in Madera during the second
year. In the third year, residents spend an additional four weeks on
pediatrics, assisting in the teaching and supervision of the first year
resident. This gives the resident a chance to study the problems in more
depth, and to participate in the teaching of his/her junior colleagues.
 
Obstetrics/Gynecology
In the first year, residents spend eight weeks on the busy obstetric and
gynecology service at MMCM. Training emphasis is on prenatal care, normal
delivery, post-partum care, and recognition of obstetrical emergencies. In
both the second and third year the resident on obstetrics/gynecology
performs or assists (depending on experience or level of training) in
gynecological surgery, such as dilation and curettage, hysterectomy and
tubal ligation. The on-call resident is responsible for deliveries at night
and on weekends, and a resident may elect to deliver his Family Practice
Center patients, regardless of the service he is on at that time. Under this
arrangement, each resident delivers about 125 babies during these three
years. If the resident desires, he may obtain additional experience in
C-sections.
 
Behavioral Science
The Behavioral Science experience is a longitudinal rotation over the course
of the entire second year of the residency program. Second year residents
spend every Wednesday afternoon participating in a didactic session on
behavioral science topic for 1 1/2 hours, then spend the rest of the
afternoon counseling patients who have been referred for crisis intervention
or brief therapy sessions. Residents learn counseling skills, the basics of
DSM-IV diagnoses, use of psychiatric medications, and assessment of
psychological issues with their patients. Supervision is provided by faculty
family physicians, and a PhD. Psychologist. Residents are encouraged and
expected to incorporate the principles that they have learned in the
Behavioral Science experience into their own practice of medicine in the
Family Practice Center.
 
Outpatient Services (Community Medicine)
This is a six week rotation where the resident gains a knowledge of the
resources available in the community for his/her patients. These experiences
include time spent with the Public Health nurse, home health nurses, visits
to several local factories to learn about industrial medicine, time spent in
an occupational medicine clinic, and visits to other local health resources.
Sports Medicine experiences are also incorporated into the curriculum.
 
Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a four week rotation during the second year at Anberry
Rehabilitation Hospital, managing predominantly geriatric patients with a
faculty physician who is the Medical Director of the facility. Residents
learn through a combination of patient care duties and focused tutorials
about the unique aspects of the care of the aging patient.
 
Surgery Subspecialties
During the first year of training the resident takes 40 hours of ENT. In the
second and third years, Urology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, and Dermatology
are required. The resident is assigned to a private attending in the
respective specialty area. Emphasis is primarily on the outpatient aspect of
these specialties with the resident spending the majority of the time in the
physician's office.
 
Emergency Medicine
The first year resident spends four weeks as a member of the emergency room
staff learning the immediate diagnosis and management of a wide variety of
medical and surgical emergencies. Experience and teaching in the emergency
room is provided continuously through the R-2 and R-3 years. A primary care
physician or a trained emergency room physician provides on-site supervision
when the resident is in the ER.
 
Electives
Elective time is available in the third year so that residents may select
clinical areas of concentration with the purpose of adjusting their training
to anticipate future practice settings. The format for electives may include
any of the following:
- Additional time on a required service
- Away rotations
- Medical or surgical subspecialty training
- Research
- Family or individual counseling
- Rural practice experience
- Independent study of diagnostic methods, i.e., EKG interpretation,
radiographic diagnosis, etc.
- Opportunities available to learn Flexible Sigmoidoscopy, Exercise
Treadmill, and other precedures.