The Family Medicine Residency curriculum focuses on balanced ambulatory and hospital-based clinical rotations. The program facilitates ambulatory rotations in each year of training with a focus on chronic disease management, preventive care, nutrition and occupational health.
The academic year is 13 blocks that are four weeks each.
- Electives (6 total): Select from approved elective experiences for educational enhancement.
- Selectives (2 total): Required rotations, which can be taken in any of the three years (dermatology and musculoskeletal/sports medicine).
Rotation sites:
- CommUnityCare Southeast Health and Wellness Center (SHWC)
- Dell Children’s Medical Center (DCMC)
- Dell Seton Medical Center (DSMC)
- Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (SMCA)
Yearly Rotation Schedules
The first-year curriculum is designed to reinforce and expand the knowledge and skills that are acquired in medical school. An extremely compact and highly organized year, the emphasis is on acute inpatient care with a solid introduction to the Southeast Health and Wellness Center ambulatory population.
- Continuity clinic
- Length: Year-round
- Shifts: 1 to 4 half-days per week
- *Ambulatory FM clinic
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: Includes weekly clinics and workshops
- Elective/selective
- Length: 4 weeks
- Emergency medicine
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 12 10-hour shifts
- Family medicine inpatient service
- Length: 8 weeks
- Shifts: 8- to 12-hour shifts
- ICU
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 5 shifts per week, 6:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m
- Internal medicine wards
- Length: 4 weeks.
- Shifts: 6 days/week, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m
- Labor and delivery
- Length: 8 weeks
- Shifts: 12-hour shifts; includes day and night shifts
- Newborn nursery
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 6 days per week
- Pediatric wards
- Length: 8 weeks
- Shifts: 4 weeks wards, 2 weeks ED, 2 weeks triage officer
- Surgery
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 12-hour shifts; 2 weeks home call
Vacation: three weeks
*Ambulatory FM Clinic PGY-1: Increased clinical time at SHWC; emphasis on chronic disease management, including the completion of ABFM self-assessment modules in diabetes, hypertension and asthma
Approximately 50% of time spent is in a hospital setting and 50% in ambulatory care. Clinical experiences in musculoskeletal orthopaedics/sports medicine, neurology (inpatient and ambulatory) and increased involvement at the SHWC are included in this year. Resident may choose to substitute the musculoskeletal block for elective block and complete both musculoskeletal blocks in PGY-3.
- Continuity clinic
- Length: Year-round
- Shifts: 2 to 4 half-days per week
- *Ambulatory FM clinic
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 6 to 8 clinics per week
- Cardiology — inpatient and ambulatory
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Population health and community medicine
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: Ambulatory (multiple sites)
- Family medicine inpatient service
- Length: 12 weeks
- Shifts: 8- to 12-hour shifts
- Gynecology — ambulatory
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Medicine specialty clinic
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Neurology — inpatient and ambulatory
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Nursing home
- Length: Year-round
- Shifts: 1 half-day per month
- Elective or MSK/SM selective
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Pediatrics outpatient
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: No call
- Psychiatry consult
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: Weekdays only
Vacation: three weeks
*Ambulatory FM Clinic PGY-2: Increased clinical time in the SHWC; self-study modules with emphasis on provision of prevention health services, adult/pediatric immunization and nutrition including the completion of ABFM self-assessment modules in preventive health and health behavior.
Significant time in the third year is spent in the ambulatory care setting either at SHWC or in private offices in the community. With available elective blocks, this year is perfect for tailoring your education experience to enhance skills for your future practice. Popular electives include additional selective rotations (dermatology, gynecology/women’s health, musculoskeletal), correctional medicine, HIV medicine, palliative care/consult service and urgent care. Residents may participate in one global health or away elective (must receive program director approval).
- Continuity clinic
- Length: Year-round
- Shifts: 2 to 4 half-days per week
- *Ambulatory FM clinic
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 8 clinics per week
- Dermatology (ambulatory) — elective
- Length: 4 weeks
- Elective
- Length: 12 weeks
- Emergency medicine
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 12 10-hour shifts
- Family medicine inpatient service
- Length: 12 weeks
- Shifts: 8- to 12-hour shifts
- Nursing home
- Length: Year-round
- Shifts: 1 half-day per month
- Elective or MSK/SM selective
- Length: 4 weeks
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: 10 10-hour shifts, ambulatory preceptors
- Surgical subspecialty clinics — ambulatory
- Length: 4 weeks
- Shifts: Ambulatory preceptors
- Clinics: ENT, ophthalmolgy, urology, wound care
Vacation: three weeks
*Ambulatory FM Clinic PGY-3: Increased clinical time at SHWC, clinical experience in employee/occupational health and physical therapy; complete disability determination module, ABFM self-assessment module in chronic pain management
Other Curriculum Details
The program offers three different clinical tracks: Sports Medicine (limit 2 residents/year), HIV (limit 1 resident/year), and the Distinction in Care Transformation track (limit 2 residents/year).
Sports Medicine Clinical Track
The sports medicine clinical track aims to enhance the family medicine resident’s knowledge base and clinical exposure to the field of primary care sports medicine. It supplements the resident’s core primary care curriculum with additional learning opportunities needed to become competent and proficient when caring for musculoskeletal injuries and primary care sports medicine pathology in their future professional practice. This longitudinal curriculum spans three academic years and provides valuable clinical experience in a variety of primary care sports medicine clinical settings. It also fosters the pursuit of additional scholarly activities and quality improvement processes. While this track is an ideal opportunity for residents interested in pursuing a primary care sports medicine fellowship, it is not contingent upon a resident’s decision to apply for a fellowship position. While some elements of the track are specifically tailored to the selected participants, the establishment of this track fosters growth in clinical opportunities and academic pursuits for all family medicine residents that have an interest in primary cares sports medicine or furthering their musculoskeletal knowledge base.
HIV Clinical Track
The HIV clinical track in family medicine prepares the family medicine resident to care for people living with HIV in the primary medical home. The curriculum spans two academic years beginning in the PGY-2 year, and residents complete the University of Washington national HIV curriculum This distinction track prepares the resident to care for people living with HIV in the primary care setting, start and manage long-term HAART therapy, evaluate for potential opportunistic infections and manage chronic co-morbidities in the HIV-infected patient. Residents are encouraged to complete the HIV specialist credential through the American Academy of HIV Specialists.
Distinction in Care Transformation Track
In addition to the Foundations in Care Transformation training that all residents complete, residents or fellows who wish to engage more deeply with the concepts of health systems science may pursue honors in the form of a Distinction in Care Transformation, which requires active learning and application of improvement science and features workshops focused on interprofessional education, communication and value-based health care.
Patient care is provided in an interdisciplinary, collaborative fashion with social work, nursing, case management, nutrition and pharmacy. Common ambulatory procedures are performed during continuity clinic in the ambulatory center at Southeast Health and Wellness Center. Additionally, all residents are assigned to work in the ambulatory center with family medicine faculty physicians in the general procedures clinic and gynecology procedures clinic at the center in each year of training.
Elective opportunities include, but are not limited to:
- adolescent medicine
- behavioral medicine
- cancer survivorship
- correctional medicine
- dermatology
- adult gender-affirming care
- geriatric psychiatry
- global health
- gynecology
- health care advocacy/Texas Academy of Family Physicians
- HIV medicine
- health care for people experiencing homelessness/street outreach
- orthopaedics
- medicine subspecialties:
- cardiology
- endocrine
- gastrointestinal
- renal
- rheumatology
- pulmonary
- pain management
- palliative care
- parenting
- physical medicine and rehabilitation
- radiology/POCUS
- rural medicine
- sports medicine
- student health
- urgent care
- wound care