Teaching Methods
Family Medicine Rotations
Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIP) – An inpatient service performed four weeks at a time periodically throughout all three years of training. Residents care for adult and pediatric patients of the Family Health Centers and the MSU Clinical Center practice under the supervision of the Family Medicine residency faculty.
Family-Centered Obstetrics (FCOB) – An obstetrical service run by the Family Medicine residency. Residents deliver their own private patients, patients of community family physicians that do OB, and patients from the continuity community service prenatal clinic operated by the residency program under the supervision of the Family Medicine residency faculty. Residents provide complete care to mother and baby after delivery, including requested circumcisions.
Family Health Center Block Time – In addition to office time integrated with month-long out-rotation experiences, residents have the opportunity in years 2 and 3 to spend a total of seven full-rotation blocks in the office. This experience is a critical factor in allowing each upper level resident to make a successful transition from residency training to real world practice.
Didactic Presentations
- Thursday afternoons are dedicated didactic time. All residents are required to attend. This is basically a running two-year curriculum covering behavioral science, core family medicine topics, diagnostic imaging, procedure workshops, nutrition, ethics, practice management, pharmacology, sports medicine, evidence-based medicine and critical review and research.
Wednesday mornings are one-hour focus point didactics to include board review, case presentations, skill workshops and conventional lectures on a four-week rotational basis. All residents are required to attend.
Other conference series exist on a daily basis throughout the Health System. A resident rotating on a given service is expected to attend the conference series sponsored by that service (this is primarily applicable during the internship year). Otherwise, attendance is encouraged, but optional.
Faculty Precepting
Continuous Self-Learning
Evaluations
Rotation Preceptor Feedback: Family Medicine and non-Family Medicine preceptors evaluate all residents after all rotations.
Direct Observation: Family Medicine faculty evaluate residents after each rotation on the inpatient service, after each delivery, and after each four-week office block.
Semi-Annual Review: All the above evaluations are summarized and discussed at least twice annually with the resident's faculty advisors.
Self-Assessment: Residents have the opportunity to perform self-assessment in various forums such as communication skills seminar, intern wellness meetings, and the semi-annual evaluations.
In-Training Assessment Exam (ITAE): The ITAE is an exam, similar to the ABFP Certification Exam, administered each fall to all residents. The ITAE is designed to assess core knowledge in the major content areas of Family Medicine and clinical problem-solving skills. The results are used as a guide to determine a resident’s areas of strength and weakness, and to trend the resident’s progress over the three years of training.
360-degree Evaluations: Residents will be evaluated at least annually by selected office staff, patients, peers, and hospital staff, and have the opportunity to discuss the results with their faculty advisors.
Resident Portfolio: Each resident will keep a personal portfolio. The portfolio is composed of all evaluations, experience logs, summaries of certain required experiences and personal reflections. The portfolio is geared toward the six ACGME core competencies (medical knowledge, patient care, communication skills, professionalism, systems-based practice, and practice-based learning). The portfolio mirrors each resident's complete training experience as it relates to the teaching, evaluation and documentation of the six core competencies. Resident portfolios will be reviewed at each semi-annual evaluation.