Also part of the UPMC family:
The following topics are presented on a rotating basis:
We also have a Visiting Professor Lecture Series (Grand Rounds) every Friday morning.
Residents need to know how well they are progressing. The faculty has expertise that recognizes both strengths and weaknesses and works with the individual resident to develop specific educational plans. Residents, in turn, are also evaluators who have regular (and confidential) opportunities to provide feedback to the faculty and to the program.
All evaluations and documentation of procedures are stored electronically, and are received upon completion. Resident meetings with faculty advisors take place every six months, at a minimum, to review progress toward family medicine competencies viewed below.
When people think of teaching hospitals, they usually think about big cities and names like Johns Hopkins or Cedars-Sinai; however, medical students can gain top-quality, hands-on experience right here in Williamsport! Each year, over 50 students from all over the U.S. take part in the Family Medicine Residency Program student clerkships.
Clerkships are offered in obstetrics, pediatrics, and family medicine. Many students take part in a rotation in obstetrics from a family medicine perspective that has received rave reviews from the students who have completed it. During the OB rotation, students gain practical experience in a hands-on pregnancy care environment.
Having medical students at UPMC continually tests our medical staff and residents. "The students who participate in the clerkships push our residents and faculty to a higher level," says Luan Pham, MD, "Having students with us challenges our residents and faculty to stop and explain to someone else what they are doing and why."
Students are offered feedback on a daily basis - something they rarely get anywhere else. They are rated on eight different areas: knowledge base, history-taking, physical exam, problem-solving, progress notes, oral presentations, reliability and initiative and interpersonal skills. Mid-way and at the end of their clerkship, students receive an overall evaluation during a one-on-one meeting.
Students are considered to be an important part of the patient care team. They get to experience caring for patients with the supervision of a physician.
"We've set up our clerkships to provide a variety of opportunities for learning in an environment that's challenging yet comfortable," explained Annette Sheets, C-TAGME, Supervisor, Graduate Medical Education. "Even students who are not planning to practice family medicine say that the family medicine rotation is a very good experience. Students really enjoy our program because they truly are embraced as part of our team."
The Family Medicine Residency Center provides the perfect environment to learn outpatient family medicine in its modern health innovation facility. Each first-year resident is given a panel of families to manage over the ensuing three years, and each panel grows as the resident gains experience. Time spent in the office progressively increases over the three years. First-year residents are scheduled for one-half day a week. Second-year residents are scheduled for two to three half days per week. Third-year residents are scheduled for three to five half days per week. During the second and third years of training, residents also provide care to geriatric patients at local nursing homes and via home visits. A full spectrum of care is given in the office, from newborn and adolescent medicine to obstetrical and adult medicine, and geriatrics. The office currently handles approximately 13,000 patient visits a year.
Built in 2015, the Family Medicine Residency Center is located on the fourth floor of the Health Innovation Center and is attached to UPMC Williamsport. The 16,000 square foot clinical space includes 19 modern and well-designed exam rooms, four dedicated pediatric exam rooms, two osteopathic manipulation rooms, two procedure rooms, and a counseling room. Each room is equipped with high-definition video equipment that is periodically used for video precepting, an opportunity that gives residents constructive feedback on their history-taking and examination skills.
The exam rooms surround a centrally-located nurses station and large preceptor/resident work area where residents have heir own personal desk space, laptop computer, and phone. Most teaching of outpatient medicine occurs in this centralized resident work room in which the residents complete their electronic charts, discuss cases with the preceptors, and have immediate access to a full library and broad selection of patient education materials. All office charts are reviewed by the preceptors and oral and written feedback is given to each resident.
The electronic health record, EPICare, interfaces with the hospital's lab, EKG and imaging systems. All are accessible 24 hours a day, ensuring rapid access to all outpatient data, any time, day or night, from any hospital location and remotely from residents' homes.
The procedure rooms are well-equipped to handle the common office procedures we perform including skin excisions, hyfrecation, cryosurgery, punch biopsies, laceration repair, endometrial biopsy, colposcopy, IUD and implantable birth control placement, joint injections, and simple fracture care. We also have the equipment to perform EKGs, tympanograms, spirometry, audiometry, pregnancy tests and microscopic examination of fluids and tissues. Our newest microscope has a cellphone camera adapter, allowing residents to scan microscopic findings into patient’s EMR chart.
The administrative wing of the office includes faculty offices, a nice staff lounge, and a spacious conference room with state-of-the-art teaching equipment that can be used to provide patient group visits and education.
Although outpatient primary care medicine is taught on several rotations during residency (e.g., outpatient pediatrics, OB/GYN, dermatology, urology, psychiatry and community medicine), the Family Medicine Residency Center is "where it all comes together" as the patient-centered care approach is taught, refined and honed for each resident.
The Williamsport Family Medicine Residency’s Osteopathic Recognition offers comprehensive education for both allopathic and osteopathic residents. In fact, our program integrates the two professions from day one, making it a pleasant working environment with equal opportunities to excel, while at the same time allowing osteopathic residents to enhance their manipulation skills and maintain a unique identity among peers.
Since 1974, our residency has been committed to providing outstanding training in family medicine. With its high standards of education and nurturing environment, the residency has grown to become one of the premier family medicine residency programs in the northeast region. Our goal is to provide an environment in which all residents can develop to their fullest potential.
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