The residents at Providence Milwaukie Family Medicine Residency work closely in a team environment to ensure that each resident has a positive learning experience. Our residents come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and each brings a unique perspective to their residency experience.
As co-chiefs for the 2008-2009 academic year, we welcome you. We are proud to represent a very dynamic and diverse group of residents, faculty and clinical staff in a residency program that is at the forefront in healthcare, electronic health records and practice management innovations. Providence Milwaukie Hospital Family Medicine has exceeded our expectations – working in a community-based setting allows for collegial and personal interactions, and at the same time we have access to the benefits of a larger health system.
This program is still young, having begun in 2000. It is one that has grown and changed to reflect the needs of its residents and patients. As such, it is a program that is uniquely receptive to resident input, where residents are regarded often by our faculty as colleagues and peers, rather than trainees. Since its beginning, the program has been founded on core values: access to care for vulnerable populations, behavioral health, evidence-based practice, and integrated and system-based care of chronic health conditions. Our program emphasizes autonomy of residents, who have ample opportunities to pursue special interests. It has integrated the concepts of the METRIC system into daily chronic disease management at each of the two clinics.
Our program nurtures the diverse interests of the residents. Some are involved in the care for underserved communities, some have interest in rural or international medicine. We are also developing an outpatient group visit model as it relates to the management of chronic disease, such as diabetes, as well as how it lends itself to empowering women in their prenatal care through group prenatal care visits. Some also have strong interest in office-based procedures, OB, urgent and emergency care.
Acting as a bridge between faculty and residents, we advocate for residents’ well being, which in turn allows us to practice medicine with humanity and increased competence. We foster open communication, and create clear expectations whenever possible. We embrace the idea that we are each integral members of a team, and our unity is what helps us to achieve excellence in personal growth and enrichment, as well as in patient care.
Beyond the challenges of call schedules, curriculum changes, and high standards of learning, is the broader question – what is the future of family medicine? How do we all face the inevitable changes in the field of medicine as newly trained family physicians? This residency is innovative in how it addresses where family medicine will be, in the next decade and beyond.
We look forward to meeting you and becoming part of how you successfully complete residency, and achieve your professional goals.
