Family Medicine Curriculum
The Family Medicine program curriculum places a strong emphasis on team-based learning and includes multidisciplinary rounding within our Family Medicine Practice and inpatient settings. We have a comprehensive didactic program in addition to
Family Centered Maternity Care
Family Medicine is an all-encompassing specialty. Comprehensiveness is our specialty and what we train our residents in. We call our obstetric care Family Centered Maternity Care.
About CoRE Curriculum
In addition to a block schedule, this program offers the Cornerstones of Resident Education (CoRE) - a three-year longitudinal curriculum that engages residents across all programs. Learn more
Residents will have a robust didactic schedule. Residents will have protected time every Wednesday for an Academic Half Day (12 – 5 pm). Each month, the didactic schedule will focus on a specific system and will include the ‘Top 50 Diagnoses for Family Medicine Physicians.
This is a longitudinal Behavioral Health experience with direct supervision by a Behavioral Health Specialist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
Community based learning will take place in an inpatient/outpatient based behavioral health settings under the supervision of a psychiatrist, counselors and social workers. Additional experiential learning will occur during didactics, Balint groups and specific assignments.
The Interpersonal and Communication curriculum is a longitudinal experience during the PGY 1-3 years. Training will take place in the Family Medicine practice setting, community based behavioral health service providers, simulation/role play and didactics with direct supervision by Behavioral Health Specialist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
Geriatrics & Nursing Home
Family Medicine Residents will admit and follow their patients that are appropriate for a long-term care setting. During their three years of residency they will make monthly nursing home rounds and participate in Geriatrics Lecture/teaching at the nursing facility. They will respond to and cover call on nursing home patients while on their rotations. Utilizing practice partners, they will respond to the needs of their nursing home patients as acute care needs arise.
This is a four-week block on Health System Management based on the disciplines of Family Medicine, Behavioral Medicine, Pharmacy and Behavioral Medicine.
This is a longitudinal experience with direct supervision by Family Medicine Faculty and Mentors. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. This curriculum was based of work from Mellisa Pensa, et. al at (Oregon Health Sciences University).
This is a longitudinal experience over the length of the residency, with direct supervision by faculty members. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty and Leadership experts is also expected.
Residents will complete assigned readings and participate in monthly discussions covering the various aspects of professionalism and leadership as portrayed by selected case studies from “Family Practice Stories”, “Leading with Honor” as well as relevant current events and other readings when appropriate. Working together with other Leadership Coaches they will build on issues of accountability, perseverance and problem solving.
This is a longitudinal experience beginning in orientation that helps develop the role of the family physician as teacher with their peers, the community, health professionals, students and patients. Combining curricula developed by the American Academy of Internal Medicine and STFM and supplementing with modules pertaining to teaching patients and communities, residents will gain experience teaching and communicating effectively in all settings.
The goal of the this combined scholarly activity/EBM curriculum is to help residents to develop a discipline of scientific inquiry and scholarship as a part of a commitment to the practices of evidence-based medicine, life-long learning, and practice improvement.
The Behavioral Health curriculum is a longitudinal experience during the PGY 2-3 years. Training will take place in the Family Medicine practice setting, community based behavioral health service, simulation/role play and didactics with supervision by FM Faculty. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. This activity is embedding into the ongoing care of your panel of patients and needs to take place in the context of your clinic with an interdisciplinary approach. For this reason, this activity must take place in the FMP.
This is a 4-week rotation with direct supervision by a Behavioral Health Specialist and supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Medicine Faculty.
Residents will learn about the occurrence of mental health in the family medicine practice as well as experience community-based learning which will take place in an inpatient/outpatient based behavioral health settings under the supervision of a psychiatrist, counselors and social workers. Additional experiential learning will occur during didactics, Balint groups, individual consultations and specific assignments.
This is a four-week block on Community Medicine based on the disciplines of Family Medicine, Behavioral Medicine, Pharmacy and Behavioral Medicine.
One of the most essential tools in the family physician’s toolbox is a broad knowledge of Community Medicine - the field concerned with the study of health and disease in a defined community or group. Its goal is to identify the health problems and needs of people (community diagnosis) and to plan, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the health care system.
Community Medicine is very broad. A physician who fully appreciates it will have a good understanding of disease processes, the people groups within a community, the overarching healthcare resources within a community, flow of healthcare dollars, the availability of support entities and how to connect them all together in a cohesive way.
All first-year residents are required to rotate on a one-month Community Medicine rotation. All throughout the three-year residency experience, the resident is exposed to the concepts of Community Medicine in an ongoing fashion. Doing so will make the family physician stand out as they champion for their patients and their community.
This is a four-week block Emergency Medicine. A Resident will be doing shift work in the Emergency Room responding to traditional emergency room patients, assisting with trauma patients, and those in the fast track ER
This is a four-week block inpatient experience with by direct observation by 2nd and/or 3rd-year residents, direct observation by faculty, and verbal consultation with 2nd and 3rd-year residents and/or faculty. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
This is a four-week block inpatient experience with direct/indirect supervision by the Family Medicine faculty and third-year residents. On Night-float residents will have in house direct supervision by 3rd-year residents and on-call Family Medicine attendings.
Family Medicine Inpatient Service Night Float Goals & Objectives
This is a four-week block experience with the direct supervision by attendings and senior residents. Residents will see patients in the inpatient and outpatient settings. The residents will be exposed to simulation, complete necessary certifications, and will begin to work with practice partner teams. This rotation will occur during the intern (PGY-1) year.
This is a four-week block obstetrics experience with direct supervision by obstetricians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see prenatal, laboring, and postpartum patients in the inpatient, and outpatient triage settings.
This is a four-week block Pediatric experience with direct supervision by Neonatologists and Pediatricians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Medicine Faculty is also expected. Residents will see patient in the Newborn Nursery, and Inpatient Pediatric Wards.
This is a four-week block pediatric outpatient experience with direct supervision by an attending pediatrician. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see pediatric patients in an outpatient setting.
The resident/learner will become competent and/or familiar with the appropriate evaluation and/or management of patients with pediatric syndromes/disease processes.
This is a four-week block experience with supervision by Family Physicians, General Surgeons, Gynecologists, Internists, and Interventional Radiologists. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected as well as longitudinal training in procedures during their rotations.
Below you will find the sample schedule of the block month and a supplemental list of procedure, to which rotation they are embedded and how many must be performed to develop competency.
Residents will have a dedicated rotation in the Emergency Department with a 70/30 split between Gainesville and Braselton Emergency Departments. Pediatric shifts are integrated into every emergency department block.
This is a four-week block Emergency Medicine. A Resident will be doing shift work in the Emergency Room responding to traditional emergency room patients, assisting with trauma patients, and those in the fast track ER.
This is a four-week block Surgical experience with direct supervision by general surgeons, trauma surgeons, orthopedic/sports medicine surgeons. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
Residents will see surgical procedures commonly performed by surgeons and family physicians. The resident will acquire fundamental knowledge and technical proficiency principles of surgical management of disease and gain competence in recognizing diagnosing, and appropriately referring patients with surgical problems.
This is a four-week block Gynecology rotation with direct supervision by gynecologists and family medicine physicians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see female patients at different stages throughout the reproductive life span.
This is a four-week block where all PGY-2 residents will collaborate to better understand the importance of physician leadership in the context of the emerging health care system.
Family physicians have been and continue to be uniquely poised to engage in various levels of leadership within the health care system to lead healthcare into the future. There is a need for family physicians to take leadership roles in all aspects of healthcare. Whether it be as leaders in their practices, communities, health systems or political arenas, there is an urgent need for residencies to train this new generation of family physician leaders far beyond the fundamentals of direct patient care.
This is a four-week block Orthopedics experience with the orthopedic surgeon attendings. The rotation includes four one-week blocks in podiatry, total joint, general orthopedics and upper extremity.
This is a four-week block obstetrics experience with direct supervision by obstetricians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see prenatal, laboring, and postpartum patients in the inpatient, and outpatient triage settings.
This is a four-week Pediatric ED experience with the attending ED physicians at NGHS located at Gainesville. Residents will see pediatric patients in the ED and in the triage pediatric patients in the rapid care ER. The resident/learner will become competent and/or familiar with the appropriate evaluation and/or management of patients with common ED complaints.
This is a four-week block pediatric outpatient experience with direct supervision by an attending pediatrician. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see pediatric patients in an outpatient setting.
The resident/learner will become competent and/or familiar with the appropriate evaluation and/or management of patients with pediatric syndromes/disease processes.
This is a two-week block Rheumatology experience with a board-certified rheumatologist. The resident will be preparing a rheumatology case study during this rotation. This two-week block will be balanced against two weeks of sports medicine in order to help residents differentiate rheumatologic conditions vs. osteoarthritis or trauma/overuse.
This is a four-week block rural experience. A resident will be working in a rural setting, evaluating and managing patients in the clinic, hospital, and nursing home.
This is a two-week block Sports Medicine experience with the fellowship trained attendings that have sports medicine CAQs. Residents will see patients in outpatient sports medicine settings. Residents will also work directly with physical therapy and a musculoskeletal radiologist. Longitudinally the resident will be assigned to a sports medicine mentor faculty member, assigned a week for game coverage and sideline evaluations and perform school physicals for local high schools.
This is a two-week block Urgent Care experience with the attendings that are doing urgent care medicine. Residents will see urgent care patients doing shift work in the urgent care centers as well as seeing urgent care patients longitudinally that present in Family Medicine Practice center.
The resident will have one on one preceptorship with the Urgent Care Clinical Instructor, will learn through hands-on care of patients and receive impromptu lectures, guided by the provided didactic curriculum.
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in our community; therefore, it is of utmost importance that Family physicians learn how to diagnose and treat common cardiovascular conditions. Along with medication management, it is imperative that family physicians learn the behavioral and lifestyle factors that affect cardiovascular health.
This is a four-week cardiology experience with the attending cardiologist at NGMC Medical Center (NGMC). Residents will round daily with the cardiologist at NGMC, conduct cardiology consultations in inpatient wards, and attend patients with the cardiology attending at their office.
The resident/learner will become competent and/or familiar with the appropriate evaluation and/or management of patients with cardiac disease processes and diagnostic studies.
This is a two-week block Dermatology experience with direct and indirect supervision by Dermatologists and Family Medicine physicians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will spend 4 half days in an outpatient dermatology office and supplement with online learning.
This is a four-week block inpatient experience with by direct observation and verbal consultation with faculty. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected.
By the end of this rotation, PGY 3 residents are expected to expand and cultivate skills and knowledge learned during previous training and to achieve the following objectives based on the six general competencies. Since competencies mastered in the first year of residency are competencies required for a successful clinician, the third-year resident will demonstrate achieved objectives in year one and two with expanded knowledge, more efficiency in performance of procedures, and additional knowledge in pathophysiology encompassing more complex disorders. The resident should exhibit an increasing level of responsibility and independency as he or she progresses throughout the year.
This is a four-week block inpatient experience with direct/indirect supervision by the Family Medicine faculty and will supervise/provide guidance to PGY 1 residents. On night-float residents will have in house indirect supervision on call Family Medicine attendings who readily available taking call from home.
This is a four-week block Geriatric experience with the attendings that are doing geriatric medicine based on the disciplines of family medicine, behavioral medicine, and pharmacy. Residents will see geriatric patients in long term care, outpatient, home, and inpatient settings. The resident will be preparing a geriatric case study during this rotation. This rotation will occur during the PGY 3 year.
This is a four-week block in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with direct supervision by neonatologists. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Learning will take place in NICU as well as high-risk deliveries.
This is a four-week block Orthopedics - Musculoskeletal experience with board certified orthopedic physicians. One week will focus on hand and one week on joint replacement. 2 weeks will be general orthopedics. Residents will see patients with the attendings in the office setting and assist orthopedists in outpatient and surgical settings
This is a four-week block Urgent Care experience with board certified family medicine attendings doing urgent care medicine. Residents will see urgent care patients during shift work in the urgent care centers.
This is a four-week block experience with direct supervision by allergists. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see patients with asthma, as well as those with a variety of other allergic conditions, in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Resident physicians will spend time with gaining competency with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help them manage outpatient management and surgical management of obesity by rotating in a bariatric practice with board-certified surgeons, and family medicine faculty with board certification in obesity management.
This is a two-week block outpatient/inpatient experience with direct supervision by a board-certified otolaryngologist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
This is a four-week block Gastroenterology experience with direct supervision by board certified Gastroenterologist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected. Residents will see prenatal, laboring, and postpartum patients in the inpatient, and outpatient triage settings.
Through global health lectures, elective seminars, online courses and immersion experiences in different cultures we hope to graduate residents who will have a strong awareness of the needs and challenges encountered in different cultures, economic settings, political settings and in different medical systems around the world. Residents with a special interest in Global Health will have the opportunity to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to work in these settings.
This is a four-week block infectious disease experience with direct supervision by board-certified infectious disease specialist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected.
This is a 2-week block or elective nephrology experience with direct supervision by board certified Nephrologist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected. Residents will attend consults in the hospital as well as see patients in nephrology clinic.
This is a four-week block Neurology experience with direct supervision by neurologist. The goal of this rotation is to introduce family medicine residents to the role of neurological disease in patients and familiarize residents with its place in the overall practice of family medicine. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
The Neurosurgery rotation experience is a 4-week rotation that occurs during the third year. Family physicians commonly care for patients who will require neurosurgical evaluation and intervention. This rotation is designed to provide the skill and expertise expected of family physicians with active practices involving this surgical subspecialty area.
During this rotation, the resident will be supervised by a community neurosurgeon. The resident can expect to participate in neurosurgical cases at any NGMC hospital campus and attend with the neurosurgeon in the care of patients in the ambulatory setting.
This is a two-week block ophthalmology experience with direct supervision by ophthalmologist. The goal of this rotation is to give residents the opportunity to work one-on-one with a subspecialty attending, with the goal of obtaining competence in the diagnosis and management of commonly occurring ocular disorders as well as treatment of ocular emergencies.
During this elective, residents are provided an opportunity to investigate the field of plastic surgery and to glean from it principles which will assist them as family physicians answering questions from patients about elective procedures. During this one-month rotation, the Resident will have the opportunity to evaluate, pre- and postoperatively, patients who are eligible for or who have undergone plastic surgical procedures. Residents will also gain competence in the use of microsurgical techniques and instruments.
This is a four-week block experience with direct supervision by Pulmonologists. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected. Residents will see patients with acute and chronic respiratory conditions in the inpatient, and outpatient triage settings.
This is a two-week block Urology experience with direct supervision by the urology attending physician in the outpatient setting. Residents acquire fundamental knowledge and technical proficiency in the medical and surgical management of common urologic complaints. They should understand the principles of surgical management of disease and gain competence in recognizing diagnosing, and appropriately referring patients with surgical problems.
This is a 4-week elective ambulatory experience with direct supervision by board certified Family Physicians. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected. Residents will see patients in a private family medicine clinic.
This is a four-week block inpatient experience at Braselton Hospital with direct observation by Family Physician Faculty. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician faculty is also expected
This four-week-long elective curriculum is designed to service the developing academic interest in family medicine residents within the Northeast Georgia Medical Center graduate medical education division. The overarching goal of this elective is to allow the resident to immerse in research and scholarly activity in their specified area of interest with protected time and access to research coordinators and ,data developers, statisticians so that they can complete several scholarly projects, advance their research skills, and prepare for a career in academic medicine.
This is a two-to-four-week block Sports medicine experience with board certified family medicine/ pediatric attendings with CAQ in sports medicine and with orthopedic physicians. The sports medicine rotation will be a combination of experiences with sports medicine clinics, training room experience, and musculoskeletal radiology. This two-week structure will be balanced against rheumatology and therefore will help the resident differentiate musculoskeletal from rheumatologic diagnoses.
Along with the block experience, residents will have experience in their PGY1 year with attending to patients on the sidelines, doing preparticipation exams (PPE) in the spring and at BLACK and BLUE clinics throughout the fall season. Resident will be assigned 2+ PPE days during the spring.
This is a four-week block Surgical experience with direct supervision by general surgeons. This rotation takes place in the outpatient, operating room, and outpatient surgical center locations. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Physician Faculty is also expected.
On this rotation, the resident will work with Palliative Care and Hospice Medicine Specialty trained physicians in the inpatient setting. The goal of palliative care is to prevent and relieve suffering and to support the best possible quality of life for patients and their families, regardless of the stage of the disease or the need for other therapies.
This elective, spanning one month within the PGY2/3 year, serves to further elevate proficiency in Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS), ultimately equipping residents with the necessary competence for POCUS application beyond their residency.
During this elective, residents will build upon their initial exposure to POCUS. Currently, PGY1 residents participate in a two-day POCUS course to introduce them to fundamental POCUS concepts. Additionally, throughout their PGY1 year, approximately four half-days during the Procedure month are dedicated to reinforcing the essential skills required for proficient POCUS performance.
All residents are expected to utilize POCUS in the hospital, emergency room, and clinic settings. Handheld POCUS devices are readily accessible to all residents throughout their training period. Furthermore, all scans conducted during this period will be uploaded to the NGMC website, contributing to the development of a comprehensive portfolio.
The ultrasound elective provides an opportunity for intensified focus on cultivating POCUS competency and assembling a portfolio showcasing these acquired skills.
This is a 4-week elective diabetes and lipids experience with direct supervision by Lipidologist and Family Medicine core faculty who is a certified diabetes care and education specialist. Supplemental longitudinal learning in the FMP supervised by Family Medicine Core Faculty is also expected. Residents will work with lipidologist in cardiovascular clinics. Residents will attend diabetes education and support sessions as well as see patients with diabetes in the family medicine clinic. Because management of diabetes and cardiovascular is very important to the overall curriculum of FM, there is an additional month on these topics during didactic sessions.