St Mary's Hospital and Medical Center Rural Program

St. Mary’s Medical Center Family Medicine Residency, located in Grand Junction, CO, offers a robust program aimed at preparing residents for rural practice. Established in 1979, it caters to a diverse range of practice goals, including working in critical access hospitals, fellowships, ambulatory care, hospitalist positions, and emergency room settings. This program is unique as it is the sole residency at St. Mary's Hospital, the regional medical center for an expansive area. This provides residents with comprehensive involvement in patient care across the hospital's departments.

Their mission focuses on training full-spectrum family practice physicians with an emphasis on integrated team care. Given its rural Western Colorado setting, residents benefit from exposure to a wide variety of pathologies and patient demographics, enhancing their learning experience significantly.

The program offers a structured didactic schedule, with Education Days every Wednesday afternoon covering a wide range of topics from practical skills like point-of-care ultrasound and casting, to wilderness medicine and pediatric care. This is complemented by a variety of other didactic opportunities woven into the curriculum including Primary Care Weeks and Family Medicine Teaching Service Didactics among others.

Quality improvement is a key component of the curriculum, structured around the Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home model. Residents work in Care Teams, progressing from learning QI tools and processes in their first year to leadership in QI projects and care coordination in their final year.

For application, the program specifies requirements that include being a graduate from approved US or Canadian medical schools, with International Medical Graduates needing to meet additional criteria including graduation within the past three years and holding a valid ECFMG certificate. The program does not sponsor visas.

Residents enjoy benefits like a moving allowance, comprehensive health care package, certification coverage, and membership in professional societies, alongside a resident-led Wellness Committee and various retreats. The program is situated in an ideal location for outdoor enthusiasts, with easy access to skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and more.

Integrative health, particularly behavioral health integration, is underscored as a strength of the program. Residents actively participate in group care using the Centering Healthcare model and have opportunities for additional training in areas like obstetrics, osteopathic medicine, and behavioral health.

St. Mary's Family Medicine Residency offers an encompassing and dynamic learning environment. Its rural setting, integrated care approach, and supportive community make it a compelling choice for those looking to practice in rural or underserved areas, although the competitive nature of the program or its status regarding DO/IMG friendliness is not explicitly mentioned.