CentraCare St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency
We prepare family physicians to provide definitive care for the vast majority of patients they will see in their practice—and to become leaders in their future communities.
Ambulatory training is in a vibrant, diverse family medicine clinic where residents provide care with a team of professionals including behavioral health consultants, care coordinators, community paramedics, community health workers, and pharmacists. Our inpatient and maternity care training is at St. Cloud Hospital, the regional medical center for central Minnesota. Rotations with other specialists are in supportive, exciting learning environments in St. Cloud. Instruction focuses on evidence-based medicine, teaching you how to apply the current literature to your individual patients. We integrate behavioral health into our practice and offer tracks in advanced maternity care and rural experience.
We are the only residency in the St. Cloud metropolitan area, located just over an hour northwest of the Twin Cities. Our residents are afforded personalized attention from our various subspecialty preceptors.
The clinic and hospital are part of CentraCare, a not-for-profit health system in Central Minnesota. The clinic is a certified health care home in a newer facility, committed to providing care to communities that are diverse and underserved. The hospital is an award-winning regional medical center with a community hospital feel.
Curriculum highlights
- Individualized training tailored to resident needs and interests
- Advanced maternity care, rural experience, and procedural training tracks
- Point of care ultrasound training
- Resident wellness
- Medication assisted therapy (MAT) for opioid use disorder
- Integrated behavioral health
- Opportunities to work with diverse, underserved populations
- Global Health
Our community
In St. Cloud, you will enjoy more than 80 city parks, fun on the Mississippi River, and breathtaking views of the Munsinger Clemens Gardens. You'll find entertainment at nearly a dozen arts and theater venues such as Paramount Theatre, which sits in the vibrant, historic downtown district.
There's also ample shopping and dining choices in downtown St. Cloud and Crossroads Center Mall.
St. Cloud has many parks and walking trails to enjoy.
Apply, benefits, and residency resources
- How to apply
- Resident stipends and benefits
- CentraCare St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency Program fact sheet
- CentraCare St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency Program Policy and Procedure Manual
- University of Minnesota Graduate Medical Education Institutional Policies
- Support resources for residents (including mental health resources, well-being tools, work/life balance, and more)
Where we practice
CentraCare Family Health Clinic
The clinic is a 19,009 square foot, state-of-the-art facility, completely equipped for educational purposes.
Some of our features and services
- Mission to care for the underserved of Central Minnesota
- Integrated care team, which includes psychologists, pharmacist, ADA-certified diabetic educator, dietitian, patient advocate, community health workers, medical legal partnership, community paramedic, and social worker
- Certified Health Care Home
- Diverse patient population with in-person interpreter services for patients with limited English proficiency
- Laboratory, digital radiology, and pharmacy services on-site
- Office procedures include: dedicated OMT and procedural rooms to accommodate colposcopy, endometrial biopsy, common skin procedures, and more
- Lactation room
- Large classroom and meeting space
- Two blocks from CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital
See more about CentraCare Family Health Clinic.
CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital
If your patients require hospitalization, you will admit them to CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital with a faculty physician. The attending faculty on the hospital service will conduct rounds with you for all hospitalized CentraCare Family Health Clinic patients. While your patients are at CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital, you will have access to a full spectrum of specialty and subspecialty consultation services without loss of primary patient care responsibility. The faculty attendings will always be available to teach you and assist you in the care of your patients.
Because CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital is a regional, tertiary care hospital, you will be involved in the treatment of more complex medical cases than you might see in a smaller community hospital. You will work with physicians and staff from many specialty areas that will give you the background you will need to be more effective in your future practice. Simultaneously, because the CentraCare St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency is the only residency at CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital, you will have opportunities to learn procedures and manage patients who would otherwise be referred to specialists in a university-hospital setting.
Hospital highlights
- A 489-bed regional, tertiary care medical center with a community hospital feel
- Magnet designation in recognition of excellence in nursing
- Nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report and Thomson Reuters
- New, leading-edge, Simulation Center designed to mimic hospital patient experiences for clinicians with monthly didactic designed especially for residents
Rural Medicine
Upper level residents will spend four weeks practicing family medicine in a rural setting. CentraCare sites include Long Prairie, Melrose, Paynesville, and Sauk Centre. However, residents have the ability to schedule virtually at any rural family medicine site within or outside of the U.S.
CentraCare Health Plaza
Located 10 minutes from the St. Cloud Hospital, CentraCare Plaza is home to many of our outpatient rotations. Rotations include women’s health, pediatrics, dermatology, and endocrinology.
St. Cloud VA Health Care System
Our collaboration with the St. Cloud Veteran Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS) presents unique opportunities for residents to care for US military veterans. Rotations at the St. Cloud VA include general surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, and urgent care.
WHAT ARE THE AIMS AND GOALS OF YOUR PROGRAM?
Program Aims
The University of Minnesota / CentraCare St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency Program aims to:
- Provide training that promotes the comprehensiveness of family medicine.
- Prepare family physicians to practice in any setting including rural communities.
- Assist residents in identifying the unique needs of their future practice and provide the training to meet those needs.
- Instill habits of continuous improvement, life-long learning, and informed use of the medical evidence.
- Teach responsiveness to the needs of our patients and communities to promote health equality.
- Equip graduated for the collaborative leadership of healthcare teams.
Program Goals
Our graduates will:
- Achieve competence in the practice of comprehensive, longitudinal family medicine across multiple health care settings.
- Be comfortable in the practice of family medicine in rural and urban communities.
- Identify the unique needs of future practice and community and accomplish training to meet those needs.
- Optimize the care of patients through performance improvement activities, continuous, life-long learning; and the appropriate application of the medical evidence.
- Identify the health needs of the community and provide services to maximize health and minimize disparities.
- Provide collaborative leadership of interprofessional health care teams.
DO YOU OFFER A FAMILY MEDICINE ROTATION/CLERKSHIP?
- Two-week and four-week medical student rotations/clerkships are available for 3rd and 4th year medical students. However, observerships are not available at this time.
- How to apply for a medical student family medicine rotation/clerkship:
- Apply here. You will be contacted once your application has been reviewed.
- How to apply for a medical student family medicine rotation/clerkship:
DO YOU INVITE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES TO INTERVIEW?
Yes. All applications meeting our minimum criteria are reviewed.
ARE THERE OTHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS IN THE HOSPITAL?
No. We are an unopposed program.
HOW BIG IS THE RESIDENCY AND HOW MANY RESIDENTS ARE ACCEPTED PER YEAR?
We are currently a 6-6-6 residency.
DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE COUPLE'S MATCH?
Yes, we participate in the couple's match. We believe that it is important for residents to have active lives outside of the work setting. Our night float and call systems allow for that to occur, even for residents that need to be off work at the same time. Residency is an excellent place to learn how to appropriately balance work-life demands with outstanding mentors and role models.
HOW BIG AND SOPHISTICATED IS THE HOSPITAL?
CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital runs on an average daily census of about 314. Our family medicine inpatient team has an average census of 10 patients. We take care of a variety of medically complex patients and very few cases are referred out. Patients are admitted through our Level 2 Emergency Trauma Center. There is a medical, cardiac, and pediatric intensive care unit. The Family Birthing Center serves high-risk OB patients and the NICU functions as a Level 2-3. We are a Comprehensive Stroke Center and offer advanced cardiac care procedures such as TAVR, WATCHMAN, and LVAD.
HOW MUCH OB DO YOU DO?
CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital does about 2,900 deliveries per year. Our residents average around 30 deliveries in their first year, with some of them close to 60. Residents desiring to practice maternity care upon graduation from residency are required to have a minimum of 80 vaginal deliveries by the end of their residency. However, those residents will typically have more than 120 deliveries over the course of residency. Our residents gain valuable experience in OB triage, antenatal complications, and management of both routine and complicated labor and delivery. Most residents will provide prenatal care for and deliver around 10 pregnant women from their clinic panel. When on call, you will also be involved with faculty deliveries and deliveries for peers when they are not available.
WHAT ABOUT CALL?
Please take a look at our call information.
HOW MUCH TIME IS SPENT IN ICU/CCU? ARE THE ATTENDINGS IN THE ICU/CCU?
We have a one-month critical care rotation, run by an intensivist. Our family medicine inpatient team also cares for our practice's patients in the ICU. All of the family medicine faculty have privileges in the ICU.
WHAT PROCEDURES DO RESIDENTS DO ENOUGH OF TO GET PRIVILEGES?
Vaginal delivery, vacuum-assisted delivery, limited OB ultrasound, circumcisions, joint injections, long-term contraception insertion, endometrial biopsies, and common skin procedures. Additional training in colposcopy, vasectomy, and C-sections is available to select residents.
HOW MANY ADMISSIONS DO YOUR INTERNS AVERAGE ON A CALL NIGHT WHILE IN MEDICINE?
The residents tend to average 2-3 admissions per night float shift.
HOW BIG IS ST. CLOUD?
St. Cloud's population is about 68,000, and the metro area is about 196,000.
Discover the CentraCare St. Cloud Resident Experience
Contact Us
Laurie Schmidt
Program Administrator
fmresidency@centracare.com
320-240-3112
University of Minnesota St. Cloud Family Medicine Residency
CentraCare - Family Health Clinic
1555 Northway Drive, Suite 200
St. Cloud, MN 56303-1867