St. Cloud Curriculum and Call

Family medicine residents are directly responsible for a portion of medical student clinical education during clinical experiences and clerkships.

Medical education features a closely connected cycle of teaching, learning, and progressive responsibilities; senior learners teach junior learners, and all learners are involved in ongoing professional and personal development.

Residents of the University of Minnesota family medicine residency programs have many responsibilities, including that of supervisors and educators. Most medical students encounter family medicine residents as teachers during the Family Medicine Clerkship. Therefore, residents receive instruction about clerkship/rotation goals and objectives as well as training in teaching methods.

The Residents as Teachers Curriculum provides formal instruction for residents and fellows on effective teaching skills, student assessment, and medical student mistreatment. The training includes podcasts and supplementary materials covering feedback techniques, competency-based assessment, work-hour policies, and clerkship learning objectives. As part of their orientation to the University of Minnesota Office of Graduate Medical Education, residents must complete the required modules, review policies, and submit an attestation form.  

First-year residents will spend most rotations at the St. Cloud Hospital. You will see your own patients 1-2 half days per week at the CentraCare Family Health Clinic. Orientation typically begins mid-June.

• Adult Medicine — 2 weeks
• Community Medicine — 1 week
• Critical Care — 4 weeks
• Emergency Medicine — 4 weeks
• Family Medicine - Inpatient — 12 weeks
• Maternity Care — 5 weeks
• Night Float — 6 weeks
• Orthopedics/Sports Medicine - St. Cloud — 2 weeks
• Pediatrics - Inpatient — 6 weeks
• Pediatrics - Newborn Nursery — 2 weeks
• Radiology — 2 weeks
• Surgery — 6 weeks

Second-year residents will spend most rotations with subspecialists in St. Cloud. You will see your own patients 2-4 half days per week at the CentraCare Family Health Clinic. You will also spend one month in a rural family medicine practice, spending time in the clinic, hospital, and emergency room. This rotation provides an in-depth exposure to rural practice. There are many sites within commuting distance from St. Cloud, but some residents choose to do this rotation even farther away, sometimes to check out a potential future practice site.

• Addiction Medicine – 1 week
• Adult Medicine – 2 weeks
• Cardiology – 2 weeks
• Dermatology – 2 weeks
• Elective – 8 weeks
• Endocrinology – 2 weeks
• Family Medicine Inpatient – 5 weeks
• Geriatrics – 4 weeks
• Maternity Care – 2 weeks
• Night Float – 3 weeks
• Orthopedics/Sports Medicine – 4 weeks
• Pediatrics – Emergency Care – 3 weeks
• Pediatrics – Inpatient – 2 weeks
• Pediatrics – Outpatient – 4 weeks
• Psychiatry – 2 weeks
• Research – 1 week
• Rural Family Medicine – 4 weeks
• Women’s Health – 2 weeks

Third-year residents will spend most rotations with subspecialists in St. Cloud. You will see your own patients 3-5 half days per week at the CentraCare Family Health Clinic. You will also spend one month in a rural family medicine practice, spending time in the clinic, hospital, and emergency room. This rotation provides an in-depth exposure to rural practice. There are many sites within commuting distance from St. Cloud, but some residents choose to do this rotation even farther away, sometimes to check out a potential future practice site.

• Dermatology – 2 weeks
• Elective – 17 weeks
• Emergency Medicine – 4 weeks
• Family Medicine Inpatient – 4 weeks
• Family Medicine Outpatient – 4 weeks
• Maternity Care – 2 weeks
• Neurology – 2 weeks
• Night Float – 3 weeks
• Orthopedics/Sports Medicine – 2 weeks
• Pediatrics – Outpatient – 2 weeks
• Rural Family Medicine – 4 weeks
• Urgent Care – 2 weeks
• Urology – 2 weeks
• Women’s Health – 2 weeks

Numerous opportunities to include:

• Addiction medicine
• Hospital medicine
• Palliative care
• Rural emergency medicine
• Sports medicine
• Infectious disease
• Lactation education
• Pain medicine
• Sleep medicine
• Weight management
• Wound care
• Rheumatology
• Nephrology

Our longitudinal experiences include the following:

• Continuity of patient care
• Daily noon conferences
• Curriculum includes:
  • Community Medicine
  • Ethics
  • Human Behavior & Psychiatry
  • Practice Management
  • Medication assisted therapy (MAT)
  • Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)
  • Point of care ultrasound (POCUS)
  • Lifestyle Medicine

Procedures

You will have the opportunity to learn (but not limited to):

• Endotracheal intubation
• Joint injection/aspiration
• Casting and splinting
• Circumcision
• Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptive placement, including IUDs and Nexplanon
• Endometrial biopsy
• Incision and drainage
• Point of Care Ultrasound, including limited obstetrical ultrasound
• Skin biopsies and skin lesion excisions
• Cyst and lipoma removal
• Toenail excision
• Laceration repair and suturing
• Vaginal delivery, both assisted and spontaneous, and OB procedures
• Episiotomy and perineal laceration repair
• Surgical assisting
• Spirometry and interpretation
• Colposcopy
• Vasectomy
• Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)

Certifications

Basic Life Support (BLS) certification is required prior to entering residency. Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification will be completed during residency. Certification in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Comprehensive Advanced Life Support (CALS), and S.T.A.B.L.E. Program is also available.

Moonlighting is permitted for fully licensed residents, provided it does not interfere with your education or resident duty hour regulations.

Night Float Rotation

• Provides overnight coverage of our hospital service Sunday through Thursday night
• PGY-1 residents: 6 weeks of night float throughout the academic year
• PGY-2 & PGY-3 residents: 3 weeks of night float through the academic year

OB Coverage

• Provides 12-hour coverage of the Family Birthing Center on Saturdays
• All residents cover 2 to 3 Saturdays per academic year

Friday Coverage

• PGY-2s and PGY-3s cover 5 Friday 24-hour shifts throughout the academic year

Saturdays

• PGY-1s cover a 24-hour shift about 9 times per academic year
• PGY-2s and PGY-3s cover a 24-hour shift, supervising PGY-1s about 2 times per academic year

Sundays

• PGY-1s cover a 12-hour shift about 9 times per academic year
• PGY-2s and PGY-3s cover a 12 hour shift, supervising PGY-1s about 2 times per academic year

Home Call

• Weeknights: PGY-2 and PGY-3s on average will cover home call 6 weeknights per academic year
• Saturdays: PGY-2 and PGY-3s on average will cover home call 2 Saturdays per academic year
• Sundays: PGY-2 and PGY-3s on average will cover home call 2 Sundays per academic year