University of Minnesota Medical Center Residency Program

UMMC Smiley's residents standing in front of the clinic

We are a university-based, community-focused training program, operating in an award-winning clinic and hospital in Minneapolis.

We are committed to our growth as an antiracist residency, promoting justice, and addressing the structural racism and oppression that pervade our institution.

We value experiences that provide depth, diverse and new perspectives, and honor the identities of those who have not been historically well-represented in the ranks of family physicians. We want to give you permission to share these experiences with us in your application.

Letter to Applicants on Antiracism from Program Director Tim Ramer

Program Highlights

  • Leading family medicine teaching through data-driven innovative change focused on health equity
  • Committed and engaged faculty who truly love teaching
  • Welcoming environment that brings enjoyment to the learning process
  • New in 2022: ACGME Osteopathic Recognition!
  • Interdisciplinary teams including Integrated Behavioral Health
  • Resident participation in policy and curriculum changes
  • Independent family medicine inpatient medicine and OB service
  • Leaders in continuity gender-affirming care, reproductive health, medication-assisted treatment, and PrEP
  • Office-based procedures and point-of-care ultrasound

Learn more about our curriculum.

Smiley's group photo taken in July 2022

WHERE WE PRACTICE

Clinic
Doctor at Smiley's clinic performing an ultrasound of a patient's wrist

M Health Fairview Clinic - Smiley’s has served the Cedar Riverside, Seward, Phillips, and surrounding neighborhoods since 1969. Take a virtual tour of the clinic!

The clinic is located close to the University of Minnesota campus for easy access to the Health Sciences Libraryrecreational center, and other University resources. We are also conveniently located near light rail, bus lines, and the Midtown Greenway, a 5.5-mile urban bike trail.

We are one of the first health care home and behavioral health home certified clinics in Minnesota and continue to expand our services to patients using care coordinators, team-based care, and integrated behavioral health.  The progressive design of our facility fosters team care and supports the implementation of the Chronic Care Model.

Our original home was located across the street from where the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center - West Bank campus currently resides.

Previously a confectionery, the Smiley's clinic name came from the confectionery manager "Smiley" Roth. The name was chosen from a clinic naming contest and has been with us ever since.

LEAN PROCESS

We have implemented Lean processing within our clinic and continue to focus on improving how we care for our patients through culture of quality initiatives.

PATIENT POPULATION

Smiley's serves an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse patient population that includes immigrants and populations that are underserved with limited access to health care.

SITE FEATURES

  • Health care home care coordination
  • Behavioral Health Home
  • Faculty pharmacist and psychologist on-site
  • Adult psychiatry
  • OMT tables
  • Weekly sports medicine, gynecology, and procedures clinics
  • Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) 
  • Gender-Affirming Care
  • Large exam rooms with additional privacy for patients requiring an interpreter
  • Lactation and shower room for clinic staff
  • Pharmacy on-site
  • Wellness room for residents
  • Lab, X-ray, and OB ultrasound on-site
Hospital
M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center - West Bank

M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center's Minneapolis West Bank campus has more than 900 single occupancy beds.

Residents have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from teaching specialists in a variety of specialties at the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) in Minneapolis. 

West Bank

We care for patients in our independent Family Medicine Inpatient Medicine Teaching Service and Family Medicine OB Service on the UMMC West Bank campus. The West Bank campus includes separate adult and pediatric emergency rooms, walk-in addiction clinic, inpatient psychiatry hospital, the UMN orthopedics service, a pediatrics general and specialty hospital, inpatient maternity care, and an adult general hospital.

Learn more about the West Bank campus

Newsweek has selected M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center as a Top Hospital in the United States!

View the US News and World Report rankings for the University of Minnesota Medical Center.

Community
Smiley's resident practicing a procedure

For more than 35 years, Smiley's Family Medicine Clinic has served the South Minneapolis community.

South Minneapolis is a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse community including those born and raised in the U.S. and those who have immigrated from other areas of the world.

Residents do not need to travel abroad to experience cultural immersion and refugee care. Our patients range in age from infants to geriatrics and identify as African American, East African, European American, Latin-x, Native American, and Vietnamese.

In addition, we also serve a growing population of gender diverse individuals—many of whom travel a distance to come to our clinic.

Our community offers local farmers markets, bike trails, culturally diverse restaurants, arts, music, and community groups. This is a very special place to live and work!

Community outreach

Our residents and faculty are active in our community, including:


Frequently Asked Questions

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WHAT ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAM?

Graduates are well trained for practice. Most remain in Minnesota, although a number chose to work nationally and internationally, practicing in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Many continue to provide full spectrum family medicine, while others work in emergency rooms or as hospitalists. Some also pursue fellowships, most recently in geriatrics and sports medicine.

Faculty are outstanding physicians, teachers, and researchers, with varied interests and expertise, including procedures, LGBTQIA+ health care, women's health, informatics, and research.

Our Curriculum emphasizes chronic and ambulatory care, comprehensive reproductive health, gender-affirming care, addiction medicine, and sports medicine. We provide excellent training in family medicine fundamentals, incorporating humanities, cross-cultural care, and bioethics. Residents have six months of elective time and flexibility to engage in longitudinal elective opportunities. 

Our Hospital training includes OB and medicine. The OB service provides opportunities to work with family medicine and OB faculty as well as midwives, allowing residents to experience maternity care from a variety of perspectives or approaches. The medicine service is a fully autonomous family medicine service, managed and supervised by University of Minnesota Medical Center faculty and residents.

Clinic amenities include a fully integrated electronic medical record, supporting the practice of evidence-based medicine. We value continuity of care and have integrated care teams that include pharmacists, care managers, and counselors.

Patients are ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, including immigrants and refugees; college students; and established professionals.

Our Program is designed to support residents through close advisor-advisee relationships; staff dedicated to education and scheduling; and an open door (program director) policy. We encourage resident and faculty dialogue and have dynamic systems in place to incorporate feedback and continuously improve the quality of both education and patient care.

WHY UMMC?

Past lead residents compiled the following list to give applicants more insight into what makes University of Minnesota Medical Center a great program.

1. State-of-the-art clinic, with digital X-ray, OB and point-of-care ultrasound, laboratory, and video review and teleconferencing capabilities

2. On-site multidisciplinary team care includes a clinical pharmacy team, behavioral health team, consulting psychiatrist, nurse practitioners, and social worker

3. Independent family medicine inpatient service at a university hospital, managing a variety of core and complex medicine cases with a multidisciplinary team of health professionals

4. OB training with family medicine and OB faculty and certified nurse midwives, providing a well-rounded, cooperative teaching model

5. Welcoming clinic that celebrates inclusivity, serving culturally diverse, immigrant, and gender non-binary populations

6. Involvement in clinic operations and quality improvement initiatives, allowing residents to increase efficiency in clinic and prepare for future practice

7. Educational tracks to support intentional, resident-driven learning in an area of interest, such as hospital medicine, sports medicine, transgender care, and women's health procedures 

8. A variety of elective opportunities, including local, domestic, international, and longitudinal rotations

9. Residency leadership who is open to feedback and will work to support individual health and professional goals

10. Good-humored and knowledgeable staff and faculty with diverse experience and backgrounds who enjoy picnics, bad puns, intramural volleyball, Halloween parties, and social gatherings

DOES UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER PAY FOR MOVING EXPENSES?

Yes, we pay new residents $1,000 for moving expenses.

IS COUPLES MATCHING ACCEPTED AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER?

Yes, we accept and encourage couples matching.

DOES UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER ACCEPT APPLICANTS WHO HAVE GRADUATED FROM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL?

Yes, graduates of international medical schools are accepted. For more information, contact fmrp@umn.edu.

WHAT IF I WANT TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL CENTER?

We structure our interview day so that both candidate and program gain enough information about the other to make an informed decision. Because of this, we do not have structured second look opportunities.

Learn about the Resident Experience

Tour M Health Fairview Clinic - Smiley's

Contact

Amanda Nourse, Program Administrator

smileys@umn.edu

Phone: 612-343-7158

Fax: 612-359-0475

University of Minnesota Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program
M Health Fairview Clinic - Smiley's
2020 E. 28th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Smiley's Residents on Instagram

See what our residents are up to on the unofficial residents' Instagram.

Bias Reporting at the University

Submit anonymous incident reports online at BRRN UReport or incident reports can also be sent to endbias@umn.edu.

Smiley's provider conducting a physical exam