Curriculum and Call

University of Minnesota Medical Center has a reputation for innovation.

We actively use and teach the chronic care model and have received health care home certification by the state of Minnesota.

The following is information about our curriculum and call.

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Residents As Teachers

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 eight 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.

Resources

Resources are available to aid residents in development as teachers.

  • Residents Teaching Students: Developed by family medicine medical student education director David Power, MBBS, MPH, and colleagues, it provides an overview of several teaching strategies. One of these is a common teaching method used by both residents and faculty, known as the One Minute Preceptor.
  • Faculty advisors and residency directors also can connect residents with resources to enhance teaching abilities.

First-year Rotations

Addiction Medicine

One-week block: Discover the role of the family physician in understanding and caring for patients with chemical dependencies at Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center.

Ambulatory Family Medicine

Nine weeks total: Focus on learning the fundamentals of primary care in a multidisciplinary environment. Featuring workshops in Safety, Community Health, Team-Based Care, and Research.

Behavioral Medicine

One two-week block: Gain an understanding of caring for patients with mental health illness and the role of the family physician in caring for these patients.

Critical Care

One two-week block: Care for patients at a quaternary medical center while preparing for supervisory responsibilities.

Electives

Two weeks: Choose a stock elective or design your own. 

Emergency Medicine

One two-week block: Provide community emergency care with a variety of procedures and mental health emergencies in a Level II emergency department.

Inpatient Medicine

Four two-week blocks of days: Maintain complex patients on our own inpatient service in an interdisciplinary manner within the larger University system.

Inpatient Obstetrics

Two two-week blocks and one four-week block of days: Become proficient in the care of birthing patients and babies, working primarily with family medicine faculty and collaborating with OB/GYN faculty and certified midwives.

Inpatient Pediatrics

One four-week block: Establish competence in the care of inpatient pediatric patients at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Night Float

Four two-week blocks of Integrated OB and Adult Medicine night float.

Sports Medicine/Orthopaedics

Two two-week blocks: Rotate with sports medicine physicians and orthopedists in outpatient settings.

Surgery

One two-week block: Participate in the care and management of surgical patients in the hospital and clinic with UMN Department of Surgery at UMN Medical Center.

Second-year Rotations

Ambulatory Family Medicine

Five weeks total: Develop clinical chronic disease management skills necessary to improve patient outcomes. Collaborate with care coordinators on patient panel management goals and complete a clinic-wide quality improvement project.

Ambulatory Pediatrics

Two two-week blocks: Discover a wide range of pediatric cases, requiring general and specialty care. 

Cardiology Consults

One two-week block: Develop an understanding of the diagnosis and management of inpatient cardiac disease.

Community Health

One two-week block: Work alongside community-based partners to understand local public health services and the current health condition of our community.

Electives

10 weeks: Choose a stock elective or design your own. Up to four weeks consecutive are available for an international or domestic opportunity.

Emergency Medicine

One two-week block: Solidify skills in one of the busiest community based suburban emergency centers in Minnesota.

Geriatrics

One four-week block: Focus on elder care in a transitional care setting with a geriatrician.

Gynecology

One four-week block: Gain procedural training while focusing on the fundamentals of comprehensive reproductive health and gynecological care, which includes abortion, miscarriage management, and contraception. All residents participate in didactic learning and procedural training, with an opt-out curriculum available. Family planning research and policy opportunities are also available.

Inpatient Medicine

Four two-week blocks of days: Maintain complex patients on our own inpatient service in an interdisciplinary manner within the larger University system.

Inpatient Obstetrics

Two two-week blocks of days: Become proficient in the care of mothers and babies, working primarily with family medicine faculty and collaborating with OB/GYN faculty and certified midwives.

NICU/Newborn

One two-week block: Focused experience that understands nutritional needs of distressed neonates, identifies appropriate feeding strategies for these infants at a Level II NICU, education on lactation support and newborn care and exposure to post-NICU clinical follow up.

Night Float

Four one-week blocks of Integrated OB and Adult Medicine night float.

Third-year Rotations

Adolescent Pediatrics

Two two-week blocks: Focus on adolescent pediatrics at local school-based clinics.

Ambulatory Family Medicine

Four weeks total: Master skills and improve clinical efficiency to prepare for practice.

Dermatology

Four weeks: Advance proficiency in general dermatology and dermatology procedure, and the roles of the family physician in caring for patients with dermatological issues.

Elective

14 weeks: Choose a stock elective or design your own. Up to four weeks consecutive are available for an international or domestic opportunity.

Inpatient Medicine

Four two-week blocks of days: Maintain complex patients on our own inpatient service in an interdisciplinary manner within the larger University system.

Night Float

Four one-week blocks of Integrated OB and Adult Medicine night float. 

Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Two two-week blocks: Experience a wide range of urgent pediatric outpatient encounters in a supportive teaching environment.

Specialty Outpatient

Four two-week blocks: Explore a variety of subspecialties including Palliative Medicine, Comprehensive Pain Management.

Electives

We support residents in creating electives to help them pursue their personal interests and achieve their individual goals. Whether it’s research, sports medicine, procedures, alternative medicine, or medical humanities, we have faculty excited to mentor and guide.

Stock Electives

We have an extensive list of pre-designed stock electives. Some are fully developed and do not require any planning time on the part of the residents, while others are partially developed and allow residents to participate in the planning of the elective. Any core rotation can be repeated as a stock elective.

  • Academic medicine
  • Adolescent medicine
  • Allergy and immunology
  • Alternative medicine
  • Diabetes care (adolescent)
  • Gastroenterology
  • Humanities and ethics
  • Infectious disease
  • OB
  • Pain management
  • Palliative care
  • Parenting
  • Rheumatology
  • Sexual medicine
  • Sports medicine
  • Sports medicine at USA Soccer Cup
  • Surgery
  • Urgent care
  • Wellness and self-care

Resident-planned Electives

Through the partnership of the University of Minnesota Medical Center—a quaternary facility and the primary teaching site for the University of Minnesota Medical School—the possibilities for elective rotations are limitless.

Residents have also planned electives in other areas of the United States and abroad.

International Electives

Residents may use personal connections to establish international electives. Learn more about Global Health opportunities.

Longitudinal Electives / Areas of Concentration

Longitudinal electives, otherwise known as "areas of concentration," are encouraged and available for residents interested in pursuing a particular interest throughout their second and third years. This allows for deeper focus within the breadth of family medicine training. Example of longitudinal study include:

  • Academic medicine
  • Research
  • Sports medicine
  • Vasectomy training
  • Advanced family planning
  • Healthcare advocacy

Didactics

Lectures

Our half-day structure runs from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Lecture schedules vary slightly from week to week. Presenters include University of Minnesota Medical Center faculty, outside experts, and residents.

In an effort to be innovative in our teaching, we incorporate group discussions, workshops, and simple audience response tools alongside lectures.

Topics include:

  • Ambulatory medicine topics
  • Board review
  • Case review/M&M
  • Evidence-based medicine
  • Health equity
  • Practice management
  • Procedural workshops
  • Scholarly work
  • Seminars on ethics, feedback, reflection, and goal setting
  • Specialist case review
  • Wellness including behavioral health lead group

Grand Rounds

During inpatient medicine rotations, residents at University of Minnesota Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program have access to monthly grand rounds from a variety of specialties and weekly M&Ms through the Department of Medicine.

Procedures

We have a strong focus on teaching our residents procedures. Our rotations that are procedure-focused include:

  • Surgery
  • Dermatology
  • Gynecology
  • Obstetrics
  • Orthopedics I and II

In addition, our residents have access to ultrasound-guided procedures on our inpatient service. We also hold quarterly procedural workshops during our weekly half-day didactics to prepare residents for procedures.

Central to our procedural training are our procedural clinics where residents learn core family medicine procedures:

  • Colposcopy
  • Endometrial biopsy
  • IUD/Nexplanon insertions and removals
  • Joint injections
  • Newborn circumcision
  • Skin procedures

Training Goals

Residents are to provide:

  • Guidance and the opportunity to competently perform core procedures.
  • Defined benchmarks and clearly delineated thresholds for attaining competence.
  • A system for assessing and documenting step-by-step procedural competence.

Call

We have a structured night float system to support continuity on our inpatient services. When on night float, residents admit adult and Smiley’s OB patients, triage, and manage. 

Guiding principles:

  • Frequency and volume of night float/call is designed to meet residents' educational needs.
  • Direct supervision is provided for first-year residents by senior residents and faculty.
  • Indirect supervision for senior residents is provided by faculty. If a situation requires, faculty are available onsite.

First Year

  • Family medicine inpatient service: four two-week blocks night float; includes weekend shifts.
  • One four-week block on OB at Methodist Hospital with 24-hour call shift every three or four days.
  • Pediatrics service: one four-week block of day, night float shifts, and weekend shifts.

Second Year

  • Four one-week blocks night float.

Third Year

  • Four one-week blocks night float.