Frequently Asked Questions
- How many PGY1 positions are available?
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There are eight positions available, including one combined Family and one Preventative Medicine position.
- How many residents are currently in the program?
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There are currently 24 residents and two Preventative Medicine fellows.
- What criteria are used to select family medicine residents?
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Applicants are selected on a wide variety of criteria, including medical school performance, letters of recommendation and USMLE scores (the cut-off score for both Step one and Step two is 210).
- How many clinical training sites are there?
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There are several clinical training sites, including University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, University Hospitals MacDonalds Women's Hospital, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and several ambulatory sites in the greater Cleveland area. Given the diverse locations of rotations it is highly recommended that residents have a car.
- How much time do house staff spend at the different sites?
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During PGY1 you are solely at UH Cleveland Medical Center, spending two blocks at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and 1.5 blocks at UH MacDonald Women's Hospital. During PGY2 and PGY3 years you have increasing amounts of continuity clinic and spend rotations in adult and pediatric outpatient specialty clinics throughout the greater Cleveland area.
- How many deliveries will I get?
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All residents will graduate with at least 30 non-continuity deliveries and 10 continuity deliveries. Deliveries are overseen by the obstetric chief residents and attendings, as well as with midwives. There currently are not any family medicine attendings who supervise deliveries.
- Are there opportunities for Cesarean Deliveries?
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For those with interest there are opportunities to be secondary assist in deliveries, especially for your continuity patients. Those who wish to be proficient in cesarean deliveries will need to complete a separate fellowship.
- What office-based gynecologic procedures will be trained to do?
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Residents are trained in Pap Tests, Wet Preps, IUD insertion and removal and Nexplanon insertion and removal. For those with interest there is an opportunity for colposcopy training.
- What do most of the residents do after residency?
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Most residents transition to start their career as family physicians by joining a hospital system, a group practice or a Federally-Qualified Health Center with practice setting ranging from outpatient to inpatient clinical settings.
- How do your residents do in obtaining fellowships?
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Depending on their interests, our graduates have successfully joined a wide variety of fellowships, such as preventive medicine, geriatrics, sleep medicine, sports medicine and women's health fellowships.
- Are your rotations based on months or blocks?
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The academic year consists of a total of 13 four-week blocks.
- On the Family Medicine Inpatient Service, what is the patient mix?
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There is a wide variety of patients on the inpatient service, including patients with COPD exacerbations, cardiac complaints including ACS, CHF exacerbations and GI bleeds. We have healthy newborn patients and postpartum mothers.
- How many people are on the Family Medicine Inpatient team?
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There are one to two junior or senior residents, two to three interns and one-night resident. Often the team has acting interns, PharmD students and rotating international students.
- What didactics are available during my training?
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The main half-day didactics are scheduled every Wednesday, protected-time for PGY2s and PGY3s. Additionally, Women's Health Conference on Thursdays morning as well as Morning Report on Fridays. During the internship (PGY1), you have the privilege to attend the educational activities of the service you are rotating on (internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN). At the same time, you also have Wednesday lunch hour protected-time for focused education, pharmacy seminars, support group and Balint.
- What is the Core Block?
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Core Block is professional development time, as well as an opportunity to work on quality improvement (QI) initiatives and scholarly activities.
- What are my options for elective time?
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There are many options for elective time, depending upon your personal interests and long-term career goals. Residents have spent time with medicine and pediatric specialty services, emergency care services, including urgent care, women health and sports medicine electives.
You are able to do electives away from UH, as long as it does not interfere with your continuity clinic.
- Are international experiences available?
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Yes, there are no pre-approved electives, but with interest can be accomplished. There are opportunities in the Global Health Track (GHT).
The program is currently on HOLD.
- Is money available for scholarly activities?
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Yes. Every year each resident is allotted educational funds to defray the cost of needed training materials. For residents who are members of the Association of Residents and Fellows (ARF), Travel Awards are available for those who would like to attend family medicine conferences they are presenting at.
- When are residents expected to take USMLE Step 3?
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Residents must complete Step 3 by the end of PGY2. Excused time of two days is able to be taken during certain rotations, as long as it does not interfere with continuity clinic and other certain rotations. Request for time off approval must be granted.
- Who is responsible for paying for USMLE Step 3?
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Residents are responsible for the cost of Step 3. Residents are welcome to use their book money towards this expense.
- Can you tell me about your ABFM pass rate?
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Our ABFM pass rate is 100 percent for the past five consecutive years with program average scores higher than the national average.
- What is your approach to the work hour reform/what changes have you made to support the duty hour reform?
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We currently do not schedule residents on clinical duties beyond 16 hours at a time. However, other departments that we rotate with might schedule you for longer shifts (24- to 30-hour shift) as long as it doesn't violate Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty-hour rules.
- Is there a Night Float system on the Family Medicine Inpatient Service?
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Yes, junior and senior residents cover the night service. When there are three interns on the Family Medicine Service, you will rotate on night float. There is also a pediatric night call.
- How do days off work?
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As a PGY1, you are granted a total of four days off each block. During your Core Block, you will have weekends off, but may need to use that time for projects.
- How do you handle vacation time?
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You are allotted a total of four weeks of vacation every academic year. During PGY1, you are able to take two separate two-week vacations. During PGY2 and 3, you are able to take them in one or two separate week(s).
- Where will I live?
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Some residents reside within walking distance to the hospital while others live 15-25 minutes away driving to work. Common neighborhoods are downtown Cleveland, University Circle, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lyndhurst, Beachwood and Mayfield Heights.
Learn more on our Life in Cleveland section.
- How will I eat?
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You are allotted on-call money every six-months based on your scheduled overnight clinical duties.
- Do you have residency retreats?
- Yes, there is a resident retreat in October of every year where residents are excused from clinical duties to get together and have fun.
- Are there house staff social events?
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There is an active Association of Residents and Fellows (ARF) with many social events, including happy hour mixers, resident breakfasts and many seasonal events (e.g., Fall apple picking, holiday parties, etc.).