Frequently Asked Questions

There are currently 21 residents and 2 Preventive Medicine categorical residents.

There are six positions available, with one combined Family and Preventative Medicine position.

The Graduate Medical Education office maintains a comprehensive detailed list of up-to-date resident benefits and salary information.

Residents should take 4 weeks of paid time off during each academic year. You may request to have 3 blocks of 5 days prescheduled when you would like them , with the remaining 5 days reserved for illness or unexpected need for time they from work. Residents are permitted to take five days during a 4 week rotation, and 2 days during a two week rotations. PTO is discouraged during family medicine experience blocks, including behavioral health and population health.

A wide variety of criteria are considered, including, Medical School performance, letters of recommendation and ability to pass the USMLE or COMLEX exams. The applicant's personal statement describing their interest in the program, it is curriculum and its mission is important.

Residents must complete Step 3 by the end of PGY2. Excused time of 2 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.

Residents are responsible for the cost of Step 3. Residents are welcome to use their book money towards this expense.

Our ABFM pass rate has been 100% for the past 5 years.

Many residents pursue fellowship training or elects to to start their career as family physicians by joining a hospital system, a group practice, or a Federally-Qualified Health Center; in outpatient, inpatient or combine clinical settings.

There are several 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 Regional Hospital, and several ambulatory sites in the greater Cleveland area. Given the many locations of rotations, some rural, it is highly recommended that residents have a driver's license and a car or other vehicle.

Refer to the block diagram for information about rotations and their sites.

The academic year consists of total 13 four-week blocks.

We adhere to ACGME guidelines. Residents are required to report their hours weekly and to problem solve if they are exceeding the number of hours needed to achieve some work-life balance.

There is a two-year rotating academic curriculum. The main half-day didactics are scheduled every Wednesday, protected-time for PGY2s and PGY3s. Additionally, Morning Report on Tuesdays as well as Women’s Health Conference on Thursdays morning. During the internship (PGY1), you will attend the educational activities of the service you are rotating on (Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN), and have some activities in family medicine during family medicine experience blocks and Wednesday intern hour.

All residents will graduate with at least 30 non-continuity deliveries and we aim for 5 continuity deliveries that you will manage with a partner. Deliveries are overseen by the obstetrics chief residents and attendings, and our midwife group.  Because we do not have a faculty member who is a family physician managing deliveries, a resident cannot graduate with the ability to immediately do independent low risk obstetrics.  However, with our high-quality basic obstetrics training and availability of electives to expand OB experience and number of deliveries, our residents have been competitive and have been able to enter an obstetrics fellowship.

For those with interest, there are opportunities to assist in operative (Caesarian section) deliveries, especially for continuity patients. Those who wish to be proficient in Cesarean Deliveries will need Fellowship training and can use the residency to become competitive for a fellowship position.

Residents are trained to do a proficient comfortable speculum exam, obtain a Pap test and test for STIs, IUD insertion and removal (Mirena and others, and ParaGard) , Nexplanon insertion and removal, and endometrial biopsy. For those with interest there is opportunity for Colposcopy training.

There is a wide variety of patients on the inpatient service, including patients with COPD exacerbations, Cardiac diagnoses including ACS, CHF exacerbations, GI bleeds. We have the ability to admit pediatric patients and we see healthy newborn patients and postpartum patients.

There are 1-2 junior or senior residents, 2-3 interns, and 1 night resident. Often the team has Acting Interns, PharmD students and rotating international students.

Yes. Junior and Senior residents cover the night service. When there are 3 interns on the Family Medicine Service, you will rotate on night float.

“Family medicine experience” is a professional development time, as well as an opportunity for scholarly work in PGY 2 and quality Improvement (QI) initiatives in PGY3. Residents work as a class and in small groups during this time. You will still see their continuity patients in the family medicine center and generally have time for some social and wellness activity.

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. Residents generally will meet their elective needs within the University Hospital system, but may apply for an away elective consistent with the individualized learning plan.

Yes, we do not currently have an active international partner, but with interest and an appropriate supervisor and international elective may be possible.

Yes. Every year each resident is granted an educational stipend based on PGY level and meeting professionalism milestones which include adequate attendance at didactics, hours reporting and punctuality. Funding for conferences where a resident is presenting may be available.

Some residents choose to live within walking distance to the hospital while others live further away and drivie to work. Common neighborhoods are: Downtown Cleveland, University Circle, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lyndhurst, Beachwood, Mayfield Heights, Lakewood in Ohio City.

Learn more on our Life in Cleveland section.

It is possible to walk to UH Cleveland Medical Center and to the VA if you live in University Circle, but not to other sites. if you live elsewhere, you will most certainly need a car. Public transportation is good and some areas of the city, but is not reliable as a routine transportation method for residents.

You are allotted on-call money every 6-months based on your scheduled overnight clinical duties.

There is an active Association of Residents and Fellows (ARF) that hosts social events social events. And it is easy to create informal opportunities to socialize.