In the Office

The first thing you'll notice is all that "extra" time you have on your hands now that call is reduced. You'll also get even more familiar with the family medicine center, spending three half-days a week there. In some of these sessions, you'll be designated the acute care physician. This session is designed to give you experience in the realm of urgent care. Second year also brings an increased emphasis on out-patient procedures. You can't top Dr. Donnelly for expertise in colposcopy - she has regular colposcopy clinics.

This is also the year when continuity of care for special populations is introduced. You'll get a chance to follow several nursing home patients at Maryview Nursing Care Center, our teaching nursing home. Our faculty make rounds at the nursing care center every other month.

In the Hospital

Your month on the Family Medicine in-patient service will find you assuming a supervisory and teaching role for the family medicine first year residents and clerkship students. You'll also get another two months of Internal Medicine as the senior resident, one month of out-patient Pediatrics and one month at the busy pediatric emergency room at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters under the supervision of emergency pediatric faculty physicians.

Then, there's another month of ER and another month of OB. Behavioral medicine is taught throughout the three years. Your other mandatory rotations are orthopedics and cardiology. These rotations are conducted by the 100-plus community physicians who regard residents as their "own". These sub-specialists open their offices to you, offering personal supervision and instruction and allow you to perform many supervised procedures.

There are plenty of options for your elective time. If you have a big interest in OB, you can work at one of several remote sites which offer family practice residents training in advanced, complicated obstetrics. Past residents have also done everything from multiple trauma at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital's Level 1 Trauma Center to Geriatrics at a continuing care facility for senior adults.