We have designed our program to be procedurally intense, in our effort to train physicians to work in resource poor environments.
Women’s Health
Our residents are educated by our 9 FM-OB attendings (Rural and Urban Track) who are OB fellowship-trained and perform C-Sections as well as our OB-GYN Dr. Rowell Ashford. For the rural track, our clinic is the only prenatal provider in the county, and our rural residents core site at Bibb Medical Center is the only L&D to reopen in Alabama in the past 3 decades. In the urban track, our residents core site is Princeton Hospital in the heart of West End. Our residents provide preconception care, prenatal care for the entirety of pregnancy, perform deliveries and first assist cesearan sections.and are often one on one with the attending, especially in their second year rotations. Our interns do a month long rotation as well with UAB OB-GYN department in their antenatal unit learning about OB triage. Our residents are encouraged to perform their own dating ultrasounds and growth / fluid ultrasounds both with attending supervision and are scheduled with our full time ultrasonographers for fetal anatomy ultrasounds. Long term reversible contraception (IUDs and Nexplanons) are placed and removed in clinic and bilateral tubal ligations are performed intraoperatively during cesarean sections. Training in operative obstetrics and additional OB exposure is available in the Advanced OB Track.
Outpatient Procedures
Our residents perform joint and soft tissue injections, biopsies, excisions, toenail removals, pulmonary function tests, and more.
Inpatient Procedures
Our residents perform central lines, thoracentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture, circumcision, and more.
Point of Care Ultrasound
Ultrasonography is an invaluable imaging modality in all contexts and CFMR has devoted significant educational time and resources to properly educate residents in various POCUS modalities including obstetric, musculoskeletal, ultrasound guided injections, DVT, RUSH scans, and ejection fraction estimates. Residents have access to ultrasound in the clinic and are strongly encouraged to select patients for POCUS during their clinic. Residents have additional dedicated time scheduled one on one with our full time ultrasonographers. V-Scans and Butterfly US are used in the hospital context. It is our goal that ultrasound be routinely used in graduates' practice.
Radiology
Our residents are trained to perform and interpret plain films in the office on our digital x-ray system and also in the emergency and inpatient settings. Additionally our residents have dedicated time with our ultrasound echocardiography technicians, in addition to incorporating POCUS into their own continuity clinic.
Endoscopy
Our family medicine faculty are trained and credentialed to perform EGD and colonoscopy. Additionally, our residents spend time training with a gastroenterologist and colorectal surgeon. Our state-of- the-art endoscopy simulator allows each intern to gain experience working through cases before having the opportunity to perform primary cases, should they choose to have an endoscopy focus. We perform endoscopy in the office, in an ambulatory surgical center, and in the hospital.
Casting & Splinting
Residents get significant exposure to fracture management in our ED and resident clinics. At least 2 workshops per year are centered around casting and splinting. We have an all digital x-ray system setup in the clinic, with an accompanying PACS system. We manage appropriate fractures start to finish in our clinics.
Exercise Stress Testing / Prolonged ECG Monitoring
Our residents perform exercise ECG stress testing and prolonged ECG monitoring as part of their own continuity clinic
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Dermatology
In addition to scheduling and performing their own lesion removals, shave, punch, and excisional biopsies and cryotherapy throughout the three years of their continuity clinic, residents spend time monthly with a dermatologist in our clinic to gain experience with more advanced procedures and diagnosis.
Special Populations
Our residents treat HIV and Hepatitis C and manage patients with opioid use disorder using buprenorphine/naloxone.
Home Visits
Once a week our residents perform home visits for our patients with limited ability to utilize our clinics.
Nursing Home
Our rural residents see long term care patients in a unit adjacent to our primary teaching hospital. Our urban residents do the same at a facility just down the street from our residency clinic.
