Our Family Medicine Residency Program offers a robust and diverse curriculum designed to provide residents with comprehensive training across various medical disciplines. A significant portion of this training takes place within and around the Chula Vista Family Health Center, ensuring our residents are deeply integrated within the community they serve. Below is an overview of the rotations that form the cornerstone of our residency program, emphasizing the invaluable experiences gained in the Chula Vista family health center environment and affiliated sites.
Pediatrics: Nurturing Young Lives at Chula Vista and Beyond
The pediatrics rotation provides a broad spectrum of experiences in caring for children and adolescents. Residents spend time at school-based clinics, including Lincoln High School and Southwest High School, gaining expertise in adolescent medicine under the guidance of experienced faculty. These clinics serve a diverse population within the Chula Vista area, mirroring the patient demographics of the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Furthermore, rotations at San Ysidro Health clinics, which include locations in Chula Vista, offer direct work with pediatricians, exposing residents to a variety of pediatric care models. Specialty experiences in pediatric psychiatry and developmental pediatrics are also integrated, providing a holistic understanding of child health. Beyond clinical settings, residents participate in parenting classes and public health immunization clinics, often held in partnership with community centers near Chula Vista Family Health Center, and mentor local high school students, fostering a commitment to community health and preventative care that aligns with the mission of a family health center in Chula Vista.
Pediatric Urgent Care: Addressing Immediate Needs in San Diego County
This high-yield rotation focuses on the fast-paced environment of pediatric urgent care. Residents work alongside pediatric urgent care physicians at Rady Children’s urgent care clinics located in underserved areas of San Diego County, including communities closely associated with Chula Vista Family Health Center patient catchment areas. This rotation is crucial for developing skills in managing common acute pediatric conditions. Residents gain experience in diagnosing and treating a wide range of presentations, from newborn fever and pharyngitis to rashes, fractures, and respiratory illnesses like bronchiolitis, croup, and asthma exacerbations. Crucially, residents also learn to manage these conditions in patients with complex medical histories, a common scenario encountered at family health centers like those in Chula Vista. This rotation provides invaluable experience in making rapid assessments and treatment decisions, essential skills for family physicians practicing in the Chula Vista region.
Behavioral Medicine: Integrating Mental and Physical Health in Chula Vista
Recognizing the critical link between mental and physical health, this rotation offers comprehensive experience in psychiatric care. Residents are exposed to patients across diverse clinical settings, including inpatient consultations, high school clinics within the Chula Vista area, and our own continuity clinics, many of which are affiliated with or near the Chula Vista Family Health Center. This rotation enhances residents’ familiarity with the management of prevalent psychiatric diagnoses and connects them with vital community psychiatric resources available to patients of the Chula Vista Family Health Center. A significant component of this rotation is the assessment and management of substance use disorder, a pressing health concern in many communities, including Chula Vista, making this experience particularly relevant to the patient population served by a family health center in this area.
Medicine Subspecialties: Broadening Expertise Relevant to Chula Vista Families
The medicine subspecialties rotation is designed to broaden residents’ outpatient experience across a range of medical disciplines. Residents gain exposure to areas such as dermatology, ophthalmology, head and neck surgery, cardiology, endocrinology, and HIV care. While not always directly within the Chula Vista Family Health Center itself, these experiences are often at affiliated clinics and hospitals serving the same patient population. This rotation provides a valuable opportunity to refine physical exam skills and deepen understanding of common diagnoses encountered in family medicine practice, while also learning to identify when specialist referral is necessary – a crucial aspect of providing comprehensive care within a family health center setting in Chula Vista.
Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine: Serving Active Communities Near Chula Vista
This rotation places residents alongside orthopedic surgeons and primary care sports medicine physicians at various locations, including our own continuity clinic and Rady Children’s Hospital. Many of these sites serve communities in and around Chula Vista, mirroring the patient base of the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Residents develop expertise in musculoskeletal exams, joint injections, and the management of acute fractures, splinting, and concussions. Opportunities to provide football sideline coverage at local high schools and work in district injury clinics further immerse residents in the community and provide practical, hands-on experience relevant to the active population often seen at family health centers in Chula Vista.
Community Medicine: Rooted in the Chula Vista Community
The community medicine rotation serves as the introductory rotation for all incoming interns, immediately grounding them in the Chula Vista community and the philosophy of community-based healthcare that underpins the Chula Vista Family Health Center. This rotation includes a thorough orientation to community resources, clinic sites, including the Chula Vista Family Health Center and its affiliates, and electronic medical records. Residents identify partnerships and resources designed to address social determinants of health and actively work to mitigate adverse health outcomes within the Chula Vista community. Importantly, residents are introduced to their continuity clinic patients during this rotation, establishing relationships that will extend throughout their residency at locations often closely associated with the Chula Vista Family Health Center. The rotation culminates in preparing residents to develop and sustain community projects, fostering a long-term commitment to community health improvement that is central to the mission of the Chula Vista Family Health Center. A unique tradition of this rotation is a cross-border community health project, further emphasizing the program’s commitment to serving diverse and often underserved populations in the Chula Vista region.
Emergency Medicine at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista: Critical Care in the Community Hospital
Residents gain invaluable emergency medicine experience at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, a key healthcare provider for the Chula Vista community and a frequent referral site for the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Working under the supervision of emergency medicine attending physicians, residents evaluate and treat a wide spectrum of emergency cases. This rotation provides crucial hands-on experience in performing essential procedures, including laceration repairs, incision and drainage, paracentesis, and intubations, skills that are directly transferable to managing urgent care needs within a family health center setting in Chula Vista.
Emergency Medicine at Rady Children’s Hospital: Pediatric Emergencies Expertise
As second-year residents, family medicine residents rotate through the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital, working alongside pediatric residents, pediatric emergency medicine residents, and pediatric emergency medicine physicians. This rotation offers extensive and diverse experience in managing both common and high-acuity childhood illnesses. Residents also have dedicated procedure shifts, further honing their practical skills in a pediatric emergency setting, enhancing their ability to manage pediatric emergencies that may present at the Chula Vista Family Health Center.
General Surgery: Procedural Skills for Family Practice in Chula Vista
The general surgery rotation is based in outpatient surgical clinics and family medicine procedure clinics, some of which are directly linked to or located near the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Residents also have the opportunity to follow surgeons in the operating rooms at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista. This rotation provides significant experience in performing common family medicine office procedures, such as joint injections, skin biopsies, suturing, and circumcisions. These procedural skills are essential for family physicians practicing in the Chula Vista area and directly enhance the services residents can offer to patients at the Chula Vista Family Health Center.
Geriatrics: Caring for Seniors in the Chula Vista Community
The geriatrics rotation takes place across multiple sites, including Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, San Diego PACE senior center, and San Ysidro Health, Chula Vista clinic, further reinforcing the program’s integration with Chula Vista healthcare resources. Residents gain diverse perspectives on geriatric care, encompassing inpatient, outpatient, and home settings. Working with family medicine attendings, geriatricians, and UCSD Geriatric Fellowship-trained physicians, residents conduct comprehensive geriatric assessments and home visits, often for patients connected to the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Residents also engage with the senior community by giving health talks at St. Charles Senior Center and coordinate home visits for their own continuity patients, strengthening the connection between the residency program and the senior population of Chula Vista. Longitudinally, second and third-year residents participate in monthly meetings focused on the care of long-term patients at local nursing homes, further developing their expertise in geriatric care within the Chula Vista context.
Ultrasound: Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Chula Vista Practitioners
The ultrasound rotation combines independent study with practical, hands-on ultrasound experience. Residents have access to a comprehensive portable ultrasound curriculum, including didactic lectures and simulations. They gain opportunities to practice bedside ultrasound skills during inpatient service, OB clinics, and sports medicine clinics, many of which serve patients from Chula Vista and surrounding areas, mirroring the patient demographics of the Chula Vista Family Health Center. Opportunities for advanced OB ultrasound learning with perinatology further enhance diagnostic skills relevant to family practice in Chula Vista.
Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH): Leadership and Clinic Improvement at the Core
The longitudinal PCMH rotation offers residents a unique opportunity to assume leadership roles within the clinic setting, often within or closely affiliated with the Chula Vista Family Health Center network. Residents actively work on improving clinic efficiency, contributing to the smooth operation of healthcare delivery systems that directly benefit patients in Chula Vista. Responsibilities include reviewing and responding to abnormal labs, addressing patient inquiries, and completing tasks on behalf of colleagues, fostering teamwork and a patient-centered approach consistent with the values of a family health center. PCMH residents collaborate closely with clinical core faculty on quality improvement projects and facilitate interdepartmental meetings, developing essential leadership and management skills crucial for future practice in settings like the Chula Vista Family Health Center. They also develop strategies to maximize charting efficiency and reduce physician burnout, promoting sustainable and effective healthcare delivery within the Chula Vista community.
Gynecology: Women’s Health Expertise for Family Medicine
During the gynecology rotation, residents work at various community clinics, some of which are directly associated with the Chula Vista Family Health Center, managing common gynecologic procedures. They also gain experience in specialty clinics, including OB and urology. This rotation provides significant hands-on experience in gynecologic procedures, such as LARC placements, colposcopies, and endometrial biopsies, ensuring residents are well-equipped to address the women’s health needs of their patients at the Chula Vista Family Health Center and throughout their family medicine careers.
