Under the guidance of dedicated faculty, residents at the U-M Medical School Department of Family Medicine receive in-depth instruction in all facets of family medicine and develop skills that equip them to exceed the highest standards of patient care and research.
The Core Values of our training are:
- Commitment to excellence through critical inquiry, in both patient care and medical education, which manifests in our access to evidence-based medicine, our Quality Improvement and Health Equity presentations and scholarly work curriculum.
- Excellence in the core clinical skills of family physicians, with role models internally for the practice of broad spectrum family medicine including outpatient practice, inpatient practice, behavioral health, procedures and obstetrics.
- Maintaining a supportive community that fosters personal reflection and wellness in the rigorous pursuit of excellence.
- Fostering an open environment that promotes health equity, supports inclusion of our faculty, learners, and staff, and values the diversity within our community.
You'll find exceptional training in both academic and community settings, a wide range of clinical experiences, and a deeply supportive community of residents and faculty. Our program offers robust opportunities in full-spectrum care, specialty pathways, and academic development—all in the vibrant and welcoming city of Ann Arbor.
We look forward to working with you to shape the future of family medicine.
Dear Prospective Family Medicine Residents,
We are so excited and honored by your interest in our Family Medicine Residency. The U-M Medical School Department of Family Medicine is full of superb residents, faculty, and staff who are incredibly passionate and excited about family medicine. Because of this, our residents are privileged to receive exceptional training that is broad, comprehensive, and prepares our residents to practice in any environment. Our residents train at one of the top health care systems in the country, and they leave their training as confident, first-rate physicians and become the “leaders and the best” in the field.
Uniquely within our residency program, residents receive inpatient training at both a large academic tertiary care center and a smaller community-based setting. This includes Michigan Medicine and St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital respectively. This allows residents to receive superb training in an academic medical setting with high levels of medical complexity and subspecialist support, in addition to working in a smaller community setting where our residents are “unopposed” and learn the unique opportunities and challenges that exist in a community setting.
At the U-M Medical School, we practice full-spectrum family medicine. Our outpatient training includes two continuity clinic sites in Ypsilanti and Chelsea. Our program and department are committed to the health of our communities, as modeled by our Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) efforts at our six clinic sites. Our obstetric experience allows us to care for expectant mothers throughout their pregnancy and delivery, as well as attend to their newborns and the remainder of their families on our own Family-Mother-Baby service (FMB). Residents gain procedural training in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. We offer ample opportunities to engage in the many niche areas within family medicine, including gender affirming care, geriatrics, palliative and hospice care, women’s health and vulvodynia management, sports medicine, academics and research, integrative medicine, and substance use treatment. For interested residents, our residency program has numerous residency pathways to help residents focus their training experience in the areas of academics, point of care ultrasound (POCUS), integrative medicine, obstetrics, geriatrics and palliative care, obesity medicine. A single resident each year is also recruited to join the Spanish Language and Community Medicine pathway. For graduating residents interested in fellowship training, there is a broad array of fellowship programs at the University of Michigan, and our residents have incredible success with matching into their desired fellowship programs.
Our residency program uniquely participates in the Clinic First initiative, meaning that our residents rotate in two-week blocks that are either outpatient or inpatient focused, allowing consolidation of their learning experiences, improved continuity in care, and an emphasis on exemplary outpatient teaching and preparation while still maintaining phenomenal inpatient experiences.
Of course, the greatest joy of residency is not the opportunities or challenges themselves, but the chance to take them on with a wonderful group of supportive colleagues and friends. Our residents share unbreakable bonds and consider each other dear friends. We live and practice in the community of Ann Arbor, which is an incredible Midwestern college town with the food, culture, and entertainment of a much larger city.
We cannot express how excited we are for you on this next chapter of your journey, and we are honored to have your consideration for your residency training. Above all else, what makes us special is our phenomenal residents, and we are excited to consider you as part of our residency family.
According to our residents, here are the top ten reasons to learn at the University of Michigan.
- The best combination of training at top-rated community and academic hospitals.
- Continuity clinics that are located in rural or urban underserved settings, practicing full-spectrum family medicine .
- Department-wide dedication to integrating the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of family medicine education.
- Numerous community outreach programs built into the residency curriculum.
- A dedicated Spanish Language and Community Medicine track to serve the Latinx patients in the Ypsilanti and greater Ann Arbor area.
- Family medicine centered obstetrical training with a Family Medicine Birth obstetrics and newborn service staffed exclusively by family medicine faculty.
- Varied optional educational tracks including: academics, geriatrics and palliative care, inpatient medicine, integrative medicine, leadership, obesity medicine, obstetrics, reproductive health, Spanish language, sports medicine, and ultrasound.
- An emphasis on resident wellness, with a longitudinal wellness curriculum and two block month experiences.
- A state-of-the-art Clinical Simulation Center that offers training in procedures and management of medical emergencies.
- Residents motivated for the future of family medicine with amazing achievements.
Residents are able to choose and create their own electives utilizing any of the resources offered by the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine. Residents are not limited to the Department of Family Medicine’s offerings – they have freedom to choose their electives from a number of different departments/areas.
Frequently chosen electives have included: sports medicine, outpatient procedures, cardiology, emergency medicine, high-risk obstetrics, public health, pediatrics, geriatrics, integrative medicine, radiology and women's health.
International medicine opportunities are available and supported by the residency. Residents have the option of arranging their own international electives or they may choose to work through one of our established departmental relationships with organizations in Africa, South America, and Japan.
Recent international experiences include: obstetrical and newborn care in Ghana and international elective experience in the Japanese health care system.
Four total weeks each year are dedicated to night shifts on one of our inpatient services. On night float services, residents work six 12-hour shifts per week, for two weeks at a time.
In 2020, the residents requested a reduction in the overall number of 24-hour calls throughout residency. The administration examined many options, and residents voted to eliminate all 24-hour calls from the Family Medicine Birth service and the University Family Medicine service, resulting in only four 24-hour calls in the second year.
There are zero 24-hour calls in the intern and PGY3 years. The change was championed by residents and organized by the residency leadership to allow for a healthier residency lifestyle.
Residents work one-on-one with attending faculty from the Department of Family Medicine on our Family Medicine Birth Service. They deliver patients who had their prenatal care in one of our family medicine clinics and also provide care for their newborns after delivery. Interns also work with faculty from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Family physicians perform C-sections.
The pediatric experiences take advantage of the resources, reputation and the tradition of compassionate patient care at the world-class C.S. Mott Children's Hospital where residents work on the inpatient pediatrics service. Residents receive dedicated teaching from academic leaders in the Department of Pediatrics.
The residency program strongly endorses and supports a longitudinal curriculum for resident well-being. Residents are exposed to numerous models for caring for physical, emotional, spiritual, familial and social needs, and residents develop a Wellness Plan to guide them through the residency and into their careers.
There is a monthly Wellness Group session and a number of didactic and experiential presentations throughout the three years of residency. Some of the experiential workshops include Cognitive and Behavioral Models of Relaxation, Deep Breathing and Meditation Techniques, Tai Chi Workshops, Strength and Resistance training, Models of Stress and Wellness, and Outdoor Team Building Exercises.
Our residents are known for their ability to create a strong and active social network. Dinners, pool, football, canoeing down the Huron, and participating in the active Ann Arbor nightlife are among the residents' regular activities. Traditions like the surgery potluck, summer party by the lake, and shooting pool downtown with the faculty are just a few of the regular activities that add to the camaraderie and informal environment that residents and faculty enjoy.
