What are some of the better FP programs in the Southeast?

[Schedule_II]

I'm a 3rd year, and I'd like to do my FP residency in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee or Florida (sort of in that order), but I don't know how the programs in those areas stack up. I want to get good procedural training. I'd also like to know if there are any of the more prestigious (if there is such a thing among FP residencies) programs in these areas.

Anyone have any input?

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[HamSandwich]

rome GA supposed to be v. procedure oriented. cabarrus in NC is outstanding. i rotated there but am not going to do residency there (locational preference only)

 

[Schedule_II]

thanks for the reply. do you or anyone else know how the rome program compares to, say, the UA program in tuscaloosa or the one in huntsville?

 

[dr.smurf]

check scutwork.com to see if there are any comments about programs in that area

 

[Schedule_II]

yeah, unfortunately the reviews for these programs are kinda few and far-between. Thanks, though, for the reply.

 

[knjones]

I'm an intern at the Huntsville program and was a medical student at the Tuscaloosa program. Both are good programs with +s and -s depending on the kind of experience you're looking for. UT-Chattanooga also has a good program that was impressive, but I was looking for Alabama specifically. I'm not familiar with the Rome program. If you have specific questions, you can post them here or e-mail me.

Good luck!

 

[Pepe]

I agree with Ham sandwich, Cabarrus was very impressive, I've also heard that Rome, Ga is a really good program as well. Ham Sandwich, where did you end up?

 

[gherelin]

I'm a 3rd year, and I'd like to do my FP residency in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee or Florida (sort of in that order), but I don't know how the programs in those areas stack up. I want to get good procedural training. I'd also like to know if there are any of the more prestigious (if there is such a thing among FP residencies) programs in these areas.

Anyone have any input?

Univ. of Florida at Gainesville is an academic residency in a community hospital assoc. with "the big house,"-Shands UF. It's very internal medicine/inpatient medicine oriented. The inpatient hospitalist team are all from family medicine residencies and inpatient procedures are considered very important here (central lines, intubation, PICC lines.) For outpatient procedures, they're strong in exercise treadmill testing and colposcopy. I would recommend it if you are interested in internal medicine from a family medicine perspective, like a strict hierarchy in the organization (lots of military people and sports medicine types), and want to be sort of in academia but not too close. Good luck!

 

[hoo]

Halifax....in Daytona, FL

great program.....the best benefits you'll find anywhere!

 

[Newdoc2002]

ETSU in Tri-cities area in NE TN. Three FP residency programs with different styles all from a school ranked highly in rural medicine. I'm in Kingsport with strong hospital and ER experience. This is a great place to live as well .

 

[HamSandwich]

Pepe, I am going to Brown FM in RI. we start orientation next thursday.... vacation has just smoked by. and you?

 

[Schedule_II]

I agree with Ham sandwich, Cabarrus was very impressive, I've also heard that Rome, Ga is a really good program as well. Ham Sandwich, where did you end up?

Do you know any specifics about the Rome program?

 

[Pepe]

Schedule II,
Nothing really specific, at least that wasn't on their website. I went to the AAFP convention in Kansas City though and talked to them for quite awhile. The residents seemed pretty happy with their training. I just remembered being impressed by the low cost of living, and the support the residents had available.
Ham sandwich, I'll be going to Washington PA., we start orientation on the 23rd. Good luck this year, I feel vacation dwindling as we speak.

 

[JML MD]

I know that you're not specifically looking in South Carolina, but you (or anyone else looking in the SE) should really give a serious look at McLeod Family Medicine in Florence, SC. The program is fantastic -- wonderful faculty, one of the most respected program directors in the country, a beautiful hospital and clinic, diverse patient population (plenty of kids and private insurance patients), and tons of opportunities to do procedures (grads generally have over 100 colonoscopies and 100 EGDs by graduation if they're interested).

Also, it's one of the few programs in the Southeast that consistently fills year-after-year. In fact, for the 2003 match, the program filled it's 7 spots (now there are 8) from the first 8 they ranked!! The only trouble with the program is actually getting people to Florence, as some people have a negative perception of the town. However, I came from a nice city of over 1 million people, and I can say that I have been more than happy here in the town. Florence is 2 hours from Charlotte, just over an hour from Myrtle Beach, and an hour and a half from Columbia and Charleston. Plus, the hospital is the regional medical center for a huge part of the state, serving over a million people -- all the pathology you'd ever hope for and more.

If you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

About programs in AL, I interviewed at Huntsville and Tuscaloosa and liked them both. I liked Tuscaloosa better than Huntsville as I felt that the residents in Huntsville were way too overworked, even though Huntsville is a nicer town. Tuscaloosa has ample opportunity in sports medicine.

In Florida, the two programs regarded as the best are Halifax and Bayfront, and I personally think Halifax offers more in terms of strong faculty and residents.

I hope that this was helpful. Best of luck in your residency search. Feel free to contact me with questions.

 

[spartanburg]

Schedule_II,

I'm a first year resident at the Spartanburg FP residency program. I think you'll find that you can get the procedural training at almost any FP program in the US. You have to work harder at some of them to get that experience, but you can get it.

When I was looking for a residency, I was tired of being treated like a sub-human and wanted a program where the docs, nurses, residents, administration, and ancillary staff all get along well with each other. I wanted a program where basic self respect and respect for others was promoted. I believe I was successful in finding that at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. My wife and I couples matched (she's in Greenville, SC doing peds). We did a month long rotation here in our fourth year and she was pleasantly suprised to see me coming back from the hospital to our apartment (SRMC provided housing) each day with a smile on my face. I actually enjoyed getting up and going to work here! What a concept! She had the same experience in Greenville, so it was easy to sell us on these programs. Our programs are both very strong programs - they produce competent, CONFIDENT physicians, but it's the awesome leadership, and attention to workplace morale and respect that sets these programs apart from the majority of residency programs.

Good luck with the search, and if you have any other questions about our program or others, please visit our website at www.spartfam.org

We have links to ALL of the South Carolina Family Practice Residency Programs on our site, so you can read up on those if you would like to.

Feel free to e-mail our program director Otis Baughman, M.D.. Dr. Baughman is approachable and absolutely loves to hear from med students. He makes it a priority to write back and believe me, he's both honest and sincere.

You can reach me at [email protected]


Good luck with your search.

 

[Emcat]

Hi All,

I am just starting my 3rd year and I am leaning heavily towards FM at this point. I am very interested in programs in the southeast -- I live in Louisiana and would like to stay in the region. My boyfriend is a 4th year who is applying for Rads this year. He's going to apply throughout the southeast and assuming things stay as good as they've been for us, I will be seeking a residency in/near the same city as he ends up. Right now he is very interested in Mercer's program in Savannah, GA as well as USA in Mobile, although given how competitive Rads is these days, he will go wherever he gets in!

According to the Savannah program's website, they have almost all FMGs as residents. How significant is that? Does that raise a red flag with anybody? Anybody ever worked there or know anything about the program? What about the Medical College of Georgia's program in Augusta? I think that's about 2 hrs from Savannah.

Any info on ANY programs in the southeast would be greatly appreciated -- both pros and cons.

Thanks ya'll!

 

[Schedule_II]

I too am interested in how much you can assume about a program based on how many FMG's they have.

 

[Schedule_II]

...and I'm still interested in anything anyone has to say about comparisons of programs in the state of alabama and those in bordering states near the state line.

 

[Pepe]

Schedule II,
If you are at all interested in doing ER work when you finish you should definitely look at Tyler, Tx. I don't know if it will be to far for you, but they have an awesome ER experience. Your call as a first year is based in the ER, so you will see patients from the time they get to the hospital, until their final disposition. It's certainly worth a look.

 

[lawmd]

try the program in charlotte at carolinas medical center. i know a few people there and they love it. nice hospital, great city, awesome benefits.

 

[starayamoskva]

you should look at the University of Mississippi. They have an excellent program and you simply can't find the kind of pathology available in Mississippi just anywhere (Obesity, hypertension, heart disease etc etc).

 

[ayms]

does anybody know anything about the FP program at Emory University?

 

[DWP DO]

If you want to practice ER when you finish, your best bet is UT-Knoxville. They offer a one year fellowship in emergency medicine for FP's in a Level One Trauma Center. You can check it out on the web.

In Georgia, MCG-Okefenokee Satilla Regional has alot to offer especially given the low faculty to resident ratio, resulting in ALOT of one-on-one training both in FP and in the various specialties. You can accomplish a great deal there. It is less known, but is a "hidden gem". And only an hour from a great florida beach!! DWP

 

[MtnDoc]

Hi All,

I am just starting my 3rd year and I am leaning heavily towards FM at this point. I am very interested in programs in the southeast -- I live in Louisiana and would like to stay in the region. My boyfriend is a 4th year who is applying for Rads this year. He's going to apply throughout the southeast and assuming things stay as good as they've been for us, I will be seeking a residency in/near the same city as he ends up. Right now he is very interested in Mercer's program in Savannah, GA as well as USA in Mobile, although given how competitive Rads is these days, he will go wherever he gets in!

According to the Savannah program's website, they have almost all FMGs as residents. How significant is that? Does that raise a red flag with anybody? Anybody ever worked there or know anything about the program? What about the Medical College of Georgia's program in Augusta? I think that's about 2 hrs from Savannah.

Any info on ANY programs in the southeast would be greatly appreciated -- both pros and cons.

Thanks ya'll!

Hi-- I'm a 4th year student at Mercer. I stayed in Macon to do my FP progra- which was pretty good (nice residents, great faculty, SWEEEET hours)- but I haven't heard great things about the Savannah program. Most of my friends did their rotations there, so this is ONLY based on what they said... Basically I was told that there are major communication barriers, that you're treated like scum in the hospital (by the other programs bc of the reputation of the FP program), and that overall- there are only a few bright residents in the program and that the rest seem to lack even the knowledge that the students had. Thus, I decided to not apply.

 

[jmvoss]

I'm a third year resident from Greenwood, SC at the Montgomery Center for Family Medicine associated with Self Regional Hospital.

When looking for a program I looked from California to Florida and found this program to stand out for the training I wanted to receive--which says a lot as my wife is from CA (and all her family is there), my family is in TX, and my wife was pregnant at the time (Mason is now almost 2). It takes a strong program to pull you away from family, I promise.

What was I looking for?
1) Strong Procedural training as well as Sports Medicine emphasis.
2) Solid medical and peds training
3) Opportunity to travel to foreign countries on medical mission trips (outstanding experience)
4) Collegial environment.

We are a community based program, so no competition with peds residents, int med residents, etc. Our community is about 60,000, but we service a 7 county area of about 250,000 people.

When you look at programs, a lot are going to offer very similar opportunities, and some will specialize a little more in one area than another. Ultimately, my decision came to the people I was around. When I was interviewing, one of the residents here told me the following:
"Michael, I'm not going to tell you where you should go to do your training, but wherever you choose, go where you can respect the people you are working with and training under--you are going to become just like them."

In my search for a program from coast to coast, this program, aside from offering what I was wanting in medical and procedural training, had physicians who I found I could respect and did want to be like.

Our residents come from South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and even Alaska. The past 3 years we have matched 9 of 9 residents.

If anyone would like to learn more about our program, please visit our website: www.greenwoodfp.org. In addition, if you have any questions and would like to e-mail: [email protected]. Of course, I'm a third year and about to finish up. Please feel free to visit our website and e-mail one of our first or second year residents and ask them questions as well.

 

[MtnDoc]

ETSU in Tri-cities area in NE TN. Three FP residency programs with different styles all from a school ranked highly in rural medicine. I'm in Kingsport with strong hospital and ER experience. This is a great place to live as well .

Just wondering... do you get a lot of procedures in there? I'm interviewing there next month. I love the mountains- am hoping that it fits what I want in a program. Can you give me some differences between Kingsport and Bristol and Johnson City??? What do you mean by different styles? I'm pretty laid-back, but don't mind working. I like being taught, but want lots of hands-on experience. Where are most of the residents from? What schools/ city/ etc.? Just wondered what the differences are! Thanks!