I can't speak to the programs south of NC, but I know most of the VA and NC programs. It really depends on what you want out of your training. If you want full-spectrum FM, I would advise looking more at NC vs VA; however, the VCU Bon Secours residency in VA is reviving their rural track, it's possible they will do more OB, and VCU Winchester/Front Royal does a reasonable amount of OB, last I knew. The state of NC made a deal with FM residency programs long ago regarding OB medicaid, so overall NC FP residents do more OB than VA FP residents.
UVA is a good program, but very opposed. What I hear from students at UVA is that it can be hard for residents (and students) to get enough procedural experience because of demand/supply. Their faculty are awesome. C'ville is gorgeous, but not exactly diverse.
VCU Fairfax has a sports med fellowship, if you want to go to games and learn how to use ultrasound on joints, it's a good place to be. It's in suburban VA near DC, and internship is very opposed, after that you admit to a community hospital with no other residents. The Robert Graham Center does some work with them, they have several faculty who are into global/underserved health. They are weak on ob.
There are 3 programs in the VA Beach/Norfolk region. I personally didn't interview at any of them (DH didn't want to go there), but there are a lot of differences between them, as far as philosophy and quality.
VCU-Chesterfield has a very good reputation, it's in suburban Richmond. The community hospital where they rotate is beautiful, their residents are very happy. I don't know the details of their schedule, etc. b/c I didn't interview there.
UNC Wilmington surprised me -they are very opposed but do a fair amount of ob and peds. One of their faculty is medical director of the local HIV clinic, and they are increasingly rotating at an FQHC, as well as at a rural hospital. They are in the middle of upgrading EMR. They struck me as a program that was up-and-coming, or at least trying to be. This year's interns struck me as more on the younger/singles end of the spectrum than the WNC residents, if that matters to you.
Cabarrus had the happiest residents of any of my interviews. They have crazy awesome moonlighting opportunities, and I liked their inpatient schedule (FM service = 12 12hour shifts, then 2 days off). They have several different outpatient clinics, you choose one. The downside for me was the lack of patient diversity (Cabarrus county is >90% white, they had a scattering of latino pts). Residents frequently stay on as hospitalists, which I took as an indicator of how happy they are.
MAHEC Hendersonville was as great as MAHEC Asheville, IMHO, if you are considering a small program. The county hospital has the same free food for residents that Asheville offers, you go to Asheville for several rotations to get the "big" hospital advantage, and I personally liked the everyday mix of clinic/hospital. Because it is unopposed and small, the ED/specialists will page you if a procedure comes up they know you want. Perhaps overall lowish volume/day but fewer residents/attgs also. Very committed to underserved care and the residents get amazing practice management training. The intern who interviewed me said the residents were waiting to help him unload his moving truck when he arrived.
