Hi, Ashley.
I'm a third-year FM resident. I think "ideal" is person-dependent. Some prefer urban vs rural location. Some want a larger program. Some like academic centers.
In my opinion, a medium-sized (7-8 per class) program is ideal--there are enough residents to cover hospital services while giving time for lighter rotations. No matter what your preferences from above, look for an unopposed program, meaning that family med is the only residency in that hospital. Why? Because family docs do everything! If we have to compete with a peds residency or OB residency, chances are that the family med resident will get the less interesting case or easier delivery. Family med has been deligated to a strictly outpatient arena, and that just isn't true for everyone. I, for instance, will be practicing inpatient, outpatient, inpatient peds/nursery, and OB. If I didn't have a strong foundation from my training, I would be doomed.
Other nice qualities? Good morale and comraderie among residents. Residents having their own patient panel to care for. Faculty who are full-time. Having plenty of volunteer specialist faculty. Night float during the week.
As for rotations, you will want to get a good foundation of internal med as an intern. Most programs that I am aware of have a mix of inpatient (peds, i-med, and OB) for the first 2 years and then become more outpatient heavy going into third year. I believe both emergency med and surgery are requirements. Surgery as a family med resident is VERY different than it is as a student--at my program, it is our vacation month. 🙂 It is there for residents as a way to learn pre-op and post-op care. As far as electives are concerned, it is probably better to have them for later in residency, when you have identified your weaknesses and want to work on them. I would imagine that having 4-5 electives is about standard.
Anyone else care to comment?
