Mission

Develop highly reliable, mission ready health care professionals through balanced training in evidence-based comprehensive care of all patients throughout the stages of life.

Vision

1. To produce competent and qualified physicians who provide continuous comprehensive care to the individual and family through Family Medicine, not limited by sex, age, race, sexual orientation, organ system, or disease process but by comprehensive medical care delivery.
2. Propagate our specialty through mentorship of residents and medical students who will learn and foster skills unique to Family Medicine in an environment that places the highest priority on patient safety and empathic care.
3. Perform as leaders who assume responsibility for directing a team approach to health management with emphasis on integration of a body, mind, and spirit within the broad context of community health care. Effective medical team leaders engage patients and help them utilize their resources to cope with illness and injury.

Aims

• To produce COMPETENT and QUALIFIED physicians capable of independent practice of family medicine who deliver continuing and comprehensive care to the individual and family as an integrated unit, in any military or civilian medical system, not limited by sex, age, organ system, or disease process.
• To propagate our specialty through MENTORING, supporting the clinical and professional development of residents, medical students and other healthcare team members in an environment that places the highest priority on patient safety and empathic care.
• To perform as LEADERS who will direct patient care teams in both home station and austere/deployed settings, including emphasis on the integration of body, mind, and spirit within the broad context of community health care and military readiness.
• To develop MASTER ADAPTIVE LEARNERS who are curious, engaged, interested in and participate in quality improvement and scholarly activity.

• PGY-1 and medical students attend didactics on Friday afternoons from 12 - 3:30 p.m. (while PGY-2/3s and attendings cover patient care responsibilities).
• PGY-2s/3s attend didactics on Wednesday mornings from 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (PGY1s and attendings cover patient care responsibilities during this time).
• Individual physical fitness time is built into designated didactic days, either before or after the sessions.
• Didactics sessions may include specialist lectures, cased-based discussions, board review, skills workshops, simulations, journal clubs, or other various activities.

Residents may choose from the following list of commonly sought electives or may develop their own elective (with guidance from their faculty advisor and approval of the Program Director). All elective rotations are required to have clear learning goals and objectives.

• Internal Medicine Subspecialty rotations
• Faculty Development
• USAFA Sports Medicine
• Research / Scholarly Writing
• Sacred Heart Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
• Community Health
• Operational Graduate Medical Education
• CAM / OMT
• Surgical Subspecialty rotations

• Eglin Family Medicine Residency operates on an inpatient night float system, so there are no 24-hour call shifts during inpatient medicine rotations. Inpatient shifts are 12 hours long, six days a week. Our inpatient team structure does require 2-3 “12-hour coverage shifts” as a PGY2 or PGY3 throughout the year. These shifts occur during the day on Sundays and are voluntary.
• There is only one rotation that requires a 24-hour call shift – General Surgery inpatient – this is during the PGY-1 year. The shifts are generally taken from home when there are no active patient care issues.
• Outpatient rotations generally are Monday-Friday and do not require weekend shifts.
• Additionally, the Residency Program staff assign residents ten (10) pregnancy continuity patients. Residents should make every effort to be at the deliveries of these patients.

The program provides residents with the ability to care for active duty personnel as well as their dependents upon graduation from residency.

Residents are required to maintain the following certifications:

• Basic Life Support 
• Advanced Life Support 
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program 
• STABLE
• Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics 
• Advanced Fetal Monitoring

Residents will complete these courses during orientation prior to starting PGY-1 year. The courses are available on base.

While on the Ambulatory rotation, one afternoon is blocked per week for case presentations in the simulation lab located within the clinic building of the military treatment facility. A faculty member will facilitate these cases while the resident(s) lead the simulation.

Residents will utilize the simulation lab during didactics sessions for larger group learning and skills practice. If interested in self-directed learning through simulation, the lab is available for reservations for non-structured activities.

Simulation lab opportunities include:

• Central line placement
• Chest tube placement
• Point of Care Ultrasound
• Cardiac/Respiratory Arrest Scenarios
• Obstetrical emergencies

The program assists residents to build leadership skills as a physician and officer in the military.

The program requires residents to complete two scholarly activity projects, one of which must be a process improvement/quality improvement (PI/QI) project. Residents must present scholarly work at least once to their peer group in a formal setting prior to graduation. The program faculty recommend the resident present at regional or national level if possible. Options for scholarly activity include:

Original/Primary Research

Observational study or Clinical Trial

Includes starting with question/observation, literature review, hypothesis generation, research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and conclusions formulated by the residents themselves.

Case Report

Residents should submit an abstract for presentation at the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians annual conference, FMX, or another conference. We recommend submitting a full written report for publication, but this is not required.

Secondary or Review/Synthesis

Critical Appraisal

Family Physician Inquiries Network clinical inquiry, Help Desk Answer, Cochrane brief

Review Articles

Book chapter, or other medical literature article (ex: American Family Journal) coauthored with a staff physician

Performance Improvement Project

Requires substantial demonstrated literature review and structured implementation process to include objective surveillance measures

Other Opportunities

Projects meeting substantive scholarly requirements are at the discretion of the Program Director or Clinical Director of Research (to include presentations at a national conference)

Area of Concentration (optional)

200-hour project designed by the resident and recognized by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors.

PI/QI

Residents must complete at least one process improvement or quality improvement project, as required by our accrediting body. This project may also be used to meet the requirements for the ABFM Performance Improvement Activity required for board certification.

• Every other month the program hosts a Morbidity and Mortality Conference, which allows for a multi-disciplinary approach for patient safety reviews. Additionally, there are inpatient case presentations each week which are open to all specialists – allowing for collaboration of teams and improvement of patient safety.
• The program assists residents with completing a Quality/Process Improvement project as a residency class. This project is intended to determine potential issues within the clinic structure and find targeted solutions.
• We expect residents to complete the Institute for Healthcare Improvements Open School Basic Curriculum in Quality and Safety.

Eglin Family Medicine Residency provides several opportunities to participate in, publish, and present scholarly work – and the program has received national recognition through the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians for its scholarly work. Residents are usually able to attend a professional conference each year during training. Most trainees will attend the USAFP Conference, but there are several other opportunities to attend other professional conferences.

• U.S. Air Force Regional Hospital at Eglin Air Force Base
• Pediatrics Clinic at Hurlburt Field
• Sacred Heart Studer Children’s Hospital of Pensacola
• U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field
• Okaloosa County Health Department

Medical student rotations are available and encouraged – these rotations are typically four weeks in length. At least one week is spent on the inpatient team, while the remainder of the time is spent rotating through various clinics housed within the Family Medicine Residency Clinic (e.g., geriatrics, ambulatory procedures, sports medicine, continuity clinics, etc.) We allow medical students to get involved in the care of patients and are often given the opportunity for hands-on learning while assisting with various procedures.

To schedule an interview, please contact the program via phone or email.  Our contact information is listed in the "Contact Us" section on this webpage.  

PGY-3 residents may sit for the family medicine board certification exam as early as April of the PGY-3 year prior to residency graduation if they have met all board eligibility criteria. The board certification exam is also offered each November, and some residents graduating off-cycle may choose to take it then. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, residents must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Family Medicine. These requirements include completion of self-assessment and quality improvement activities, continuous compliance with ABFM Guidelines for Professionalism, Licensure, and Personal Conduct, successful completion of the Family Medicine Certification Examination, and completion of an accredited family medicine residency training program.

For more details, see Become Certified - American Board of Family Medicine.

The program expects residents to act as teachers for co-residents and medical students who rotate through the clinic. Residents will primarily lead the weekly didactics sessions with a faculty co-lead. While participating in patient care, residents oversee “on-the-go” learning as it pertains to patient cases. Additionally, residents can present educational lectures and case reports at the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians Annual Conference each spring.

Other teaching opportunities in the community may become available throughout the year – such as Women’s Health Fairs, community events, and high school sporting events.

We have faculty with sub-specialization in:

• Family Medicine Obstetrics
• Lactation Medicine
• Sports Medicine

Trainees in the program are assigned to a team upon entry into the residency program – this team is constructed of a resident from each year of training and a faculty member lead (“team chief”). The team chief is responsible for providing mentorship and assistance with handling various tasks both inside and outside of the clinic. Residents meet with their team chief on a monthly basis to set personal and professional goals, evaluate progress with procedural numbers, and assist with tracking training requirements.

Eglin Family Medicine Residency Program emphasizes comradery and support of all its team members. The residents are just one big family. Often the residents attend trivia nights together, throwing holiday parties, or spending time with each other’s families.

During the academic year, the residency program sets aside time for resident retreat weekends for each class. Each class of residents may travel to an off-base location and spend a full weekend together away from work while the other residents and attendees cover the inpatient services to allow for this to happen. Additionally, each spring there is an event put on by the residency program called “Res-Review”. This event is a full day of dialogue between all residents and faculty where we conduct an intensive review of the entire residency curriculum and propose or enact changes to improve the program. On the night before or after Res-Review, there is a resident-only gathering known as “Roll Call” – this is the only evening of the year that all residents are off work and in one place. We fill the night with fun and reflection on stories from experiences in residency. Additionally, the interns receive their unique “Call Sign” during this gathering!

One of the highlights of the program is our famous “Resident Room,” which is a large sunlit communal workspace (full of windows!) that is always buzzing with excitement of some kind. Residents decorate their desks with personal items and pictures, and the entire space is made to feel as much like a “home away from home” as possible, complete with a coffee corner, triple bunk bed, television with a gaming console and exquisite DVD collection. This new area will become a beloved space that ensures our fun, family atmosphere - But watch out for the Nerf Gun Ambushes!