Mission

We serve a diverse social, cultural, and economic patient population from rural, urban, and suburban settings, with military and civilian backgrounds, who require advocates to navigate the complex medical system both outpatient and inpatient.

Vision

Equip outstanding physicians to deliver comprehensive, compassionate, evidence-based, longitudinal family medicine in diverse settings.

Aims

We will cultivate compassionate, skilled physicians who are invested in the health of their community as family-centered lifelong learners.

We will equip residents to provide high-quality lifelong care including maternity and reproductive health, outpatient, inpatient, procedures, pediatrics, sports medicine, geriatrics, and behavioral health.

Formal lectures are held once per week on Wednesday afternoons. Residents are excused from their rotations to attend the didactic sessions. Topics range from case presentations and formal lectures to procedural workshops, ran by both residents and faculty. In addition, there is a 30-minute case-based morning report four days per week on our inpatient service. This includes discussions lead by residents, faculty, and pharmacy on commonly encountered inpatient topics.

Below is a general outline of our rotation schedule per year of training: 

• *These rotations are completed at one of Saint University Hospitals in the city.
• While clinic is dedicated to a block, it is also a longitudinal experience in which residents see their own clinic several half days per week while on other rotations.
• Military residents have longitudinal experience in the Warrior Operations Medical Clinic (active duty patients) in PGY2 and PGY3.

Below is a list of some potential elective rotation options. We are flexible and can accommodate almost any elective rotation if given enough notice for planning.

When you are “on call” you are physically at the hospital either working on Obstetrics or on the inpatient team that is taking admissions.

Inpatient Call

Intern

For each month of inpatient, you will be “on call” working nights for one week. During your day shifts you will be on call anywhere from every other to every fourth day.
There are two inpatient teams that alternate being on call, AKA taking admissions.

PGY2

For each month of inpatient, you will work two weeks of nights and two weeks of days. During your day shifts you will usually be on call every fourth day.

PGY3

You typically will not work night shifts during your inpatient rotation. For two weeks you will be on call every other day, then every fourth day for two weeks. As a PGY3 you will have random Inpatient nights usually six to eight shifts a year outside of your inpatient blocks.

OB Call

Intern

For each OB “block” you will work day shift for two weeks, then two weeks of night shift.

PGY2

Your OB month is combined with Evidence-Based Medicine so you only do OB for two weeks and work night shift usually Monday - Friday (with the intern). You will also have random 24-hour OB shifts (typically 6-8 total) throughout your PGY2 year.

Home call

You are on “home call” the other two weeks of your OB/Evidence-Based Medicine month to allow you free time to work on your research projects, with the expectation that if someone on an inpatient or OB shift calls out sick you will be the first to be called in to cover.

• Warrior Operations Medical Clinic during the PGY2 and PGY3 training years
• C-STARS Course - focusing on military focused trauma simulation, procedural simulations to enhance battlefield medicine skills and knowledge

Please see “Rotation Schedule per year” above. Our program requires completion of all the listed rotations. Elective time is your chance to hone in on your areas of interest. If you complete a PGY1 year elsewhere, credit may be offered for some rotations and you will receive extra elective time.

• Your first month as an intern is “core month,” during this time there will be multiple simulations ranging from rapid response scenarios in the hospital to obstetrical emergencies.
• All residents and faculty partake in multi-disciplinary inpatient obstetrical emergency simulations throughout the year (avg 4-6/yr)
• Didactic workshops on Wednesday afternoons intermittently include simulations.
• We strive to get all military residents to partake in the C-STARS course which is one of the Air Force’s trauma training courses that just happens to be based out of Saint Louis University Hospital. At this course you will get a tremendous amount of military focused trauma simulations, procedure simulations, procedures on cadavers, as well as work with the trauma team in the ER, trauma OR, and trauma ICU.

We have several resident led leadership roles to include:

Chief Residents

There are four chiefs out of the PGY3 class. Some of their roles include scheduling/coordination of weekly didactics, rotation scheduling, aiding in medical student recruitment, and ultimately acting on behalf of the residents to advocate for change if needed.

Research Champion

Leadership role focusing on helping support other residents during their research journeys as well as has an active role in organizing our residency’s annual formal “research day” in which each resident in the PGY3 class presents a research poster. They are also responsible for maintaining our residency’s research newsletter.

Wellness Champion

Leadership role that takes an active role in promoting and supporting the well-being of our residency program. They advocate for and implement initiatives related to physical, mental, and emotional health, in the workplace. They often collaborate with other residency leadership to enhance overall resident well-being.

Resident for Equality, Equity, and Diversity

Leadership role that focuses emphasizing different aspects of medicine and life, that can further support your patients and the community. This position helps with scheduling volunteer and community outreach events (which are done during scheduled didactics times quarterly) as well as advocates for equality, equity, and diversity within our residency.

Professional Committees

All PGY3 residents are assigned to a professional committee within the hospital. Committees range from the ethics committee to resource management committee.

Fulfillment of your research expectations/ requirements consists of specific items to complete each year as well as a final graduation requirement that must be met. All requirements are described below.

1st Year

• Basic online CITI Training - completed during core month
• Attend at least four journal clubs - part of regularly scheduled didactics
• Attend our residency Research Day as rotation schedule permits

2nd Year

• You will have two weeks during each of your OB/Evidence Based Medicine blocks (four weeks total) dedicated to research.
• There is specific milestones for each of the four weeks but the final requirement is submission of a fully completed FPIN Good Evidence that Matters (GEM). A GEM is a critical appraisal of a single research study. 
• Attend at least four journal clubs (part of regularly scheduled didactics).
• Attend our residency Research Day as rotation schedule permits.

3rd Year

• You will be required to formally present a research/scholarly activity poster at our Research Day. It is also expected that you submit the same poster for the SLU Primary Care Research Symposium and present if accepted.
• Attend at least four journal clubs (part of regularly scheduled didactics)

Below is an exact copy of our residency graduation requirements that must be met in addition to the above:

You must either do one larger project listed as Option A or two smaller projects listed as Option B.

Option A

Projects that are appropriate stand alone for scholarly activity (limit 2 residents per project):

• Completion of OR significant contributions toward a well-conducted clinical investigation (such as a randomized control trial or cohort study) requiring IRB approval
• Authorship of a Peer Reviewed Journal Article (examples include AAFP, Annals of Internal Medicine, Military Medicine, STFM)
• Submission and acceptance of poster or podium presentation at a regional or larger medical conference (SLU Symposium/Primary Care Research Symposium does NOT qualify)
• Authorship of book chapter
• Substantial quality improvement project submitted and accepted for presentation at a medical conference

Option B

Projects that can be combined to meet scholarly activity requirements (combine any two):

• FPIN Help Desk Answer
• 5 Minute Clinical Consults
• AFP Photo Quiz
• Letter to the Editor
• We acknowledge there are nearly endless possibilities so please bring your ideas to a faculty coordinator to see if it will meet the objectives toward your scholarly activity requirement.

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) requires that every resident participate in a quality improvement project. Our clinic completes at least two clinic wide quality improvement projects a year (one on the civilian side and one on the military side). All residents participate to meet the ABFM requirement.  Previous quality improvement projects we have completed include: colonoscopy screening, annual labs/initial EKG for hypertensive patients, etc.

See “Scholarly/Research” section above. We highly encourage residents to come up with and complete quality improvement projects which can suffice as your residency research graduation requirements.

Each PGY class is assigned a professional development faculty coordinator. Monthly forums are held during dedicated didactic times. Topics discussed range from how to have an effective part in multi-disciplinary teams, accountability, tips on formatting and maintaining CVs and personal statements, military life after residency, and even talks on contract negotiations once you separate from the military.

Below are our most common clinic sites that residents work at:

• HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital - Location of main outpatient continuity clinic, inpatient, obstetric, and emergency medicine
• 375th Medical Group (Scott Air Force Base) - Active duty military medicine, sports medicine, multiple procedure clinic, pediatrics, dermatology and women’s health clinic
• SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital - Emergency medicine, C-STARS
• SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital - Pediatrics: inpatient and emergency medicine
• Touchette Regional Hospital - Emergency medicine

• We welcome fourth year military medical students for audition rotations or elective rotations. We also take third year medical students for family medicine rotations or other elective options (we frequently have medical students from SLU).
• For audition rotations you typically spend one week with our inpatient team, several days on OB, and the rest in clinic, which includes working with military and civilian residents in regular clinic, sports medicine clinic, and procedure clinics.
• An interview will be included in your audition rotation schedule and can be arranged if here early during an elective rotation

If you are interested in interviewing with our program, please email dha.scott.scott-375th-mdg.list.scott-fammed@health.mil. Qualities we look for in applicants include: team player, trustworthy, growth-minded, ambitious, willingness to step out of comfort zone, and teachable.

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.

PGY2 and PGY3 residents are expected to take an active role in teaching interns, especially on OB and inpatient. You will also get the opportunity to work with medical students in clinic (this is typically PGY2 and PGY3). Each month that you are on inpatient (regardless of PGY level) you are expected to give a 15-30 minute didactic lecture on any topic related to inpatient care. You will also be expected to give lectures during Wednesday didactics throughout your residency time. We also highly encourage anyone interested to apply for Faculty development course through USUHS.

• Residents can become instructors for life support classes such as PALS/ACLS/ALSO.
• Residents interested in becoming faculty are encouraged to do a Faculty Development elective.

• Sports Medicine - 3
• Family Medicine and Obstetrics (FMOB) - 4
• Clinical Pharmacist - 2
• Licensed Clinical Social Workers - 2
• HIV fellowship trained physician running a Ryan White Clinic - 1
• Physician Acupuncturists

Prior to arrival to our residency all interns are assigned a PGY2 mentor for any initial questions on the program or local area. After arrival residents and faculty are split in teams made up of one intern, PGY2, PGY3, and faculty who should act as mentors throughout residency. You will also be assigned a faculty advisor whose job it is to ensure that you are meeting all milestone to progress through residency.

• Wellness Champions: 2-3 residents that volunteer to promote wellness within the program and host several events throughout the year.
• Additionally, we have:
  • Community service events during scheduled didactics time twice a year to get involved and give back to our community.
  • An exercise bike in our conference room for use anytime. Residents can also become a member of the Cardiac Rehab gym on the 1st floor of St. E’s hospital for a small annual fee and/or utilize the gym on Scott Air Force Base. 
  • Monthly wellness newsletters that focus on stress management, mindfulness, and work-life balance to help residents develop healthy coping skills.
  • Mental health providers imbedded with our program that are always available to residents and meet with each resident at least twice a year for wellness check ins.
  • Residency sponsored “retreats” every 6 months in which all residents are off duty and have dedicated time to bond, de-stress, and improve comradery among residents. Every fall we hold an all-class retreat and during our spring retreats, classes are broken out by year.