Family Medicine
Family Medicine Residency Spokane Rural Training Track
Why Train in Colville?
When you come to Colville, you join a prestigious legacy of rural training. You follow in the footsteps of pioneering physicians who helped to design, develop and disseminate the rural training paradigm in this country. You come behind trail blazing female rural doctors who broke barriers. You are integrated into a system that produces passionate, empathetic community medicine practioners who advocate for their profession and their patients. You are exposed to a culture of excellence, teamwork, and innovation that drives you forward into your practice. You learn how to lead your community and you learn how to listen. You develop skills to balance work life with the rest of life as you explore the great inland Northwest and the mountains and valleys of Stevens County. And when you graduate, you invariably take your place in our legacy as a highly skilled, compassionate, independent-minded, family medicine physician capable of truly full scope practice.
Program History
Providence Northeast Washington Medical Group established the first US Family Practice Rural Training Track in 1986. We are the longest operating rural family medicine training program in the country. Since our inception, many other rural training tracks have patterned their programs on the success achieved in Colville.
Where do our Graduates Practice?
Over the years, the Colville program has been producing full spectrum family medicine physicians committed to improving the health of rural populations. More than 80% of Colville RTT graduates practice in rural medicine from Alaska to Montana to North Dakota. Some graduates work internationally in developing countries. About 30% of graduates practice in the North East Tri County Area.
What Type of Medicine do our Graduates Practice?
Data from the last 10 years show that about 50% of residents continue to practice operative Obstetrics after graduation from Colville. Many of the residents that choose not to practice obstetrics focus on rural ER and Hospitalist work in addition to clinical duties. Some graduates are performing upper and lower endoscopy as part of their full-spectrum family medicine practice. Our residents have also become health system administrators, teaching faculty, and public health officers
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Contact Us
Spokane Teaching Health Center
624 E Front Ave
Spokane, WA 99202, USA
Curriculum
Colville Rural Training Track
Spokane Family Medicine
RTT Longitudinal and Block Curriculum segments, November 2015
R1 Residents train primarily in blocks in Spokane. The only longitudinal aspect during first year is continuity clinic. Here is the usual pattern for RTT R1 Residents:
Obstetrics
12 weeks
Gynecology
4 weeks
Peds – Inpatient
8 weeks
Peds – Outpatient
4 weeks
ICU
4 weeks
Sacred Heart House staff
4 weeks
ENT/Dermatology
4 weeks
ER
4 weeks
R2 Residents have their first couple of months in Spokane, but then work in Colville the rest of the year and during their R3 year, apart from electives. There are only 4 training blocks after the first year:
Obstetrics (Spokane)
12 weeks
Community Medicine/ER
4 weeks
Surgery
8 weeks
Orthopedics/Sports Medicine
8 weeks
The remainder of the R2/R3 curriculum is conducted in a longitudinal fashion:
Continuity Clinic
1-4 half-days per week, including during blocks
OB Call/C-sections
Every other week, for the entire week
ER
Variable (worked around other assignments)
Hospitalist Service
Variable (worked around other assignments)
Woman’s Health/Family Planning
1/2 day, every other week, at NETCHD – Health Department
GI/Endoscopy
Under development, but like 1/2 day, every other week
Nephrology
Once a month
Oncology
Once a month
Cardiology
1-2 times a month
Research
1/2 day per quarter with mentor, and 1 hour per week
Practice management
Once per month, each resident, with Dr. Rehn, CEO