Ten reasons why our Family Medicine Residency is right for you…

  1. You will become a part of our work family. The Residents form a cohesive, tight-knit group in the challenging environment of post-graduate medical training.  Resident well-being is prioritized and actively supported by Faculty and the Department through mentoring programs, two residency retreats each year, an intern support group, and bi-monthly meetings with the Program Director.  You can reach out to Faculty for advice, guidance, and support at any time by call, text, email, or face-to-face in the clinics and hospital.  We’re practicing medicine right alongside you!  

 

  1. The practice of Family Medicine in all of its permutations and possibilities will be modeled for you by our experienced, diverse Faculty. We follow passions from Maternity Care to Geriatrics, inpatient care to procedural medicine, informatics to advocacy, and we practice in all environments, from clinics to classrooms and the hospital to Dr. Figueroa’s neighborhood clinic-based food pantry.  Our faculty-to-resident ratio is greater than 1:1, and we comprise a cross-section of American society in all components of identity.

 

  1. Our clinical sites provide interactions with a highly varied patient population, including the uninsured and underserved along with our university graduate students from around the world. All of them deserve our best care.  Located within 1.6 miles of the UI Health Hospital, our residents can reach their destinations by foot, bicycle, shuttle bus or car.

 

  1. We are the only Family Medicine Residency in the Chicago area that admits to our own Family Medicine Services, run by Residents and Family Medicine Faculty, at a university hospital.  This rigorous inpatient training ensures you will have the option to continue working in the hospital setting after graduation.

 

  1. You will receive outstanding training in Women’s Health. Our residents perform more gynecologic procedures (IUD and contraceptive implant placements and removals, pelvic ultrasounds, colposcopy) than other outpatient procedures, and they are often recruited for post-residency positions utilizing these skills. This education includes options counseling for all Residents and provision of medication and surgical abortions for those seeking training.

 

  1. Family-Centered Maternity Care remains a foundational component of Family Medicine in our Residency. You will learn the practice of obstetrics from your own Family Medicine faculty as well as Certified Nurse Midwives and our supportive colleagues in OB/GYN.  All Residents will become ALSO-certified during Residency.

 

  1. Inclusivity and health equity are the most important tenets for our Residents, Faculty, and Department. We actively promote extension of our care to vulnerable populations, including our patients from the LGBTQ+ community, those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, the undocumented, and those with addiction and substance use disorders.  Residents have the opportunity to incorporate gender-affirming care,medication-assisted treatment, and primary care of people living with HIV into their medical practices.

 

  1. Our orientation activitiesfor interns include four weeks of educational and group activities without hospital duties – two weeks in July and two weeks in February.  We want to set you up for success from the start!  Read more about our PGY1 curriculum.

 

  1. Tuition-free graduate school!  An exceptional University of Illinois work benefit is free full-time tuition for graduate school – past Residents (and Faculty) have worked on and obtained additional degrees and certificates while working, including Master’s degrees in Public Health and in Business Administration.  This is one of many benefits you will receive as a Resident here.

 

  1. UIC is wired. Our library is online with a vast collection of resources, including the databases and journals you need to support your evidence-based treatment of patients. For all clinical care, we currently use Cerner Powerchart, and the entire UI Health System will be transitioning to Epic in May 2020. Our talented IT support is available around-the-clock so that you can always get help, even when you’re monitoring a laboring patient at 3AM.