East Valley family medicine residency

Technology and Teamwork in Skills Training

Family Medicine residency training will help you develop your bedside and “people” skills as well as technical skills. We have the best facilities and technologies for learning and teaching as well as the faculty and culture to nurture and support you on your journey.

A holistic approach for development

Dignity Health’s Family Medicine Residency Program would not consider your skill set complete unless it involves bedside and “people” development as well as clinical and technique-oriented skills. We have the best facilities and technologies for teaching and practicing life support skills, procedures, and surgical techniques plus listening skills, compassion, discernment, and patience. Humankindness infuses all that we do to optimize the work you are called to do.

A commitment to stay ahead of technology

A tour of any of our facilities underscores our commitment to technology, which requires us to be proactive rather than reactive. While you train our staff is continuously learning, too – reading and researching to stay ahead of technologies. As a resident, this ensures you will have the best technology-driven training a residency can offer. From our state-of-the art surgical simulation center to our Women’s & Children’s Pavilion, you will be at the forefront of medicine.

Safe environment for learning

Residents will have the opportunity to practice skills such as BLS, ACLS, and surgical technique in our skills labs.

Model patients in our Simulation Center will help you learn in a safe, monitored environment.

Surgical Training

You will gain skills in two categories of surgical procedures.

  • In the family medicine practice center, you’ll be taught shave biopsies, punch biopsies, excisions, laceration repairs, foreign body removals, joint aspirations, joint and tendon injections, endometrial biopsies and colposcopy.
  • Specialty surgical rotations include general surgery, orthopedics and ob/gyn. Our general surgery rotation includes training in our brand new surgical Simulation Center.

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

One of the most exciting additions to primary care training in recent history is Point of care ultrasound, or POCUS. To facilitate our residents becoming facile with this technology we include a block of Radiology/ POCUS training in the first half of the PGY1 year for each resident, during which they receive one on one training from an experienced faculty member.

In addition to our FM clinic’s state of the art cart model GE LOGIQ ultrasound machine, we wanted to remove all barriers to our residents' use of POCUS.  We worked with our Dignity Health East Valley Foundation who secured the funding to purchase GE VScan cordless hand held US units for each of our FM residents.  One of these units is assigned to each resident and is theirs to use for the duration of their residency, allowing them to use it in clinics, the hospital, and even practice at home.

family medicine residency