Residency Curriculum

The Rockford Family Medicine Residency Program was founded in 1972 by one of the early pioneers of our discipline, Dr. L.P. Johnson, and has continued to keep pace with the ever-changing field of family medicine. As the sole University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford residency program, we offer an unparalleled experience with the patient care resources of one of the largest cities in Illinois.

The GME Policy Manual  has information about resident eligibility and selection; incoming resident procedures and appointments; resident financial support and benefits; resident educational and work environment; educational program/curriculum; evaluations and promotion; and administrative academic and disciplinary processes.

FIRST-YEAR RESIDENCY (R1) Heading link

  • Inpatient consults for wide spectrum of cardiac cases
  • Focus on cardiac history and physicals, presenting symptoms, risk factor assessment and acute cardiac emergencies
  • Experience with stress testing and EKG interpretation
  • Application of ATLS and ACLS principles
  • Evaluate and treat emergency patients including trauma and severe illness
  • Hands-on wound suturing experience
  • Review daily hospital imaging studies with a radiologist
  • Responsible for inpatient care of UI Health L.P. Johnson Family Health Center patients including pediatric, nursing home, county jail as well as community physician patients
  • Gain experience caring for routine as well as critically ill patients in the hospital under supervision
  • Attend newborn deliveries for the resident patients
  • Daily teaching rounds with senior resident and attending physicians
  • Multi-disciplinary rounds with staff nursing and discharge planners/case workers
  • Opportunity to teach university medical students
  • Participation in a multi-disciplinary geriatric assessment team evaluating complex health problems in elderly patients
  • Subacute hospital/short-stay unit for patients in transition from acute care hospital to home or nursing home care
  • Participate in management of palliative care and hospice patients with Family Medicine trained palliative care specialist and UI residency fellow
  • Work with neonatologists in Level III nursery
  • Experience in resuscitation of neonates with NRP certification in first year
  • Opportunity to follow lactation consultants, and pediatric nutritionist
  • Opportunity to gain pediatric experience in the ER
  • Hospitalist pediatricians as attending physicians for the inpatient floor including admitting inpatient psychiatric pediatric patients
  • Weekly multi-disciplinary inpatient rounds with pediatric dedicated pharmacologist, nursing and nutritionist
  • Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (Family Medicine course “ALSO”) certified in first year
  • Interaction with very “FP- friendly” maternal-fetal medicine specialists on L&D
  • Participation on very busy OB floor with C-sections, OB triage, postpartum care, and emergency OB mock multi-disciplinary drills
  • Learn OB procedures including but not limited to: fetal heart tracing interpretation, labor management, placement of internal fetal monitors and cervical ripening balloon, triage in OB ED, option to assist on C-sections and circumcisions.
  • Deliveries up to 25-35 obstetric patients over two months supervised by family physicians and obstetricians
  • Opportunity to teach university medical students
  • Opportunities to learn joint injections, splinting, as well as fracture management with largest orthopedic group in city
  • Diverse spectrum of experience with hand surgeons, spine specialists, etc.
  • Option for longitudinal experience as sports team physician with local Rockford sports teams, e.g., ice hockey, etc.
  • Diverse exposure to the health problems of patients with acute and chronic kidney disease (including dialysis patients) admitted to the hospital
  • Attendings were previously repeat winners in the resident’s annual community attending teaching award
  • One-on-one service with a teaching surgeon
  • Emphasis on pre-op and post-op diagnosis and care in surgeon’s office
  • Acquisition of technical skills—suturing, emergency surgical stabilization techniques and management of fluids, etc.
  • Opportunity for intubation exposure as well as outpatient procedures in outpatient clinic
  • Inpatient and outpatient wound care visits
  • Two half-days per week in the office as R1 resident
  • Supervised management of own panel of pediatric, OB, geriatric and medicine patients
  • Continuity of care for own OB patients
  • Outpatient procedure training including joint injections, gyn and skin procedures,
  • High-risk obstetrics family practice clinic with OB attending complements routine OB visits as well as routine review of ultrasounds by OB
  • Anticoagulation clinics for Family Health Center patients supervised and taught by expert pharmacologist

SECOND-YEAR RESIDENCY (R2) Heading link

  • Valuable experience in the office management of pediatric problems
  • Curricular focus on adolescent health and pediatric behavior disorders including eating, depression and ADHD
  • Opportunity to cater to special interests, e.g., clinics with anesthesiology, wound care, headache, neurology, pain management, pulmonary, urgent care, OMT (osteopathic manipulative therapy), woman’s health, integrative medicine or physical therapy
  • Management of a broad range of critical care problems for family medicine exposure
  • Mechanical ventilator management
  • Procedural skills potentially including intubation, thoracentesis and placement of central and arterial lines
  • Option to follow in sleep disorders clinic
  • Full management of critically ill patients acting as consultant with specialist support
  • Sharpen skills of diagnosis of infectious disease including use of microbiology laboratory
  • Weekly ID resident/student presentations and one-on-one discussions with highly rated ID faculty (previous winner of multiple teaching awards from residents)
  • Interaction with very “FP- friendly” maternal-fetal medicine specialists on L&D
  • Participation on very busy OB floor with C-sections, OB triage, postpartum care, and  emergency OB mock multi disciplinary drills
  • Learn OB procedures including but not limited to: fetal heart tracing interpretation, labor management, placement of internal fetal monitors and cervical ripening balloon, triage in OB ED, option to assist on C-sections and circumcisions.
  • Deliveries up to 25-35 obstetric patients over two months supervised by family physicians and obstetricians
  • Opportunity to teach university medical students
  • NICU level III experience in tertiary care center
  • Pediatric ER experience with academic ER pediatricians and neonatologists
  • End of year transition rotation for R1 and R2 to gain experience and skills in a teaching supervisory role
  • More independent learning while managing Family Health Center inpatients in the hospital
  • 3 half-days per week in the office as R2 resident
  • Supervised management of own panel of pediatric, OB, geriatric and medicine patients
  • Continuity of care for own OB patients
  • Outpatient procedure training including joint injections, gyn and skin procedures,
  • High-risk obstetrics family practice clinic with OB attending complements routine OB visits as well as in house review of ultrasounds by OB
  • Anticoagulation clinics for Family Health Center patients supervised and taught by expert pharmacologist
  • A variety of experiences are available, including rural practice opportunity, home health care, substance abuse clinic, paramedic professionals, and the local county health department
  • Exposure to medical care in community homeless shelter and county jail setting
  • Opportunity to give community education lectures

THIRD-YEAR RESIDENCY (R3) Heading link

  • Opportunity to learn colposcopy and other gynecologic procedures
  • Outpatient gynecology cases with community faculty physicians
  • Curricular focus on immunizations, well child care and acute care with community pediatricians
  • Inpatient substance abuse treatment
  • Inpatient psychiatric services
  • Outpatient dermatology with experience with dermatological procedures including plastic surgery, biopsy procedures, etc.
  • Opportunity to cater to special interests, ie.; anesthesiology, radiology, wound care, headache, neurology, pain management, pulmonary, urgent care, osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), woman’s health, integrative medicine or physical therapy
  • Global medicine electives available (certain limitations apply)
  • Outpatient and inpatient orthopedics
  • Experience in management of acute musculoskeletal injuries and fractures via dedicated orthopedic urgent care clinic
  • Review orthopedic imaging, injections, as well as other procedures
  • Sports medicine trained family medicine attending:  winner of 2019 community attending of the year award
  • Supervisory role for inpatient care of UI Health L.P. Johnson Family Health Center patients including pediatric, nursing home, county jail as well as community physician patients
  • Attend newborn deliveries for the resident patients in supervisory role
  • Daily teaching rounds with interns and attending physicians in supervisory role
  • Multi-disciplinary rounds with staff nursing and discharge planners/case workers
  • Opportunity to teach university medical students
  • Supervisory role in didactics if done by residents
  • 3 half-days per week in the office as R2 resident
  • Supervised management of own panel of pediatric, OB, geriatric and medicine patients
  • Continuity of care for own OB patients
  • Outpatient procedure training including joint injections, gyn and skin procedures,
  • High-risk obstetrics family practice clinic with OB attending complements routine OB visits as well as in house review of ultrasounds by OB
  • Anticoagulation clinics for Family Health Center patients supervised and taught by expert pharmacologist
  • Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (Family Medicine course “ALSO”) certified in first year
  • Interaction with very “FP- friendly” maternal-fetal medicine specialists on L&D
  • Participation on very busy OB floor with C-sections, OB triage, postpartum care, and emergency OB mock multi-disciplinary drills
  • Learn OB procedures including but not limited to: fetal heart tracing interpretation, labor management, placement of internal fetal monitors and cervical ripening balloon, triage in OB ED, option to assist on C-sections and circumcisions.
  • Deliveries up to 25-35 obstetric patients over two months supervised by family physicians and obstetricians
  • Opportunity to teach university medical students

WALK-IN: 1 block

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