The first year of our rural family medicine residency lays the foundation for a career in full-spectrum practice. Residents gain robust, hands-on experience across key domains essential to rural care, including adult inpatient medicine, obstetrics, emergency medicine, inpatient pediatrics, and continuity clinic. With an emphasis on managing complex, undifferentiated patients, interns develop strong clinical reasoning, procedural skills, and confidence in high-acuity settings. Longitudinal clinic experience ensures early ownership of patient panels, while immersive rotations in hospital and community settings prepare residents to serve as versatile, front-line rural physicians.

The second year of residency builds on the strong foundation of intern year as you continue to dive deep into the core components of rural family medicine. You’ll gain increased independence managing patients across hospital, clinic, and emergency settings while continuing longitudinal care in your continuity clinic. This year emphasizes procedural skill development, with hands-on training in central lines, paracentesis, thoracentesis, intubations, and point-of-care ultrasound—skills essential for high-acuity rural practice. Elective time provides the flexibility to pursue individualized interests across a wide range of topics, allowing you to tailor your training to meet the unique needs of your future rural community.

The third year marks the culmination of your training and the transition from learner to rural physician leader. As a senior resident, you take on a supervisory role on the inpatient service—guiding first- and second-year residents, supporting critical decision-making, and teaching core procedures such as intubations, central lines, and point-of-care ultrasound. Your continuity clinic expands, deepening the relationships you’ve built with patients throughout residency and preparing you for long-term care in a rural setting. With increased elective time, you can focus your training on specific interests such as substance use disorder treatment, inpatient medicine, obstetrics, or office-based procedures. This final year is designed to solidify your clinical, procedural, and leadership skills—ensuring you’re ready to step confidently into practice and serve as a cornerstone of care in your rural community.