Additional Training Sites and Educational Experiences
University of North Carolina Hospitals
This 803 bed tertiary care teaching facility provides a unique opportunity for learning the management of diseases in a
technically sophisticated environment. It also serves as the community hospital for Chapel Hill. UNC Hospitals support a comprehensive range of residencies of excellent quality and strong reputations across the country. Family practice residents work closely with, and learn with, residents in other specialties. There is a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services available within the institution.
Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIS)
The Family Medicine Inpatient Service provides a strong presence for Family Medicine in the UNC Hospital system at UNC Hillsborough Hospital. A major portion of inpatient medical training for FM residents occurs on this busy service that provides care for a wide variety of conditions and acuity level that includes care of patients in an open ICU. Residents rotate through the service for 8 weeks in the first year, 12 weeks in the second year and 5-6 weeks in the third year of residency. This rotation consists of a broad spectrum of inpatient family medicine with educational emphases on the management of acutely ill patients, selection of therapeutic agents, appropriate consultation, and skills in interviewing, physical exam, point-of-care ultrasound, inpatient procedures, and critical appraisal of the literature. Multidisciplinary care is emphasized with case managers and pharmacists as key members of the team who actively participate in rounds.
Family Centered Perinatal Care (FCPC)
The Family Centered Perinatal Care service provides obstetrical and newborn services for patients seen at the FMC practice and with our FQHC Track residents at Prospect Hill and Siler City. Second and third year residents cover this service. The focus is on continuity of care by providing prenatal care, assisting in labor and delivery, and then following the new dyad to the postpartum floor and after discharge from the hospital. The FCPC service also handles the inpatient obstetrical care for patients who seek their health care at the Orange County Health Departments and other Family Medicine community practices. Our FCPC service delivers approximately 450 babies per year.
Other UNC Rotations
Family Medicine residents also complete rotations in other departments at UNC hospitals. In the first year, the Emergency Department experience provides an opportunity to evaluate and care for emergent medical problems and determine patient dispositions. During procedures, residents spend time in the ED focusing on procedural skills including suturing, I&D’s, and ultrasounding. During second and third year, residents rotate through the Pediatric Emergency Departments at UNC and Wake Med Hospitals. Portions of the ENT, dermatology, and sports medicine rotations also occur at UNC hospitals, satellite clinics of UNC and private practice clinics.
Wake Medical Center
WakeMed is an 870-bed, private, not-for-profit health care system serving eastern North Carolina. It is located in Raleigh
approximately 35 minutes from Chapel Hill. Below are some interesting facts about this community hospital:
- Wake Med is home to North Carolina’s first freestanding Children’s Emergency Department. It is a national model and serves more than 40,000 children each year.
- The WakeMed Heart Center ranks number one in volume among all North Carolina hospitals in providing cardiac care and is also one of the highest volume heart centers in the United States.
- Mobile critical care services offering ground and air transport for adults and children.
- Hosts one of eight mother’s milk banks in the world.
- Two nationally accredited Chest Pain Centers.
- Pediatrics specialists in surgery, neurology, endocrinology, orthopaedics, neonatology, child development and more.
Wake Med is Wake County’s only:
- Level I Trauma Center as designated by the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services.
- Neuro intensive care unit and dedicated neurosciences inpatient unit.
- Children’s inpatient unit and intensive care unit – staffed around the clock by pediatric intensivists.
- Children’s diabetes and asthma programs.
- Emergency Services Institute focusing on research, emergency preparedness and response in the event of community emergencies and disaster either natural or man-made.
- Patient Simulation Center for training health professionals.
With over 35,000 admissions, 100,000 visits in the emergency department, and close to 5,000 deliveries a year, residents report that Wake Med is an excellent site for community-based training. Family Medicine residents spend a total of six months at Wake in the first year and 1 month in the third year.
Wake Pediatrics
Pediatrics (1 month each on inpatient, outpatient clinic and the Pediatric Emergency Department) at Wake Medical Center has always been very popular and provides core experiences in pediatric problems. Teaching on this service consistently receives high ratings from our residents. Residents adapt to the day shift and night float system in place by the pediatrics service, serving as a member of the team covering the pediatrics floor during the inpatient month and as a cross-cover during the outpatient month.
Wake Obstetrics
The six-week obstetric rotation centers on a very busy labor and delivery service. Residents average 30-80 deliveries a month. Time is also spent in the prenatal care and GYN clinics.
Chatham Hospital
Chatham Hospital (CH) is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital, located in Siler City, NC, that is part of the UNC Health Care System. This hospital has a 76-year history of providing health care to the residents of Chatham and surrounding counties. The hospital provides surgical, medical, pediatric, obstetric, and emergency services. Community based outpatient services in the area of Diabetes Education, Physical Therapy, Imaging, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Pulmonary Rehabilitation are also offered. As a critical access hospital, Chatham Hospital is able to utilize beds to provide interim care to patients who no longer require acute medical care but need additional time and care for strengthening and recuperation before returning home. The 11-bed emergency department provides full-service around-the-clock care to nearly 20,000 patients each year. What makes Chatham Hospital an even more unique is that it is primarily ran by family medicine physicians.
Updated July 2023