Primary Care Training Program
Welcome
We’re delighted you are interested BMC’s Primary Care Training Program. Our mission is to train leaders in the primary care of underserved populations by equipping our trainees with outstanding skills in clinical care, advocacy, education, and research. We accomplish this in a collegial learning environment with an emphasis on clinical excellence, evidence-based practice and a heightened understanding of psychosocial factors and structural determinants of health. The global nature of our patient population enables our residents to gain a particularly wide array of clinical experiences that prepare them for independent practice anywhere.
The cornerstones of our training are our outstanding and diverse continuity clinic sites and our primary care blocks.
Clinic Sites
Our residents practice primary care in a variety of clinical settings throughout Boston:
Crosstown
Community Health Centers
Second Continuity Clinic
The Primary Care Block
Structure
Each primary care block is composed of a continuity clinic (+1) week, didactic week, and 2 elective weeks. For PGY-1s and PGY-2s, elective weeks are generally populated by one of our core clinical immersions. PGY-1s have 2 primary care blocks over the course of the year; PGY-3s have 3 primary care blocks. All primary care residents will also have monthly clinic weeks, as all residents in our program do.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | ||
| Clinic week | AM | Subspecialty clinic: ID | Subspecialty clinic: ID | Health equity pathway time | Administrative time | Academic half day |
| PM | Continuity clinic | Continuity clinic | Continuity clinic | Refugee clinic | Continuity clinic | |
| Didactic week | AM | CBT for chronic pain | IUD simulation | Self-study | Breast health
Memory disorders for the PCP |
Knee injection simulation |
| PM | Correctional health
Liberation Medicine |
Depression 101 | Addiction Medicine & walking tour | Intro to scholarship
Narrative writing |
Self-study | |
| Core immersion:
Women’s Health |
AM | Breast clinic | Women’s Health primary care | LARC clinic | Self-study module: Contraception | Breast clinic |
| PM | Self-study module:
Abnormal uterine bleeding |
Self-study module: Breast health | Self-study module: Early Pregnancy care | Women’s Health primary care | Self-study module: Menopause | |
| Core immersion: Geriatrics | AM | Home-based primary care | Home-based primary care | Nursing home | PACE program | Self-study |
| PM | Home-based primary care | Home-based primary care | Nursing home | PACE program | Self-study |
Curriculum
The didactic week curriculum is composed of interactive sessions covering key clinical content domains in primary care, health systems and policy, primary care innovation, health equity, and professional development. Sessions are delivered by content experts and core faculty in our primary care track, and include plenty of opportunities for peer teaching. To see a detailed curriculum map from previous years, click here.
The additional ambulatory training gave me an edge over other new residency grads when I first started practicing. I felt much more comfortable in areas of outpatient medicine that are not traditionally part of an IM residency experience. – Quote from our alum
After Graduation Plans
The vast majority of our graduates go on to practice primary care in a variety of settings: academic, community health, private practice. Examples of recent post-graduate plans: Chief Residency, Community Health Center Primary Care, Clinician Educator, Geriatrics fellow, Addiction Medicine fellow, Women’s Health fellow, GIM fellow, private practice, Indian Health Service. Click below for graduates for the past 5 years.
PC Alumni- What did they do after residency?
PCTP Community
The primary care program offers a smaller community within the larger residency community, and we seek to foster these connections by creating a supportive and nurturing community. The PCTP hosts a number of social and professional development events outside the hospital which offer the opportunity for residents to engage together and with our wonderful faculty, including a summer BBQ, multiple potlucks, a retreat, and graduation.
Annual Advocacy Project
Read More Here
Resident Scholarship
Read More Here
FAQ
What if I’m not sure about a career in primary care? Should I still apply?
We encourage applications from anyone considering a career in primary care; the interview process can be a useful opportunity to understand more about careers and training in primary care.
How does the primary care training differ from categorical clinical training?
Primary care residents receive identical inpatient training opportunities to our categorical residents, including MICU and subspecialty wards rotations, at both BMC and the West Roxbury VA. They are also scheduled for an equivalent amount of elective time. Primary care residents receive additional outpatient clinical training through core immersions during their primary care block.
Where do primary care residents have their continuity clinics?
Primary care residents may have their continuity clinic practice at one of our affiliated community health centers, VA, or large hospital-based primary care clinics. Primary care residents also receive priority placement at second continuity clinics during their PGY-2 and PGY-3 years.
Are primary care residents still incorporated into the overall residency?
Yes! Primary care residents are integrated into our X+Y system, just like categorical residents; that is, they rotate through their clinic weeks (Y or +1 weeks) with residents from both the primary care and categorical tracks. As a result, primary care residents enjoy the opportunity to be part of 2 communities within the larger residency community: the community of the primary care program, and that of their clinic group.
Can primary care residents participate in residency pathways?
Yes! Primary care residents may participate in any of our residency pathways.