USC/California Hospital
Family Medicine Residency

Program Goals

The Family Medicine Residency Program at California Hospital Medical Center is a unit within the Department of Family Medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine. The program aims to provide a strong core educational experience while encouraging residents to pursue their own personal education and practice goals. The USC/CHMC Family Medicine Residency is one of two residencies administered by the Department of Family Medicine. As the older of the Department's two residencies, USC/CHMC was established in 1984 and is one of a few Family Medicine Residency programs in the United States located at an inner-city community hospital. Our Family Medicine residents are taught specific skills to assist them in practicing in a multi-cultural surrounding. Flexibility is built into the program, and that, along with the core competencies, is the goal of the residency curriculum.

A resident's individual plans and interests, in conjunction with faculty advice, will determine the content and format of elective experiences during the second and third years of the program. Remarkable resources exist in the community and through the School of Medicine's affiliated programs to offer residents almost any pertinent elective experience. Family Medicine Residents have the opportunity to participate in developing the Residency Program. The faculty is committed to the concept of resident-management in formulating the future directions of the Residency Program.
At the end of the three-year Family Medicine Residency Program at California Hospital Medical Center the Family Physician shall:

1. Have the necessary knowledge of medicine to manage health care for all patients.
2. Have data handling, recording and communication skills necessary to define, prioritize and plan solutions for health problems.
3. Have the necessary knowledge of community and preventive medicine to implement disease prevention and health maintenance programs for the individual and the community.
4. Understand his/her own personality dynamics, especially as these affect interpersonal relations, whether dealing with patients, families, staff or peers.
5. Have an understanding of personal support systems, including the family unit, different types of families, alternative life-styles, and the stages through which families evolve.
6. Have an understanding of family dynamics and how they are affected by illness.
7. Have the necessary knowledge of human behavior to guide the individual patient and/or family unit to effective healthcare.
8. Have management skills necessary to utilize office systems, office personnel, paramedical personnel and consultants to provide effective and efficient healthcare.
9. Be committed to the concept of continuing medical education throughout his/her lifetime.
10. Have sensitivity to and an understanding of how different cultures affect people's attitudes toward health and illness.
11. Recognize and incorporate the various dimensions that are involved in maintaining health, preventing illness and in creating a treatment plan for patients.