USC/California Hospital Medical Center
Family Medicine Residency Program

Program Philosophy

What is the role of the Family Physician in this society as we enter the 21st Century? We believe the primary role is to help shift people's focus from "illness" to "wellness." The specialty of Family Medicine attends to the multi-dimensional areas of being human, rather- than just the physical, physiological and pharmacological.

In order to help people become wellness-oriented and to maintain a state of well-being, the doctor becomes more than the traditional Western-trained physician, an expert in anatomy and biochemistry, microbiology and physiology. The physician becomes an advisor, a teacher and a partner in delivering healthcare to a more responsible patient or client. The Family Physician should be trained as an objective scientist with the awareness and caring of a human being that is both friend and consultant. The Family Physician believes that patients are responsible for their own health. In the role as advisor, the physician teaches the patient how to delineate problem areas and what led to their creation, and their evolution. Offering knowledge and advice, the physician counsels regarding problem resolution and prevention of recurrence. The patients learn to see there are different options in making a decision and that only they are responsible for that decision.

The Family Physician is the primary facilitator of change on the physical level and offers preventive health counseling or diet & exercises, and traditional medical treatment with medications and the range of office-based procedures. The Family Physician also recognizes that the patient may have needs on the emotional, mental, spiritual, familial, or cultural levels, and is willing to address these needs and help the patient make decisions in a more conscious manner.

Our training program is intimately involved in providing healthcare services to a cross-section of the population. The city of Los Angeles is a rich mix of racial and ethnic groups, including African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Central Americans, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese and Southeast Asians. We feel a deep commitment to train our Family Medicine Residents for the practice of medicine in this city. We therefore stress the importance of cross-cultural training and sensitivity to cultural issues.

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