Our program has unique features and is specifically designed to train full-scope family doctors to serve in rural and underserved settings like the one here in the beautiful mountains of Boone, NC. From your first day, you are treated as an integral member of the team. Your training will allow you to experience a large breadth of knowledge, procedural skills, and ultimately life as a family doctor while you take care of patients in the delivery room, intensive care unit, nursing homes, and home visits. Clinical opportunities are longitudinal to emphasize the continuity of care across settings as well as the relationships with the people we help find health and wellness. As a program in a small mountain town, leadership and influence take many forms including community outreach, school-based health, hospital committees, and serving the most vulnerable patients. Your teachers are experienced family doctors and other health professionals who share the desire to make a difference.
For more than 40 years, our curriculum has provided outstanding medical training as the largest Area Health Education Center in North Carolina and the nation. Residents have always been key contributors to our program’s environment of innovation. Our comprehensive training places a strong emphasis on rural medicine, community-based care, women’s health, behavioral medicine, geriatrics, and the care of special populations including patients with substance use disorders.
As a true community-based program, we are committed to responding to the needs of our community and the region in which we live. Our more intimate learning environment emphasizes experiential learning, innovative modules, and comprehensive procedural opportunities. Residents and faculty alike share a commitment to teach and learn together, all with the aim of providing improved care. Our supportive group of faculty share the experience of providing great care to patients and one another while living in a beautiful mountain community. This is a program that allows for a wide range of enriching clinical experiences in a personalized setting. By maximizing flexibility in styles for adult learners, residents develop into their best potential while attaining well-rounded skills applicable to any practice setting.
The strains on the day-to-day life of today’s physician extend well beyond the exam room. The ability to establish healthy habits and support during your training is pivotal to our future success. We encourage a work environment, schedule, and personal support network that nurtures you as a valued colleague during this phase of your development. Furthermore, we provide enough flexibility to optimize your experiences, which will add both personal and professional value to your individual focus and goals. We believe strongly that the best family doctors are those who have whole lives, and learn how to balance professional commitment and personal growth early in their careers.
Come and visit our program and our community in the breathtaking high country mountains of Western North Carolina. You’ll discover a group of dedicated and compassionate people that share a desire to help others and grow together. I wish you the best of luck in the next step of your journey in medicine.
