Family Medicine

Welcome to the Howard University Hospital Family Medicine Residency Training Program webpage. It is our intent to provide the best quality training for our residents.

The Howard University Family Medicine Residency Training Program began in 1970 - one of the very first Family Medicine Residency Programs in the nation. This program was conceived based upon patient need, with the understanding that our patients required coordination of medical services from acute care through tertiary care. The Program began with 2 residents and has expanded to a program of 6-6-6 with a total of 18 residents.

We have also developed an undergraduate program, which is a required clerkship in the College of Medicine, and the program has been functioning since 1973. This is a significant portion of our contribution to the medical school.  It provides the residents opportunities to teach, interact and mentor medical students while it also allows faculty to guide future family physicians.

Our program seeks to provide training for residents who desire to care for a diverse population of patients with a primary focus on the underserved community in the DC metropolitan area. The goal is to ensure training and competency to practice in all settings.  Our graduates have gone into various types of practices including outpatient care, hospitalist medicine, and academic family medicine. We have also had graduates undertake fellowship training in Geriatrics, Hospice and Palliative Care, Primary Care Sports Medicine, Emergency medicine and Surgical Obstetrics. Our focus is to help residents achieve their career goals while ensuring that they are well prepared to become board certified family physicians.

Our residents participate in a wide variety of community programs as well as the local chapter of the AAFP.

We are privileged to have a faculty group with varying interests including health policy, primary care sports medicine, public health, and addiction medicine. This ensures that the residents get in-depth exposure to these areas of family medicine.

Washington DC the capital city of the nation, is a diverse multi-cultural metropolitan city and an excellent place to live. There is a wide variety of historical sites to visit and the district has undergone rapid development in the last few years. There is a large number of restaurants and a vibrant night life.

We look forward to having the opportunity to show all the excellent opportunities available here and also to show why this is one of the best places to be trained.

CURRICULUM

The goal of the Howard University Family Medicine Residency Program is to develop highly trained physicians who are eligible to sit for the Family Medicine Specialty Boards after graduation and can manage medical problems in a longitudinal and comprehensive manner. The Program Requirements for Residency Education in Family Medicine developed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are the basis of the Program's curriculum. An annual In-Service examination provided by the American Board of Family Medicine, administered on the last week in October, measures the trainees' progress among peers across the nation.

Family Medicine is comprehensive medical care with a particular emphasis on the patient as a member of a family unit and the psychosocial aspects of functioning within this unit as it pertains to health. The Family Practitioner's responsibility is to manage the patient's health care needs-irrespective of age, gender, or malady-while maintaining a confidential and professional relationship with the patient. The Family Physician personally coordinates the efforts of all the health care professionals involved in the care of the patient throughout the illness, recovery, rehabilitation, and follow-up.

Although the body of knowledge that constitutes the discipline of Family Practice is derived from other disciplines such as Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, and Psychiatry, emphasis is placed on the efficient integration and coordination of necessary health services. The Family Medicine physician establishes a cohesive approach to health care combining behavioral sciences with traditional biological and clinical sciences. The core of knowledge within this discipline prepares the Family Physician for the patient's first contact with the health care system and throughout ongoing care.

Accreditation Statement

The Howard University Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program has full accreditation with the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education - www.acgme.org).  The Howard University Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program also boast having 100 percent board pass rate for the last 5 years.