Rotations and Curriculum

Facilities

Mercy Health — Fairfield Hospital

Fairfield Hospital has 211 acute care beds, with 36 emergency department beds, 36 ICU beds, and has over 12,000 discharges annually. The hospital offers a broad range of inpatient and outpatient services. It was recently listed on Becker's "Great Hospitals in America" and has also been listed among "America's Best 50 Hospitals" by Healthgrades.

Mercy Health — Fairfield Hospital Family Medicine Practice — Continuity Clinic

The Family Medicine Residency Practice is located on the campus of Mercy Health — Fairfield Hospital and was purposefully designed with resident education and patient-centered care in mind. The clinic features modern exam rooms, including a dedicated procedure room, all equipped with in-room computers to support seamless documentation and point-of-care learning. Transitional Year residents will work alongside Family Medicine residents and with the Family Medicine residency faculty as attending physicians while in the continuity clinic.

As the core site for continuity of care, the clinic provides residents with hands-on experience managing a diverse panel of patients across all age groups and health conditions. From preventive care and chronic disease management to behavioral health and in-office procedures, residents gain comprehensive ambulatory training in a real-world, team-based setting.

Residents will rotate through the clinic in a structured block schedule, allowing for focused time in the outpatient setting.

With on-campus access to laboratory services and ancillary support, the Mercy Health — Fairfield Family Medicine Practice is poised to become a high-functioning medical home and a cornerstone of our residency training in the ambulatory setting.

Block Schedule

Block Rotations, 1st Year — PGY 1

Site 1 = Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital  |  Site 2 = American Pain Consortium  |  Vacation: PGY-1 = 20 days

Our academic year consists of 13 four-week blocks, offering a well-balanced mix of inpatient, outpatient, and elective experiences. Residents rotate through core areas such as internal medicine, intensive care, emergency medicine, and surgery, with the opportunity and flexibility to pursue required rotations per their categorical training requirements or electives based on personal interest or career goals.

Continuity clinic, as a requirement for the program, allows residents to develop and manage their own patient panels throughout the year. The schedule is designed to support wellness, with no shifts exceeding 12 hours and an emphasis on balanced workloads and progressive autonomy.

As a new program, we offer residents the unique opportunity to help shape the educational structure and culture as the program grows.

Resident Didactics

Our Transitional Year residency offers a robust, structured didactic curriculum designed to complement hands-on clinical training. Protected educational time is scheduled every Wednesday afternoon 12:30-4:30pm, allowing residents to fully engage in a variety of learning sessions. This coincides with Family Medicine most weeks.

Didactic topics span a wide range of core clinical concepts and include:

• Board Review & Case Reports – Interactive, evidence-based learning to reinforce high-yield clinical knowledge and test preparation.
• Journal Club – Residents critically review and present clinical literature to strengthen skills in evidence-based medicine.
• OMT Lecture & Lab – For osteopathic residents and interested allopaths, hands-on training in manipulative techniques is incorporated regularly.
• Lifestyle Medicine & Health Systems – Emphasis on preventative care, behavior change, and population health.
• Procedural Workshops – Simulation-based training on core ambulatory and inpatient procedures (e.g., joint injections, skin procedures, women's health techniques).
• Specialty Faculty Lectures – Presentations from a diverse group of attending physicians to broaden clinical exposure.
• Research and Practice Management – Residents engage in continuous development through sessions focused on scholarship, inclusive care, and leadership skills.

Our curriculum is continuously updated based on resident feedback and clinical relevance, ensuring meaningful, practical education that directly supports your growth as a physician.

Wellness

Four times per year on didactic schedule time we will have wellness days that residents are encouraged to use for their own personal care and recovery. We will also organize group sessions for those interested in participating. Wellness will be an ongoing continued emphasis throughout the year with didactic sessions also focusing on this subject.

GME/Institution

Topics will be presented by GME and/or the institution and include:

• Resident forum with DIO
• Administrative Hospital Related topics/initiatives and quality metrics
• Wellness (financial, mental, and other)
• Social Determinants of Health
• Other topics as determined by GME or the institution

Research and Scholarly Activity

All residents are required to have scholarly activity as a graduation requirement. Residents are required to complete one quality improvement project and one scholarly activity during residency. To aid in these scholarly endeavors, we have the support of a Regional Academic Research Coordinator, Dr. Theresa Hageman.