Field with hay bales

Primary Care Program
 NMRP Program ID: 1848140M0

Welcome from the Program Director

UK’s primary care program was launched in 1978 to better serve the needs of our Commonwealth. Over the years, the program has evolved and now includes a 50/50 time split between outpatient and inpatient training. 

While the majority of our graduates stay in Kentucky as primary care physicians in underserved communities, our program is committed to giving its graduates the tools and skills to be leaders in whatever specialty or practice setting they choose.

The primary care program exists within the larger categorical residency program, allowing for a close-knit family feel amongst the residents and faculty (check us out on Instagram).  In order to provide each trainee the complete experience of this program, applicants must apply for the primary care program during the match process with a separate National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) code from the categorical residency program.

Devin Oller, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Primary Care Residency Program Director
Department of Internal Medicine
devin.oller@uky.edu

 

Program Structure

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UK's primary care residency program and the categorical internal medicine program are fully integrated and many rotations are common to both. 50 percent of PC residents’ schedule is dedicated to ambulatory training over the course of their three years in the program.

Outpatient Clinical Experience

  • Three years of continuity clinic

  • Two months of rural private practice clinic

  • Three years of individualized subspecialty clinic

    • Internal medicine-based: addiction medicine, allergy and immunology, cardiology, endocrine, gastroenterology, HIV primary care, hematology-oncology, infectious disease, nephrology, pulmonology, and rheumatology

    • Non-medicine-based: dermatology, geriatrics, gynecology, obesity medicine, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, urology, and sports medicine

  • Acute care call-in clinic

  • Resident/uninsured student clinic

  • Longitudinal quality improvement project

Ambulatory Educational Curriculum

All ambulatory curriculum is in addition to the education curriculum provided to all categorical residents. This additional curriculum includes:

  • Weekly case conferences

  • High-yield clinical topics, business of medicine, board review, and difficult conversations

  • Monthly ambulatory care workshops given by our subspecialty colleagues.

  • Monthly primary care grand rounds

Inpatient vs Outpatient Months

Categorical Track

PGY1, PGY2, & PGY3:  four months clinic and eight months hospital

Primary Care Track

PGY1:  four months clinic and eight months hospital

PGY2:  five months clinic, one month off-site clinic, and six months hospital

PGY3:  seven months clinic, one month off-site clinic, and four months hospital

Sample Master Schedule

 

PGY 1*

PGY 2**

PGY 3**

UK Ambulatory Clinic

4

5

1

Off-Site Ambulatory Clinic

0

1

1

UK Wards

2

1

1

VA Wards

1

1

1

Morehead Wards

1

0

0

Good Samaritan Wards

0

1

1

MICU

1

1

1

CCU

0

1

0

ER

0

1

0

Neurology

1

0

0

Cardiology

1

0

0

Night Float

1

0

0

 

Number of months on each rotation
*PGY 1 – 3 vacation weeks
**PGY 2/3 – 4 vacation weeks

Sample Ambulatory Clinic Block Schedule

 

Time

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Sun

7:30-8:00

 

Morning Report

 

Morning Report

Morning Report

Off

Off

8:15-12:00

Continuity Clinic

Specialty Clinic

Continuity Clinic

Specialty Clinic

Task Time

Off

Off

12:00-1:00

Noon Conference

Noon Conference

Noon Conference

Noon Conference

Grand Rounds

Off

Off

1:00 – 5:00

Specialty Clinic

Task Time

Primary Care Weekly Conference

Continuity Clinic

Continuity Clinic

Off

Off

 

Post-Graduation Careers

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Graduates of our internal medicine primary care program have a wide range of career opportunities. Over the past five years, 16 of our graduates have pursued careers in primary care-based practices. The remaining graduates chose a career as a generalist in hospital medicine or went on to pursue fellowship training.

Our residents are supported in their career planning no matter what field they decide and have one-on-one mentorship for CV development, interviewing, and contract negotiations. The track's individualized ambulatory clinical experiences help each resident to succeed in their chosen field of medicine even if they decide to pursue a career outside of primary care.

Year Primary Care Hospitalist Subspecialty
2022 6 1 0
2021 4 1 1
2020 2 1 1
2019 3 1 2
5-Year% 67% 21% 12%

Primary Care Residents

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Primary Care Chief Residents

Van Giles, MD

I think the PC track is the best of both worlds, providing a strong inpatient training while also giving you extra clinic times and the added opportunity to work in a large variety of sub-specialty clinics. My favorite perk is the Cynthiana rotation in your second year, as someone who is going to be working in rural Kentucky this rotation allows exposure to a different patient population and high volume with a wonderful supervisor. Ultimately the PC track is a small family within a large family, from happy hours, Christmas outings, and farewell dinners you will definitely feel a sense of belonging with leadership that care about your future.  

 

Anna Overmann, MD

The primary care track at UK prioritizes experiences in ambulatory medicine that help residents build the knowledge base essential for being a well-prepared general internist. Residents have unique opportunities to explore subspecialty clinic areas and to rotate in private and rural practice settings. Additionally, our weekly didactic learning experiences are geared toward practical knowledge relevant to issues in primary care (such as billing and coding, in-office procedures, and POCUS). Most importantly, the culture among co-residents is supportive and caring. Faculty are equally passionate about mentorship and helping residents succeed in their career goals. I'm so thankful to have benefitted from my experiences in the PC track.