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Curriculum

Our three-year program is divided yearly into thirteen rotation blocks, each four weeks long. Rotations in the first year are primarily through inpatient services and include participation on the Family Medicine service, the ICU or CCU medicine service, obstetrical services, pediatric service and psychiatry service. All these services are intense, busy and rich learning experiences.

In years 2 and 3 residents spend some time on inpatient services but the focus shifts to the ambulatory setting as residents assume increasing responsibility for their panels of patients in the Family Health Center. PGY 2 residents average 3 sessions per week in the Family Health Center and PGY 3 residents average 4 sessions per week.

During rotations and in the Family Health Center residents work closely with attending physicians who enjoy mentoring our residents and who work “hands on” to provide an outstanding, personalized educational experience.

Our obstetrics program is centered at the Mercer Center campus where residents and faculty deliver their pregnant patients. Obstetricians, midwives and our own Family Medicine physicians teach residents. The inpatient rotations are busy and exciting with lots of opportunity for learning and doing the basics of obstetrical care.

Longitudinal obstetrical care occurs during the PGY 2 and 3 years as residents acquire skills in managing their own pregnant women through pregnancy, delivery and beyond.

Residents also learn the basics of pediatrics on the inpatient services at the Mercer campus and are taught by the Capital Health System pediatric specialists. Residents develop pediatric ambulatory skills in the Family Health Center as well as in the pediatric outpatient clinics and through rotations with community pediatricians.

In all areas of study we teach critical thinking and base diagnoses and treatment on the best available evidence. Whenever indicated we integrate a large variety of “alternative” therapies into our routine patient management. The Family Medicine faculty is committed to teaching a style of practice in which patients are understood in the context of their lives. Promoting wellness is the heart of our program.

The residents will progress through the three-year curriculum as they achieve clearly defined competency in areas of study. Upon completion of our program, residents graduate confident in their ability to pass the Boards in Family Medicine, confident they can care for their patients and confident they can be life-long learners of the ever-changing art of Family Medicine.

Below is a list of the rotations for each year, PGY I, II and III.

© 2004 ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 675 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08854