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Family Medicine Residency
Choosing a residency program is an important decision. Not only will it affect the next three years of your life, it will affect the course of your medical career. Many new doctors choose to build their practice close to where they complete their residency. So the location should appeal to you and your family. But location isn’t the only important thing. The quality of the Family Medicine Residency Program — and its affiliated hospitals — should be high on your list of criteria for choosing a program. Take a serious look at the University of South Florida (USF) residency program at Morton Plant Mease (MPM), located in Pinellas County on Florida’s West Coast. It’s a blend of quality hospitals, a superior Family Medicine Residency Program and weather that’s hard to beat.
University of South Florida-Morton Plant Mease
Our Family Medicine Residency Program offers:
Diverse community-based setting- Innovative, flexible and well-rounded curriculum
- Unopposed residency program at a Thomson Reuters 100 Top US Hospital
- Sports medicine fellowship and pharmacy residency on site
- Patient Centered Medical Home Level III national recognition
You can go anywhere from here - solo/group practice, fellowship, academia, research...
Grounded in Medical Excellence
Nationally recognized for health care excellence, MPM is dedicated to providing community-owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. Morton Plant Mease is comprised of four hospitals: Morton Plant in Clearwater, Mease Dunedin in Dunedin, Mease Countryside in Safety Harbor and Morton Plant North Bay in New Port Richey. This allows us to extend our quality health care reach across Pinellas and Pasco counties. Morton Plant Hospital, established in 1916 in Clearwater, is our largest health care facility with 687 beds.
All this and on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida
For more information about the Morton Plant Mease Family Residency Program in the Tampa Bay area, call 727-467-2504.
Innovation
We utilize state of the art information technology to help our residents perform their jobs more efficiently. And we never stop striving to improve our program for the benefit of our residents.
View Current Residents and Fellows
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How many residents do you accept each year and what are you looking for in residents?
We accept 8 residents per year. We are looking for applicants with a strong academic background and a demonstrated commitment to family medicine. Good interpersonal skills and a strong work ethic are equally important. Finally, we look for applicants who we feel will "fit" with our team concept of learning and practicing family medicine.
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Where do you do your hospital rotations, outpatient clinical rotations and outpatient family medicine clinic?
Our hospital rotations are primarily held at Morton Plant Hospital (MPH) in Clearwater, Florida. MPH is designated as one of Thomson Reuters 100 Top U.S. Hospitals, with all the state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technologies you would expect from the largest hospital in the area. We are the only Residents in the hospital.
We do our inpatient pediatric rotation at a nearby hospital within the Morton Plant Mease - BayCare health system. We work in an unopposed environment with Pediatric hospitalists and specialists.
When doing other community rotations in private offices, we may go to other area hospitals with our Community Attendings.
Our outpatient family medicine clinic is at the Turley Family Health Center. This is a modern, community-based facility in Clearwater, Florida featuring 24 exam rooms, 4 procedure rooms, stress testing, pulmonary function testing, hearing testing, ultrasound, on-site laboratory, onsite x-ray facility, conference room, lecture hall, library, spacious waiting rooms, medical records facilities, and electronic medical records among other resources. Each resident also has their own desk/office space upstairs.
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What is the night call like?
We use a Night Float system for our overnight call. Each PGY-1 will do three two-week blocks of night float throughout the year. The night float shift is from 7:45 pm to 9 am Sunday through Friday (six shifts). The PGY-1 on night float has no daytime responsibilities.
Senior residents have a night float system that includes three one week blocks for the entire year. Night float weeks are from 8pm-9am, Sunday through Friday (six shifts). Both second- and third-year residents are considered seniors; thus, either a PGY-2 or PGY-3 resident is in-house with the night float PGY-1 for call. While on call, senior resident responsibilities include assisting with hospital admissions, answering phone calls from patients at home, caring for any of our OB patients who present to the hospital overnight, and responding to any codes in the hospital.
There are three 12-hour call shifts each weekend. This is covered by one first year resident and one senior resident on each shift. The PGY-1 shifts are covered by a first year resident that is on any rotation except night float or in-patient pediatrics. While on night float the PGY-1 is responsible for doing admissions to the hospital, caring for patients on our service who require attention overnight, and responding to any codes in the hospital. Backup is provided by a senior resident who is on-site and by our Family Medicine and Internal Medicine faculty by telephone.
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Do you work with residents from other specialties during residency?We are an unopposed (no competing residencies/residents) residency program, which allows our residents to experience first-hand education and training in all the relevant subspecialties.
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What are the patient demographics like?At the Turley Family Health Center we see a very diverse patient mix. We see both males and females and do everything from prenatal visits to geriatrics and end-of-life care. The ethnic mix is approximately 55% Caucasian, 20% African-American, 20% Hispanic and 5% Other. We see patients who do not have any insurance and receive services on our sliding-fee scale, as well as those with full insurance. This diversity prepares us well for a variety of practice settings once we leave the residency.
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What are the strengths of the residency program
- Unopposed program
- Strong community support
- Superb Family Medicine Faculty
- Strong and enthusiastic community attendings
- Excellent location
- State-of-the-art outpatient facility
- Diverse residents
- Support of residents’ personal and family needs
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What procedures will I learn during the residency?You will be trained in the usual outpatient Family Medicine procedures: colposcopy, exercise stress tests, skin biopsies, toenail removals, joint injections/aspirations, casting/splinting, IUD insertion/removal, etc.
You will also be trained in inpatient procedures such as central line placement, intubation, thoracentesis.
Outpatient procedures are emphasized because of the nature of typical outpatient family medicine. If you are interested in getting extra experience in inpatient procedures there are plenty of opportunities for further training.
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What is the inpatient medicine experience likeThe in-patient medicine service consists of a team of two PGY-1 Residents and one Senior Resident caring for up to 14 patients under the supervision of a Pulmonology/Critical Care Attending. (We frequently have USF medical students rotating on our service as well). Each morning we pre-round on our assigned patients, then attend Morning Report at 8am, at which a teaching case is presented and the admissions from the previous night are discussed. Next we round as a team. At the bedside, the resident presents their patient to the Attending and while we review the electronic health record for pertinent labs or images. Then team sees the patient, and as a team we create our plan of care. This is very much a group effort; our Attendings allow us to make our own decisions as long as we first do no harm! After rounds we attend noon conference, then return to the hospital. Our afternoons are spent following up on the patients, their labs, imaging, tests and consults. The afternoons are also spent discharging patients, admitting new patients, and teaching. One afternoon per week, the Residents are excused from inpatient medicine responsibilities so that they can attend to their continuity patients in clinic.
We have a separate Turley inpatient Family Medicine service for our own clinic patients who are admitted. This is run by one senior Resident and one Family Medicine Attending for the week. PGY-2's have four one-week blocks of Turley Inpatient Medicine; and PGY-3's have three one-week blocks. -
What involvement do residents have with the USF Sports Medicine Fellowship?We spend time with the Fellows and Attendings on our Sports Medicine rotation and can also do an elective rotation in Sport Medicine. In the Sports Medicine Clinic we see athletes and active persons at all functional levels and with various common sports injuries. We are exposed to the appropriate use of musculoskeletal ultrasound and neurocognitive testing in athletes. There are opportunities to interact and discuss cases in an informal atmosphere with either Sports Medicine Fellows or Attendings both while on the Sports Medicine rotations or any time we are in the outpatient clinic. There are multiple opportunities to engage in formal didactics in Sports Medicine and we can receive training and supervision at mass participation sporting events if interested.
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What do your graduates end up doing after graduation?Anything and everything! About half of our graduates stay in the local area; the rest are scattered nationwide. The practices they have chosen range from inner city to rural, indigent care to boutique, cosmetic medicine to sports medicine and everything in between. A number of our graduates have been accepted into fellowships that include Faculty Development, Geriatrics, Palliative Care, Health Policy Leadership, Obstetrics, Integrative Medicine and Sports Medicine. Our residency prepares us to work in whatever setting we wish.
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Are the residents involved in community events?Yes, our residents are involved in many community events, including providing medical coverage at Back to School Health Fairs, during local sporting events and at the Ironman Competition. Our residents also volunteer at the Willa Carson Center, LaClinica Guadalupana, and at free skin screening events in the community and at Turley Family Health Center.
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Are residents allowed to moonlight?Yes, senior residents (PGY-2 and 3) who have received their state licenses and are in good academic standing are allowed to moonlight in the evenings or on weekends. We have a standing relationship with BayCare outpatient imaging centers where we provide after-hours and Saturday coverage for possible intravenous contrast allergic reactions. This allows us to gain valuable clinical knowledge managing acute situations, while also allowing Residents free time to complete clinic responsibilities, study, or just watch some television and rest! Other opportunities with BayCare Urgent Care centers are possible.