Q & A

There are a lot of factors to consider when applying to a residency program. Will I get enough hands-on clinical experience? Will I be competing with other learners for the same patients? Will there be a diverse patient population? Will I get the depth of experience I need to become a competent, independent practicing physician?  Will I get important mentoring and are the faculty going to listen to me?  Is it better to be a part of an existing residency program or go with one that’s new?  These are all great questions.

At Memorial, you will be a part of the healthcare team, not just an observer. We have high expectations for you just as you have high expectations of us. Our first few classes of residents, more than any others, will significantly shape the program. The good news: Designing a new residency allowed us to implement the best evidence-based processes, education, and clinical approaches found in successful family medicine residencies. We hand-picked the medical staff who are the most engaged in academic medicine. It allows us to implement more effective, interactive, didactics and learning. In our program, residents are not competing for patients, we are unopposed and you will have your own patient load with private attendings. Finally, there are no old bad habits or broken systems to fix. You won’t be just another resident in a sea of residents.

We expect to be a mentoring relationship, encouraging equal respect for both the learner and the teacher. The expectations for faculty are to foster learning and growth through effective, thoughtful feedback and teaching. The expectation for our residents is to apply themselves to their fullest ability and provide constructive feedback and solutions. It takes both engaged faculty and residents to build an outstanding residency.

We have two Family medicine practice centers all within 20 minutes of each other that will create a diverse patient population from newborns to geriatrics. Residents will rotate through their home clinics and will be assigned their own patients. You will continue to provide care throughout your three years. You will also be assigned patients in the other two clinics regularly to ensure you get the most diverse patient and disease populations.

The inpatient hospital service is made up of your clinic patients along with unreferred or undoctored patients presenting via the emergency room. There will be a mixed payor source including private pay, Medicare, Medicaid, and self-pay. The goal is always to maximize exposure to a variety of medical needs within a diverse patient population.

Didactic time is protected. We will meet one half day a week when we get together for a mixture of case presentations, board review, grand round presentations, research training, fine tuning administrative issues, and focusing on well-being. Our goal is to teach thinking through innovative methods rather than just sitting through lectures. This is meant to be an educational, interactive, and engaging experience.

Research is an important part of residency training. We require all residents at a minimum to prepare a project or case study for presentation or publication. All residents are required to complete a Quality Improvement project, as well. Research support and instruction is readily available and built into the didactic curriculum.

No Mandatory Away Rotations

All core rotations are completed locally – there are no required away rotations. This ensures residents can focus on their continuity clinics and community connections without unnecessary travel or disruption.

Elective Opportunities

Residents also have the flexibility to explore areas of interest through electives. One unique option is an inpatient pediatric elective located in Jackson, MS, offering additional experience in higer-acuity pediatric care.

Yes. Prenatal care will be performed through a community FQHC clinic. Deliveries will be at Memorial using our new OB Hospitalist service.

Collaborative and Unopposed Training

Our residency program is structured to ensure that Family Medicine residents receive the broad, comprehensive training they need–while also benefitting from opportunities to collaborate with other specialties.

Working Alongside Internal Medicine

We are proud to have an Internal Medicine residency within our institution. While each program maintains its own core rotations and training focus, there are a few select experiences where Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residents train together. These include:

• Subspecialty Rotations–such as cardiology, nephrology, and other consult services
• Intensive Care Unit (ICU)–providing exposure to high-acuity care and interprofessional collaboration

Predominantly Unopposed Training

Despite these shared experiences, 85% of Family Medicine training is unopposed. This design ensures that our Family Medicine residents gain independence, leadership experience, and continuity in patient care, while still benefitting from the collaboration and collegiality that comes from cross-specialty training.

Yes. A consistent portion of didactics will be dedicated to board review and monitoring your progress.

We recognize the importance of rest, balance and personal time during residency training. To support our resident’s well-being, our program offers a generous time-off and wellness policy:

Vacation/Sick Time: Residents receive 20 days of paid vacation/sick time each academic year.

Wellness/Half Days: Residents are provided with four – half day each year dedicated to personal wellness.

Interview Days: During the 2nd and 3rd years of residency, residents receive five additional days specifically for fellowship or job interviews.

There is minimal call. During the medicine rotation there is a night float service, so no call. On Pediatrics there will be some home call. Obstetrics and emergency room will be shift work.

The Mississippi gulf coast it’s a wonderful place to work learn and raise a family. Start the morning by walking or biking a portion of the beachfront boardwalk that stretches from Ocean Springs to Waveland with Gulfport in the center. Spend the evening with your family sitting on the beach watching the sunset. There’s definitely a small community feel to Gulfport even though the population is sizable.  New Orleans is drivable in about an hour in one direction and the white sand beaches of the Florida Panhandle are within a two-hour drive in the other direction.

One of the most valuable parts of residency training is that learning does not happen in isolation – it happens across a wide variety of clinical settings and patient population.

For Family Medicine residents, this is especially true.  The experiences gained during rotations extend beyond the hospital wards and continuity clinic into settings where care is most impactful.

Residents work in one FQHC and two free clinics throughout residency.  Residents also have multiple volunteer opportunities to be involved in to serve the underserved community.

Our EHR is Cerner. It links our outpatient and inpatient world in one. In other words, our clinics and the hospital use the same system which means you only have to learn one EHR and, you’ll become more than proficient before you hit the floors. We have built in an extended orientation that will allow for more in depth training and practice navigating our EHR, along with an immersion in the Foundations of Family Medicine. This will allow higher proficiency and less frustration once you start rotations.

The entire focus behind developing this residency was to maximize learning and education while maintaining a well-balanced life. This is not a situation where you will be inserted into a system and made to fit in. Our program was designed with the needs and expectations of modern-day residents at its center.