Dynamic Curriculum: Since our mission is to broadly train family physicians for a large scope of practice, we pay particular attention to quality experience in obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine, surgery, procedural medicine, and rural rotations. We provide training opportunities in the R-2 and R-3 years to rotate for one month at a time into rural Idaho communities for rural experience, as well as a newly added two-week block in the first year.

Patient Volume: In order to ensure competence, our family medicine residents get a tremendous volume of patients on each rotation. We have approximately 46,000 outpatient visits and 20,000 inpatient visits per year. We have over 1,300 medicine admissions, 2,000 pediatric and newborn admissions, and over 1,000 deliveries annually.

Excellent Faculty: FMRI has a diverse team that provides a rich training environment. We have 12 family physicians, one plastic surgeon, five P.A.'s, one PharmD, three medical social workers, one psychologist, one part-time psychiatrist, and three nurse practitioners.  All of these people are tremendously dedicated and committed to family medicine education.

Outstanding Residents: We have a long history of recruiting excellent residents who are committed to rural and underserved Family Medicine and the precepts of caring for people in small communities. This brings together a rich blend of superb residents that become colleagues in training.

Excellent Support Staff: From our administration to our nurses, to our clerks; we have a team of dedicated personnel who enjoy working with family medicine residents and caring for our patients. This provides a tremendous amount of support to residents as they advance through our three-year program.

Excellent Hospitals: We have wonderful support from both Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke’s Regional Medical Centers and the Boise Veteran’s Administration Hospital.  Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke’s are the two largest hospitals in our state and collectively have over 700 beds.  The Boise VA sponsors a transitional and internal medicine program that is unique to the VA hospital. West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell serves as the anchor for our rural training track.

Future of Family Medicine: FMRI is deeply committed to the transformational changes needed to bring the latest information technology into the Residency to maximize the care of our patients.  Electronic Medical Records, open access scheduling, e-mail visits, group visits, and the innovative development of the integrative healing relationships are major goals of the Residency.

Broad Based Community Support: The program receives tremendous support from community physicians, the Ada County Medical Society, the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians, the Idaho Medical Association, the Idaho Hospital Association, the Governor, and the Idaho State Legislature.  All are deeply committed to family medicine education.

Stability of Program: FMRI has a 33-year history of producing excellent family physicians with 221 graduates to date.

University of Washington Affiliation: We are a community-based, university-affiliated program with the University of Washington.  This allows us support from the University without the hierarchy and administrative entanglements of a university environment. The University of Washington has been the top-ranked primary care and family medicine medical school in the United States for the last 14 years.  It is wonderful to have this network of support behind the Residency.

Clinic Diversity: FMRI provides care for a host of patients from Somalia, Sudan, Bosnia, Russia, Ukraine, and numerous countries in Eastern Europe, South America, Central America, and Africa.  There are 29 different languages spoken in the clinic, which creates a tremendous multicultural educational environment.  Boise also is home to several refugee relocation centers.

Rural Training Track: The program is proud to sponsor a rural training track in Caldwell, Idaho, located 30 miles from Boise.  The first year of training takes place in Boise and the second and third years of training are in Caldwell.  We are currently building a second rural training track in Southern Idaho.

Sports Medicine Fellowship: FMRI sponsors a sports medicine fellowship for those who are interested in additional sports medicine training; the Fellowship augments the education of all family medicine residents.

HIV Services Clinic: FMRI sponsors an HIV Services Clinic.  The program receives federal funding under Title III of Ryan White Care Act.  Our residents receive training in HIV and AIDS management.  We care for over 350 patients with HIV/Aids.

Additional Fellowships: The Residency has just developed an HIV/AIDS Primary Care Fellowship.  The program is also contemplating the development of new fellowships in geriatrics, rural, OB, and wilderness medicine.  Our city and community hospitals clearly can support this and these all fit with the mission of our program.

Electronic Medical Records: We are using the Logician/Centricity EMR by General Electric.  This state of the art EMR is the industry leader and will be a great asset to help residents learn, provide quality patient care, and be a part of the new model of family medicine.

Night Float System: A new Night Float system for internal medicine call optimizes resident learning experiences, minimizes on-call fatigue, provides additional call-free weekends, and helps to maintain balance in residents' personal and professional lives.

Boise, Idaho: Boise is a fabulous city.  Located in southwestern Idaho, it is the state’s capitol and business hub.  Boise has been voted the second most livable city in the United States by Forbes magazine.  Boise’s economy is the second fastest-growing economy of all cities west of the Mississippi, surpassed only by Las Vegas, Nevada.  There is a tremendous pride in this state of people who love the land and love the seasons.

I hope this affords you a brief glance of 18 highlights of the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho.  We are extremely proud of our program and believe that there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for excellent education and personal growth that you would enjoy as well.