Program Culture

Tracks

Our program offers enhancement tracks, including:

• Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS)
• Maternal child health (MCH)
• Integrative medicine for residency (IMR)
• Osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT) for allopathic physicians (OMT4MD)

Participating in a track allows you to expand on a passion for certain health conditions, work with certain populations, prepare for fellowship or other post-grad training opportunities, or engage in focused professional development for your future employment goals.

You’d typically declare your interest in completing a track during intern year so you can achieve your educational goals over the last two years of residency. All tracks have clear educational objectives and activities outlined. Track requirements are in addition to (not in place of) other program requirements.

Recognized osteopathic education 

In addition to our Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation, the Charlotte family medicine residency program achieved initial ACGME Osteopathic Recognition in 2016. We have been thriving and nurturing osteopathic growth since that time. 

Our faculty comprises osteopathic physicians and allopathic physicians dedicated to learning and supporting osteopathic principles and practice within the clinic and didactic teaching environment. We create an academic learning environment that enables seasoned osteopaths to continually solidify their knowledge of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) and use of osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT) and to provide foundational knowledge and basic OMT skills for our allopathic colleagues. 

Osteopathic residents cultivate and practice the following:  

• Osteopathic:  
  • Philosophy 
  • History 
  • Terminology 
  • Code of ethics 
  • Palpatory diagnostic skills 
  • Structural examination skills 
• Anatomy and physiology related to osteopathic medicine 
• Indications and contraindications to using OMT
• Safety issues associated with the use of OMT 
• OMT practice 

For allopathic residents interested in exploring and gaining osteopathic understanding and skills, we also offer the OMT4MD track. 

Health equity, well-being, and belonging

We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive learning environment and promoting health equity in our community.

Reflecting on our personal biases, building awareness of interpersonal styles, and discussing systemic factors that impact health disparities and social determinants of health are woven into our training, whether in didactics, health system management curriculum, precepting, or individual learning plans.

We support local health access clinics and efforts through various scheduled rotations and elective opportunities. These include:

• Serving in our local free clinic
• Completing rotations at Novant Health access clinics
• Participating in school and sport physical assessment days for students

Out of respect for the time and energy needed for these activities and developing a sustainable approach to careers in family medicine, we have created and implemented a well-being curriculum as an embedded element of our didactic afternoons throughout all three years of residency training. This curriculum aims to facilitate an understanding of how to cultivate well-being, cognitive flexibility, and belongingness through reflective dialogue and community-building within each class of residents.

Scholarly activity and leadership  

We encourage scholarship and leadership among both residents and faculty. As a resident, you would:

• Engage in quality improvement (QI) projects throughout all three years of training
• Be supported to complete an additional scholarly activity before graduating
• Be encouraged and supported to pursue leadership opportunities

Scholarly activity work done in our program has included presentations, posters, and leadership work at local, state, and national levels.

Residents have served on hospital, local, regional, state, and national professional boards and committees.

The Novant Health library services team will help you find and access up-to-date evidence related to your scholarly activities.

Resident educational conference series

You’d also have protected time to focus on scholarship through our resident educational conference series, which offers:

• An evidence-based approach to medicine through critical appraisal of journal articles
• Faculty and resident-led didactic presentations

Our didactic program is approved for continuing medical education (CME) credit by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).