In addition to the focused block rotations, residents are also involved in certain educational components in a longitudinal fashion. These continuity experiences include Balint Group, Geriatrics, Junior Precepting, Practice Management, the Research Seminar, Sports Medicine, conferences, and workshops detailed below.

Balint

Balint is a resident support group held on a monthly basis. During these sessions lead by certified Balint Leaders, residents discuss challenging interpersonal and emotional components of a patient case they have experienced. Visit Balint's website for more information on their goals and benefits.

Conferences

Noon Conference is a week day lecture series held in our main lecture hall at PSC. Lunch is catered for every Noon Conference. Residents are involved in selecting both topics and speakers. Examples of lectures include leadership lecture series, morbidity & mortality, board review questions, AAFP article review, didactics, case presentations, and guest speakers.

Workshops

Procedural workshops are held one afternoon each month. During Procedure Workshop, Residents learns procedural skills such as: Joint injection with Ultrasound guided, Skin Biopsy, splinting and casting, circumcision, and many more!

Team Based Learning (TBL)

TBL is a group-based learning exercise held one afternoon each month. TBL is a flipped classroom model where residents compete pre-reading, provided the week before, and then spend class time on more complex clinical case discussions. TBL groups include residents from each level, to stimulate conversation and allow members to learn from each other’s’ experience. Groups are encouraged to debate and teach each other, with guidance from faculty.  

Each TBL afternoon includes a Wellness Break. Resident are exposed to a wide variety of wellness activities and encouraged to explore what will fit best for them, in practice and in life, to maintain balance and reduce stress. Examples of previous activities include: group games, sports, gratitude journaling, writing thank you cards, healthy nutrition in a busy schedule, yoga, stretching, meditation, mindfulness based stress relief, painting, crafts and more.

Geriatrics

The primary purpose of the Geriatrics rotation is to give our residents the tools and skills to care for elderly patients. Second year residents complete a required geriatrics elective during which they care for patients in a Medicare Skilled Unit. During this rotation they also receive specialized wound care training in clinic and in the hospital setting. The longitudinal experience continues second and third years through home and nursing home visits. To complete a well-rounded formal learning experience, geriatric health topics are covered at least once monthly during Noon Conference.

Junior Precepting

We believe that all family physicians are teachers – we teach students, fellow residents, and patients on a daily basis. To prepare our residents for this role, each third-year resident spends one half-day each block in our family medicine center where he or she acts as a “junior preceptor.” In this role the senior resident provides feedback and guidance on patient care to junior residents, under the supervision of a faculty attending.

Practice Management

Practice Management is designed to provide residents with the information they need to conquer the business side of health care. Residents will complete their training with a working knowledge of coding and documentation, billing and collections, managed care, risk management, professional liability insurance, forecasting, and financial planning. The curriculum includes a minimum of 100 hours of training with the greatest amount of this time reserved for the second and third years of training. Residents will acquire knowledge using several modalities, including self-study, speakers, workshops and hands-on learning. Residents also complete assigned modules of the AMA Introduction to Practice Management online training program throughout the three-years of residency.

Pod Research Meetings

Pod research meetings allow faculty, residents and nurses to work together and develop a research project on an annual basis. There are ten lunchtime meetings throughout the year and end with a poster session in June. The meetings are broken into three modules:

1. Principles of evidence-based medicine: study design, literature search
2. Navigating the research process: flow maps, PDSA cycles
3. Statistical concepts: T-tests, risk reduction, linear regression

Working in pods, each group will design and implement a research project. At the end of the academic year, each group will present a poster and with the information they gathered. Residents are encouraged to present these posters on the state and national level as well. For residents with a specific interest in research, a research elective block rotation is also available in the second and third years to provide sheltered time for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data.

Journal Club

Another educational component of resident scholarly development is practice in the evaluation of the medical literature. This is the main focus of the series of one-hour Journal Club discussions, which are recurring Noon Conference lectures, once each block throughout the year. Two residents (a second and third year) critically analyze an article during each session, and the audience engages in a lively discussion at the ends of their respective presentations.

Sports Medicine

During this rotation, residents work with primary care sports medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and athletic trainers reinforcing principles of musculoskeletal medicine as well as evaluating and managing medical problems specific to competitive athletes, active people, and people considering exercise. The rotation builds on previous experiences in radiographic interpretation, fracture management, and joint injections. Residents gain experience performing pre-participation physicals and providing medical coverage during athletic events. Residents will also provide medical care in a collegiate training room. Residents interested in gaining extra experience in sports medicine may serve as assistant team physicians for local teams. This rotation takes place at Physicians at Sugar Creek, Houston Christian University (formerly Houston Baptist University), as well as in the offices of our volunteer private community orthopedic surgeons.