Rotations

Our curriculum is structured in accordance with the new requirements of the ACGME Residency Review Committee. We restructured our rotation schedule to accommodate more flexibility with elective rotations in the PGY2 and PGY3 years, to allow more emphasis on residents’ individual interests.

Sample Rotation

FMIS = Family Medicine Inpatient Service

FMC = Family Medicine Center  

Additional Obstetric rotations available as desired

Night Float/Call

There are no traditional call duties during residency. Residents are assigned anywhere from one to six consecutive night shifts during several PGY1 rotations, and they complete one full month of night float on their OB rotation. PGY2 residents also have scheduled night float responsibilities on specific rotations. The PGY2 night float resident provides coverage for the family medicine inpatient service through the week and is scheduled off each weekend. During night float months, they are required to maintain limited continuity patient care office hours, but otherwise have no daytime responsibilities. PGY3 residents cover the family medicine inpatient service on the weekends or provide backup coverage for the night float resident during the week. PGY3 residents may choose to stay at the hospital or complete their assignment with at-home call. Residents are expected to be available and within 30 minutes when on call for continuity OB patients. Each of the four patient care teams divides up OB patient call by a week at a time for their team's patients.

Patient Care

PGY-1: One half-day per week

PGY-2: Two full days per week

PGY-3: Two to three full days per week

Rotations

Most of the first year of residency is spent on inpatient teaching services.  Duties include the care and supervision of all medical patients located on the teaching service to which the resident is assigned.

One month orientation is dedicated to time with our core faculty and interns in the Family Medicine Center. This includes focused family medicine didactic sessions as well as exposure to an array of outpatient services that are utilized in the care of our patients.

The goals of the rotation are to:

1. Learn more about how the Family Medicine Clinic functions, by meeting with various staff members for orientation and seeing urgent patients in the clinic
2. Learn about topics related to caring for underserved populations, such as health disparities, communication skills, and behavioral health

Second- and third-year residents may choose an elective in one of the subspecialties of medicine with an emphasis on the ambulatory aspects of care.

Throughout the three years of training, residents admit their own patients and serve as the primary physician through our Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIS). Residents have six months of FMIS throughout their three years of training. The night float rotation provides coverage for the FMIS.

Educational experiences in the senior year are primarily ambulatory and are planned for nine months out of the year. They are usually scheduled 2-3 half-days per week in geriatrics, ortho/sports medicine, ENT, ophthalmology, pediatrics, urology and other medical and surgical subspecialties. Outpatient office hours are scheduled 2-3 full days per week. In addition, senior residents spend two months as supervising/teaching residents on the FMIS. They obtain further teaching experience through supervising on other inpatient services, and by precepting medical students on the medical floors and in the office setting.

General Surgery

During the first year of training, the resident spends one month in the general surgical service on the Summa Health – Akron Campus. Introduction to basic anesthesia techniques is also included in the surgical curriculum.

Geriatrics

Training in the care of the elderly occurs throughout all three years of residency. It includes regularly scheduled didactic presentations and teaching rounds. Clinical experience in the care of geriatric patients is provided in hospital, home, office, assisted living, and skilled nursing settings. The last two years of residency include managing a continuity panel of patients in the nursing home.

Gynecology

Comprehensive gynecological experience is obtained through a longitudinal curriculum that includes a one-month outpatient rotation; inpatient gynecologic care on our hospitalized patients, and office-based gynecologic care and procedures in the Family Medicine Center. Residents regularly perform procedures, such as endometrial biopsy, colposcopy with biopsy, IUD placement and removal, and Nexplanon placement.

Obstetrics

Each resident is required to spend two months rotating on Labor & Delivery. Emphasis during this time is on the management of normal labor and delivery, as well as recognition and management of high-risk obstetrical conditions. Approximately 4,000 deliveries are performed at Summa’s Akron Campus annually. As such, trainees can expect to easily meet the minimum 25 deliveries and attain the required level of competency during their time on Labor & Delivery. Additional experience is obtained through continuity patient deliveries.

In the first year, the obstetrics and family medicine residents join together to complete the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), taught by family medicine physicians and nursing leaders. As of  July 2023, family medicine residents have started participating with the OB interns in a weekly OB Bootcamp during the month of July.

During the second year, opportunities exist to complete an additional one to two months of obstetrics. These opportunities usually are achieved via additional elective months on Labor & Delivery. We have an enhanced OB training curriculum for those wishing to graduate with the Family Medicine ACGME certification for independent OB practice as a family physician.  

During the second and third years, all resident provides continuity prenatal care and delivery. The majority of these continuity deliveries are precepted by our Family Medicine attendings. As a group, our residents perform 25-45 continuity deliveries annually through the Family Medicine Center.

Sports Medicine

The sports medicine curriculum is designed to meet the varying needs of our residents, from a core experience to preparation for a sports medicine fellowship. All residents complete a core rotation, including experiences with both Dr. Nilesh Shah, a fellowship-trained family physician, who is Summa's Director of Sports Medicine; and Dr. Joseph Congeni, the Director of the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron Sports Medicine Fellowship.

Residents have many opportunities to build their sports medicine knowledge and experience, including:

• Practicing on new, high-accuracy injection models (carpal tunnel, de Quervain, knee, subacromial bursa, lateral epicondyle, greater trochanter)
• Functioning as team physicians at various local high school football games
• Attending Summa's Annual Medical Team Meeting for spine-boarding and sideline protocol practice and lectures
• Practicing joint injections, casting/splinting, and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) during residency-wide skill-building workshops with opportunities to function as junior faculty for sports medicine fellowship-oriented residents
• Completing pre-participation screenings (school sports physicals) at various local high schools
• Attending Summa's Sports Medicine Symposium lectures with opportunities for podium presentations for sports medicine fellowship-oriented residents
• Conference opportunities (AMSSM, AOASM)
• Functioning as medical team members for the Akron full and half marathons
• Monthly residency-wide case and radiology review with the current Summa sports medicine fellowship director (Dr. Nilesh Shah) during morning report
• Annual month-long sports medicine rotations with the current Summa sports medicine fellowship faculty, with exposure to ultrasound-guided procedures
• Shadowing current sports medicine fellows during their event coverage (Akron Rubber Ducks/AA)
• Rotating with fellowship-trained sports medicine faculty and orthopedic surgeons in various sub-specialties (trauma, hand, spine)
• Doing elective, audition rotations with other area hospitals (UH, CCF/AGMC)
• Using our five (5) Butterfly units for point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) both clinically and educationally (in didactics)

Teaching Staff