FAMILY AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE (PGYI, II, III)

• Visit a local community resource agency;

• Conduct home visits with our faculty licensed clinical social worker;

• Provide health education to high school students through a novel diabetes youth coaching program;

• Participate in small-group seminars with your core FCM faculty;

• Carry out a personal research project with the goal of presenting at local, regional, and national conferences. Examples of recent projects include:

  • Improving Patient Health Literacy

  • Environmental Sustainability in our FM Residency Program

  • Weight Loss Therapies at the FMC: Coverage, Counseling, & Care

  • Improving Fourth Trimester Continuity: A Multimodal Approach

  • Implementing a Reach Out and Read Site at our Clinic

  • Clinical Mandarin in Practice & Application

MEDICINE (PGYI, II, III)

The Inpatient Medicine rotation at O’Connor Hospital provides comprehensive adult hospital medicine training with an ideal balance of patient care and learning. Each team — comprising 1–2 interns, 2 senior residents, and a Family Medicine faculty attending — manages patients from our Family Medicine Center, faculty practice, and “undoctored” admissions.

Residents care for a highly diverse patient population, from “bread-and-butter” community cases to complex and unusual illnesses seen in vulnerable populations. They work alongside sub-I’s and pharmacy students and residents as part of a multidisciplinary team that values collaboration, communication, and shared learning. The rotation takes place in a well-resourced county hospital with the intimacy of a community hospital feel — where people know their patients and each other, creating a supportive, collegial environment for growth.

ICU (PGYI, II)

Starting in 2020, our ICU rotation became a separate rotation, allowing the PGY-I or PGY-II resident to work in an “apprenticeship” format with our intensive care attendings during their dedicated blocks. This 1:1 format allows the residents to become comfortable in managing critical care patients, gain experience in critical care procedures, practice essential POCUS skills, and participate regularly in family meetings under the direct supervision of our ICU physicians.

The ICU rotation provides an immersive, 1:1 apprenticeship experience with intensive care attendings, offering close mentorship in managing critically ill patients. Designed for PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents, it combines hands-on training in critical care procedures and POCUS with active participation in multidisciplinary rounds and family meetings, building both technical skills and confidence in complex clinical decision-making. 

PEDIATRICS AT KAISER-SANTA CLARA HOSPITAL (PGYI)

This rotation offers a comprehensive inpatient pediatrics experience at Kaiser Santa Clara Hospital, a well-resourced tertiary care center just 15 minutes from O’Connor Hospital. Under the supervision of Kaiser pediatricians, residents work with medical students from Stanford and Boston University and care for a wide range of conditions — from common “bread-and-butter” cases like asthma, bronchiolitis, and dehydration to more complex cases such as cystic fibrosis, leukemia, and type 1 diabetes. The rotation includes Swing Shift Duties (covering consults, admissions, and transfers) and Ward Duties (covering inpatients and supervising students). Residents do not round on PICU patients and have no call responsibilities at O’Connor during this block, allowing for a focused and well-supported inpatient pediatrics experience.

OBSTETRICS AT SANTA CLARA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER (PGYI, II)

During the first year, residents rotate through the high-volume Labor and Delivery unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), gaining experience with low-, moderate-, and high-risk obstetric patients in a well-resourced county hospital setting. Under the supervision of obstetricians, perinatologists, OB residents, and Family Medicine OB fellows, residents develop skills in managing triage patients, antenatal complications, active labor, and both normal and complex deliveries. In the PGY-2 year, residents take evening call on Labor and Delivery at SCVMC while rotating during the day in county ambulatory women’s health clinics, including family planning sites. Residents do not have call responsibilities at O’Connor during these rotations, allowing for a focused and immersive experience in full-spectrum women’s health care.

CLINIC & HEALTH SYSTEMS (PGYI, II, III)

During this rotation, residents are immersed in their outpatient continuity clinic at the Family Medicine Center, focusing on developing strong ambulatory and systems-based care skills. With an average of 6–8 clinic sessions per week, residents gain concentrated experience in longitudinal patient care, billing, quality improvement, and panel management. First-year residents additionally participate in the Health Equity Curriculum during this block, grounding their clinical work in principles of equity, access, and community-centered care.

HEALTH EQUITY (PGYI) 

This rotation, completed during the first Clinic & Health Systems block of intern year, introduces residents to key concepts in health equity, policy, and advocacy through an in-depth exploration of the U.S. health system, social determinants of health, anti-racism, implicit bias, privilege, trauma-informed care, housing and immigration and their impact on health, structural competency, and physician advocacy. Learning is reinforced through interactive workshops, seminars, and didactics integrated throughout the residency curriculum, equipping residents with the knowledge and skills to advance equity, justice, and community-centered care in the communities they serve.

OBSTETRICS AT RMC (PGYI, II, III)

The Obstetrics rotation takes place at Regional Medical Center (RMC), part of the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system. Residents work one-on-one with OB hospitalists and Family Medicine OB faculty to manage perinatal patients presenting to triage or admitted to the OB service, including FM continuity patients and unassigned patients. Medical issues commonly managed include prenatal complications such as hyperemesis gravidarum, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes, as well as labor evaluations, deliveries, and routine newborn care. The rotation emphasizes comprehensive Family Medicine continuity OB and newborn dyad care, while offering experience in routine, higher-risk, instrumental, and operative deliveries within a supportive, well-resourced county hospital environment. This rotation provides strong foundational and advanced training in inpatient obstetrics, preparing residents for the Advanced Maternity Care Pathway and future full-spectrum practice.

NEWBORN (PGYI, II, III)

The Newborn Rotation, based at the Mother–Infant Care Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC), provides residents with comprehensive, hands-on experience in the care of newborns from birth through hospital discharge. Working one-on-one with supervising attendings, residents develop skills in performing newborn exams, interpreting prenatal and perinatal studies, and managing common hospital issues such as hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and feeding difficulties. In addition, residents attend both routine and high-risk deliveries, perform neonatal resuscitation when needed, and spend time in the Level IV NICU gaining exposure to the care of medically complex infants. The rotation emphasizes family-centered care, breastfeeding support, anticipatory guidance, and effective communication with parents and the interprofessional care team, preparing residents to deliver safe, comprehensive newborn care in a diverse county hospital setting.

SURGERY SELECTIVE (PGYI)

During this rotation interns experience “firsthand” the admission, diagnosis, and management of a variety of surgical problems – common (e.g., appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis), uncommon, and traumatic. Additionally, residents rotate through the private offices of various surgeons to learn about pre-operative and post-operative care and to assist with various minor, office-based procedures, including wound care management.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE (PGYII, III)

The ER rotation offers residents a supervised clinical experience in acute care medicine through rotations in the Emergency Departments at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) and O’Connor Hospital. Residents typically complete three shifts per week — two at VMC and one at O’Connor — managing a broad range of urgent and emergent conditions under the guidance of attending physicians. The rotation emphasizes rapid assessment, procedural skills, and effective interdisciplinary communication, helping residents build confidence and competence in the initial evaluation and management of diverse patient presentations in high-acuity settings. 

SPORTS MEDICINE (PGYI, II, III)

The Sports Medicine rotation is a longitudinal experience integrated across all three years of residency, paired with Ambulatory Medicine in alternating one-week blocks. Through repeated rotations, residents develop a strong foundation in musculoskeletal and sports medicine care that deepens each year. Clinical experiences take place in the Stanford Faculty Sports Medicine Clinic, the Family Medicine Center, and with community sports medicine physicians. Residents gain hands-on training in point-of-care ultrasound, casting, splinting, joint injections, and other common procedures, along with opportunities for sideline coverage and pre-participation physicals. This progressive, hands-on experience builds diagnostic confidence and procedural mastery while preparing residents to incorporate sports medicine principles into comprehensive, full-spectrum family practice.

AMBULATORY MEDICINE (PGYI, II, III)

Residents complete a total of five Ambulatory Medicine blocks during training, three of which are combined with Sports Medicine (one week of sports and one week of ambulatory medicine). Each block includes a mix of specialty clinic half-days and continuity clinic, offering a balanced mix of continuity and specialty care. Clinical sites include the Family Medicine Center (for continuity, acute care, and procedures), the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center PACE Clinic for HIV/AIDS care, community specialists’ offices in cardiology, allergy & immunology, and dermatology, and the Family Medicine Center Addiction Clinic. This rotation deepens residents’ experience across a wide range of outpatient settings, strengthening their diagnostic, procedural, and interdisciplinary care skills in preparation for full-spectrum family medicine practice.

SELECTIVES & ELECTIVES (PGYI, II, III)

Electives and selectives allow residents to tailor their training to individual interests and career goals while strengthening core clinical competencies. These rotations serve two main purposes: filling gaps in core experiences and providing opportunities to explore areas of special interest or advanced training. Residents may choose from four types of selectives — Required, Essentials, Additional Cores, and Potpourri — to gain breadth and depth across diverse clinical domains. Available slectives include Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Integrative Medicine, Neurology, Rheumatology, and Community Medicine, among many others, with experiences offered at O’Connor Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Stanford Health Care, and partner sites across the region. In their third year, residents may pursue a one-month away elective locally or abroad, with past experiences ranging from Wilderness Medicine in Alaska to Global Health rotations in Peru, Vietnam, and Honduras. Residents with a strong interest in global health may also apply to the Stanford/Yale Global Health Scholars Program, which offers a mentored six-week clinical rotation abroad and a travel award to support participation.

 AMBULATORY PEDIATRICS (PGYI, II, III)

During the Ambulatory Pediatrics rotation, residents gain experience caring for children across a range of outpatient settings serving diverse and often underserved populations. Clinical sites include the Indian Health Center Pediatric Center for Life, the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) Pediatric Urgent Care Clinic, and pediatric subspecialty clinics such as Pediatric Gastroenterology and the SCVMC High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) Clinic, which provides multidisciplinary developmental follow-up for infants and young children at risk due to prematurity, low birth weight, or other developmental concerns.

 GERIATRICS (PGYII, III)

The Geriatrics rotation introduces residents to the complexities of caring for older adults and the wide range of services available to support this population across a continuum of sites. Residents work one-on-one with a faculty geriatrician at Stanford Senior Care, performing comprehensive geriatric assessments, implementing preventive care strategies, and managing common geriatric syndromes such as falls, cognitive impairment, and polypharmacy. They also collaborate with an interdisciplinary team at On Lok PACE, a full-service senior care center, gaining experience in coordinated, community-based care. This rotation emphasizes patient-centered, multidisciplinary management across multiple levels of care, preparing residents to deliver compassionate, comprehensive care tailored to the unique needs of older adults.

AMBULATORY WOMEN’S HEALTH (PGYIII)

The Ambulatory Gynecology rotation provides residents with broad outpatient experience in women’s health and reproductive care across multiple clinical settings. During the second year, residents rotate at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) outpatient women’s health clinics, followed by two 2-week third-year rotations at sites such as County clinics, the Indian Health Center–Meridian gynecology procedures clinic, and local private gynecology and urogynecology practices. Residents gain hands-on experience performing procedures such as colposcopy, endometrial biopsy, and other minor gynecologic interventions, while developing proficiency in managing common ambulatory women’s health concerns, early pregnancy evaluation, and opt-out termination care. Those seeking additional training in family planning may pursue focused experiences during Selective Blocks. Residents on this rotation do not participate in the VMC OB call schedule.

JEOPARDY/POPULATION HEALTH (PGYII, III)

Residents on this rotation work primarily on a self-directed population health curriculum under the supervision of Dr. Yu and participate in the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) curriculum, carrying out their own clinic-based QI projects. Additionally, residents are available to cover for their colleagues in the event of unanticipated illness. This rotation is split into 1-week increments.