Primary Care Track Training Sites

Our Primary Care training sites are situated within two large academic, hospital-based teaching practices – UF Health Shands and Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center. The primary care clinic sites at both facilities have incorporated the team-based patient-centered medical home model of practice. Primary Care Track residents are directly involved in this model of patient care and work collaboratively with clinical nurses, clinical pharmacists, psychologist, and social workers to provide multidisciplinary care.  Over 30 ambulatory faculty practice alongside residents and serve as their clinic preceptors.  Our faculty has long-standing expertise in chronic disease management, geriatrics, women’s health, minority health, HIV medicine, global health, health disparities, quality improvement/patient safety, consultative medicine, health services research, and preventive medicine.

With primary funding from the VA, many of the clinical rotations in the Primary Care Track will be based in the VAMC including the primary care continuity clinics. Our VA Health System is the second largest and busiest in the nation, serving the veteran population throughout North Florida and South Georgia. It houses a successful Home-Based Primary Care program and 11 community-based, rural-based outpatient clinics for our PC residents to actively engage with ambulatory clinicians in community medicine and rural health delivery. Our Malcolm Randall VAMC is located directly across the street from UF Health Shands Hospital and is fully affiliated with all the UF residency training programs. Thus, the Primary Care residents will still receive ample clinical rotations at UF Health Shands during their entire residency training. Primary Care residents will also have the opportunity to select a second-site community-based continuity clinic of their choice during their PGY2 and PGY3 year.

Below are descriptions of four of our continuity clinics within the residency program:

Malcolm Randall VAMC

This clinic is located at the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center, across the street and within walking distance of UF Health Shands Hospital.  At this site, residents will gain experience managing multiple common, yet complex, medical conditions, including Coronary Artery Disease, COPD, Diabetes, and various malignancies.  This clinic provides residents a level of autonomy which maximizes the educational experience of continuity clinic.  The comprehensive nature of the VA health system allows access to all medical/surgical subspecialties, mental health resources, all necessary diagnostic/imaging tests, and inpatient services.  Patients come to this clinic from throughout North Central Florida.  Many of these patients have been coming to the Residency Clinic for over a decade and enjoy being involved in resident education.

Residency Clinic Director: Ralph Atkinson, MD

Site Director, Primary Care Track: Margaret C. Lo, MD

UF Health Internal Medicine at Medical Plaza

This academic group practice is located in a multi-specialty medical office building within walking distance of UF Health Shands and VA hospitals. Medical patients at this location often have complex medical and psychosocial problems; residents will gain experience managing complex comorbid medical conditions in an ambulatory setting. Ancillary services include onsite pharmacist, clinical psychologist, social worker, lab, radiology, physical therapy, and a medical health coach.   Resident Primary Care clinics occur daily and are organized into teams consisting of one faculty member for every two to three residents. The group practice maintains anticoagulation and diabetes clinics as well as conducts clinical research studies. Most patients come from Alachua County and most have Medicare, Medicaid, or Commercial Insurance.

Residency Clinic Director: Margaret C. Lo, MD

UF Health Internal Medicine at Tower Hill

This academic group practice is located within a short, 15-minute drive from the UF Health Shands Medical Center.  Residents will gain experience working within a highly cohesive community-based primary care practice. Ancillary services include onsite lab testing. Resident Primary Care clinics occur daily and are organized into teams each consisting of one faculty member and two residents. Most patients live in Gainesville and have commercial insurance or Medicare. Residents will need reliable personal transportation in order to work at this site.

Residency Clinic Director: James Smith, MD

UF Health Internal Medicine at Springhill

Our newest academic clinical site is located as part of a multispecialty practice just a 15-20-minute drive northwest on I-75 from the main UF Health Shands campus. Ancillary services here also include phlebotomy and on-site lab testing. Interested residents are paired with board-certified UF Health Internal Medicine faculty members in staffing their continuity clinic panels. Residents will need reliable personal transportation in order to work at this site.

Residency Clinic Director: Katherine Huber, MD