COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES WANTED
In response to a growing primary care shortage in California, the UCSF Department of Family & Community Medicine (FCM) is planning to significantly increase the number of physicians it trains by adding another residency program based at UCSF Health and Veterans Administration Health Care Services, in addition to the current program at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). FCM Residency will grow from training 45 to 63 physicians and expand its training hub beyond its 40-year home at ZSFGH Family Health Center to other hospitals and clinics in the City:
- St. Mary’s Hospital
- Lakeshore
- Dogpatch Power Station
- San Francisco Veterans Administration Health Care Service
GET INVOLVED
For a study, FCM is gathering perspectives from SFGH and UCSF Health residents, staff, and community members about their lived experiences with teaching residency practices and primary care services. Their input will help us identify the priorities of those most impacted by the expansion and, ideally, identify priorities for the residency program's overall redesign. There are two ways to get involved.
Option 1: Send us your comments.
Provide comments - share your thought by taking an anonymous 1-minute survey.
Please tell us briefly about care you have received at your recent primary care visit. What does your primary care practice do well? What could it do better?
Option 2: Participate in the design community advisory board.
We're looking for 15 community leaders with demonstrated commitment to health equity and racial justice to participate in a virtual multidisciplinary advisory group who will provide guidance on developing the new UCSF Family & Community Medicine Residency Program.
Time commitment is 6-9 hours (February – July 2025).
Compensation is $150/hr.
To express your interest, or if you have questions, please use our:
Why should I care? How does the expansion impact me or my community?
Our residency program expansion can help widen access to community-centered care.
Since 1972, FCM residents have served primarily uninsured and publicly insured patients in San Francisco. We understand that our health and well-being is inextricably bound to the health and well-being of all. We are committed to a community-oriented model of medicine, where community strengths and values are centered, and care is provided in a respectful, culturally appropriate environment. We want every patient to feel safe and that they belong when they come to us for care. This expansion means 18 more family doctors a year will be trained in this approach and equipped with the skills, knowledge, and perspectives necessary for working effectively with individuals and families of diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is projected that within three years of the expansion, residents will be able to handle close to 7,000 additional patient visits.
What's in it for me as a community leader/member?
This will be an opportunity for community leaders/members to design the expanded residency program together with current FCM and UCSF Health residents and staff and inform the teaching residency practices for the doctors who will eventually care for them, their families, friends, and neighbors. These community perspectives strengthen FCM's role in transforming health care towards a system based on a foundation of comprehensive, whole-person care centered on healing relationships and health equity. Participation is voluntary.
How has FCM worked with local communities to date?
Over recent years, community members have had an increasing role in our residency interview and selection process. We also partner with communities at our student-run clinics and health education events and support high school students in pursuing careers in medicine through our pipeline programs.