Internal Medicine Residency – Banner Desert - Rural Track

The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Internal Medicine Residency at Banner Desert Medical Center hosts an innovative Rural Track (RT) Internal Medicine Residency.

Our goal is to train internists to provide comprehensive Internal Medicine (IM) patient care in resource-limited rural settings. This challenges our residents to acquire all the competencies typically required for urban practice, with additional emphasis on independent problem-solving. The lack of specialists and urban-level support staff necessitates the development of expanded clinical skills required to provide exceptional patient care to rural populations.

RT residents split their training: 60% in Payson, Arizona, and 40% at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona. Training sites in Payson include the Banner Payson Medical Center (a critical access hospital serving the heart of rural Arizona), Ponderosa Family Care (a federally designated Integrated Rural Health Center), and the Payson Christian Clinic (a learner-led, volunteer-run free clinic for the under- and uninsured population). Training at Banner Desert emphasizes specialty and critical care, allowing residents to care first-hand for this subset of patients and to foster relationships with tertiary care providers that will provide clinical connections for consult and referral support.

Our RT curriculum is modeled after the practice of a successful rural internist—centered in a community clinic and providing fully-integrated longitudinal care. Residents follow their own clinic patients to the offices of visiting subspecialty consultants, the emergency room, hospital, operating room, skilled nursing facility, and then back to the community clinic, even incorporating telemedicine outreach to outlying rural communities to ensure continued follow-up.

Although our RT residency program is new, our faculty have been providing patient care and graduate medical education in Arizona for more than 25 years. Notably, the Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship has been foundational in strengthening the educational infrastructure of this program and the sense of community on the medical campus. The small size of our residency (two residents per year) will nurture close mentoring relationships and friendships between our residents and faculty.
 

Payson is located 90 miles north of Phoenix, with a diverse population of 16,000. The town is bordered by Tonto Apache tribal lands and the Tonto National Forest. At 5,000 feet elevation, it is significantly cooler than Phoenix, and surrounding forests and lakes provide numerous opportunities for camping, hiking, and fishing. Our goal is that our residents will become part of the community they serve, developing commitment, confidence, and lifelong relationships that can only be found in rural medicine.