Program Highlights

Our residents and faculty are recognized as outstanding clinicians and leaders throughout Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix and the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

  • Academic, supportive, multi-residency environment.
  • Residents and faculty in national leadership positions.
  • Great maternity and high-volume pediatrics experience.
  • Outstanding behavioral training.
  • Strong faculty devoted to teaching. Focus on patient-centered, evidence-based care.
  • Innovative practice with panel management, collaborative care, and team-based care. We embrace and are leading the future of family medicine!
  • Special focus curricula for sports medicine, rural, maternity care, and academic family medicine.

Community engagement

Our residents and faculty founded and volunteer weekly at Emerson Mini-Med School. The goals of Mini-Med school are: to foster excitement in science and medicine in young learners, increase accessibility to higher education, and engage students in hands-on learning about health, the human body, and how science relates to everyday life. Family medicine residents and University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix medical students bring health and medicine-related topics weekly to Emerson students to expose students to science and medicine careers in an accessible format.

Our residents are team physicians at high school sporting events for eight local high schools. Each interested resident has the opportunity to have their “own school” and work closely with a trainer and a community of students.

Our resident-initiated and maintained Banner Family Food Pantry gives patients with food insecurity the opportunity to pick up high-quality produce and healthy non-perishables weekly at our Family Medicine Center. In collaboration with St. Mary’s Food Bank, our food pantry serves about 40 households per week. 
We work closely with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix pipeline programs Scrubs Academy and Pre-Medical Summer School to provide access to health careers for underserved students. 

Behavioral Health

We recognize behavioral health as a crucial component of comprehensive patient care. Our program guides residents on management strategies and collaboration skills to address behavioral health. Our curriculum emphasizes didactics, hands-on training, and integration of behavioral health into daily practice. This is achieved via direct instruction and joint care from our Behavioral Health Director and the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM).

CoCM, is a type of integrated care that treats common mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. It provides systematic support, with primary care physicians assisted by a consulting psychiatrist and an on-site behavioral health professional. Both the psychiatrist and behavioral health professional add to the residents' medical education. CoCM is the endorsed model of integrated care by Arizona’s Medicaid program.

Our goal is to elevate care quality and community well-being, while preparing residents to meet diverse patient needs.

Medical Student Mentorship

Faculty member Kiana Espinosa, MD is the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) faculty co-advisor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. A two-time FMIG Program of Excellence winner, the college FMIG provides many opportunities for mentoring students through panels, procedure workshops, and leadership experiences. Our residents become expert teachers of medical students. Multiple recent graduates have received teaching awards from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix medical students. 

National Leadership

We have had many American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) scholarship winners, AAFP Emerging Leaders, AAFP Foundation Grant winners, and residents in national family medicine board leadership positions in the past several years. Steven Brown, MD, Program Director, is the recent Past President of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. Our Program is nationally recognized for leadership and advocacy. Dr. Brown was awarded the ACGME’s Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award in 2021.

Advocacy

Our residents regularly advocate for our patients and our community at the Arizona State Legislature, located just a few miles from our residency. Each year multiple residents attend the Family Medicine Advocacy Summit in Washington DC. 

Scholarly Activity

Our residents and faculty frequently present and teach at national meetings and publish original research, book chapters, and evidence-based reviews. We also host the nationally recognized and award-winning American Family Physician Podcast.  Resident opportunity for scholarly work and academic excellence is one of the strengths of our program.

Resident and faculty fun activities

Annual Picnic – October This picnic is a time for hilarious games and costumes following the annual national intraining exam given in all family medicine residencies in late October annually. 
Retreat The annual springtime get-together, our retreat is a time to recharge our engines, explore Arizona, and enjoy each other’s company.
Med Gala Each February our hospital hosts an epic gala for our residents and fellows.
Wellness events Our classes regularly participate in wellness events organized by the Graduate Medical Education Wellness Committee.