Family Medicine Residency

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is considered a large academic medical center, encompassing three distinct hospitals within a two block area.

The Medical University Hospital, a 700-bed facility, features a Level 1 trauma center and serves as the site for residents’ ER and Family Medicine Inpatient rotations.

The Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion, a 250-bed hospital, hosts inpatient pediatrics and OB rotations for our PGY1 residents, as well as pediatric ER rotations for PGY2 residents.

Ashley River Tower, with 156 inpatient beds and a four story outpatient diagnostic and treatment center, specializes in digestive health, heart and vascular care, and cancer care and hosts residents for various outpatient rotations.

Founded in 1824, MUSC is a comprehensive academic health system with a robust educational mission. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy) and trains more than 900 residents and fellows. MUSC’s strong educational mission ensures a rich learning environment that prioritizes teaching and mentorship, providing you with access to experienced faculty who are dedicated to your education and professional growth.

As a resident at MUSC, you’ll have the opportunity to work with residents and faculty in various specialties and settings, from primary care to highly specialized fields. This exposure helps you develop a well-rounded clinical skill set and allows you to explore different career paths within Family Medicine.

You might have concerns about sharing patient volume with other specialties and whether that could limit your hands-on experience. However, MUSC's patient base is extensive, providing more than enough cases for everyone. The presence of residents from other specialties not only ensures that you have ample opportunities for patient interactions but also enriches your learning. Interacting with peers from different specialties allows you to gain unique insights and see clinical situations from multiple perspectives, enhancing your overall medical education and preparing you for collaborative healthcare environments.

Moreover, our residents are highly valued and regularly receive recognition for their exceptional work. Many of them win various "Off-Service Resident of the Year" awards annually, showcasing their dedication and excellence in fields outside their primary specialties. This culture of recognition and respect underscores the high-quality training and support you'll receive at MUSC.

We offer ten categorical family medicine positions each year, as well as 6 transitional year positions for residents entering fields such as radiology, dermatology, and ophthalmology.

Our residents complete their inpatient pediatrics, newborn nursery, and pediatric ER rotations within the Pediatric services. They also spend time on the OB service for their time on labor and delivery and postpartum rotations. All adult inpatient services is managed through our Family Medicine inpatient service, under the supervision of our Family Medicine faculty.

PGY1 residents participate in night coverage during their inpatient rotations. For our family medicine inpatient service, one resident is assigned as “late stay” once or twice per week, covering the service and assisting with admissions from 5 to 8pm. Additionally, each resident participates in 5-6 nights of night float per inpatient block, with shifts running from 8pm to 10am. PGY1 residents do not have 24H call duties.

PGY2 residents are scheduled for two non-contiguous weeks of night float during the academic year, with shifts running from 5pm to 7am Monday through Friday nights. PGY3 residents are scheduled for three non-contiguous weeks of night float. Each PGY2 and PGY3 resident will be assigned approximately eight 24H calls on Saturdays and Sundays.

Our residents are trained in outpatient procedures that are most common for our graduates to perform after residency training. These include women’s health procedures such as IUDs and Nexplanon insertions, dermatologic procedures such as skin biopsies, musculoskeletal procedures such as joint injections and nerve blocks. Toenail removals are also commonly performed by our residents. We do not currently provide training in vasectomies or colonoscopies.

Balint Groups seek to improve and to understand the clinician-patient relationship. While physicians are trained to seek the right answer to clinical problems, in a Balint Group the focus is on enhancing the physician’s ability to connect with and care for the patient.

A Balint Group session begins with a member presenting a case for the group to discuss. The group learns about the patient through the presenter’s story and about how their relationship seems to the physician. During the facilitated discussion, the group members uncover different and new perceptions about the patient's and physician’s feelings and their experiences with each other.

A Balint Group usually has two leaders who facilitate the process. The success of a group depends on its members being honest, respectful, and supportive of divergent opinions. The content of the group is confidential.

Balint Groups provide an opportunity to develop insight into the interpersonal aspects of professional practice and to become more empathetic with patients and with oneself.

PGY2 and PGY3 residents in good academic standing may moonlight after January 1st of their PGY2 year. Moonlighting must not occur during scheduled business hours and may not interfere with a resident’s educational performance. PGY1 residents are not permitted to moonlight.

Approximately 50% of our graduates go into community outpatient Family Medicine after graduation. Thirty percent of our graduates pursue fellowships, most commonly sports medicine, geriatrics, and academics. Twenty percent of our graduates go on to pursue other forms of clinical medicine (hospitalist and urgent care most commonly).

Our program offers a vast array of educational opportunities, underscored by our position within a large academic medical center. This unique setting provides a breadth of experiences, including but not limited to mobile outreach for patients experiencing homeless, HIV care, cancer survivorship care, and additional training in various subspecialties such as cardiology or sleep medicine. We pride ourselves on our robust opportunities for training in geriatrics, ensuring our graduates are well-prepared for fellowship or to go straight into practice and meet the complex needs of an aging population. Our sports medicine opportunities equip interested residents with specialized skills to manage athletes of all levels, from amateur to professional. Additionally, our program is deeply committed to nurturing future leaders in academic medicine, providing opportunities for teaching, scholarly activities, and preparation for a future career in academic medicine.

One area where our program has limitations is in obstetrical training. While we provide extensive outpatient women's health training, including procedures such as IUD and Nexplanon insertions, our program does not offer sufficient obstetrical volume or advanced training for residents to independently practice OB or meet the requirements for OB fellowships. Residents are exposed to obstetrical care and typically graduate with experience in 20-25 deliveries.