Comprehensive family medicine physician training
The MaineHealth Franklin Hospital Rural Family Medicine Residency program curriculum includes weekly protected didactics and a longitudinal educational model that integrates core family medicine knowledge, case-based learning, board preparation, reflection, professional development and resident support. Rather than relying only on isolated block rotations, the model emphasizes longitudinal exposure across all three years, especially in areas central to rural practice.
- Addiction medicine and behavioral health
- Geriatrics and care of older adults
- Emergency care in rural settings
- Leadership and health systems
- Population health and quality improvement
- Continuity clinic and community-based care
Our innovative education model
Modern family medicine requires more than clinical knowledge. It also requires sustainable systems for documentation, communication, asynchronous care and team-based workflows. These skills are taught explicitly and longitudinally, preparing residents for the practical demands of independent rural practice.
- EPIC EMR training
- Efficient in-basket management
- Asynchronous patient care
- Team-based workflows
- Sustainable documentation practices
- Real-world practice habits that support clinical quality and physician well-being
The program includes a structured three-year leadership curriculum that prepares graduates for leadership roles in rural communities and health systems. The curriculum prepares clinically strong physicians who are able to lead, improve systems and build sustainable models of rural care.
- Clinic and systems leadership
- Quality improvement and population health
- Medical directorship
- Team-based care
- Teaching, mentorship and program development
- Advocacy for rural and under-resourced communities
The program provides expanded training in behavioral health and addiction medicine, reflecting the needs of rural communities and the central role of family physicians in providing accessible, integrated care. Our faculty includes three physicians who are board-certified in addiction medicine, including the program director.
The curriculum includes experience managing behavioral health and substance use disorders across clinic, hospital, emergency and community settings. Training emphasizes team-based care, warm handoffs, motivational interviewing, psychopharmacology, addiction medicine and integrated behavioral health/primary care workflows.
Rural family physicians need confidence managing urgent, undifferentiated and higher-acuity presentations. The MaineHealth Franklin Hospital Rural Family Medicine Residency program provides enhanced emergency medicine exposure and practical procedural training in a rural hospital environment, including point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). The training model emphasizes:
- Clinical judgment
- Procedural confidence
- Communication
- Collaboration with experienced clinicians
- Interprofessional teams
The curriculum provides pediatric, newborn, prenatal and maternity care education through a combination of local rural experiences and complementary higher-volume experiences.
- Two months of inpatient obstetrics at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Biddeford, a moderate volume delivery site
- Local continuity deliveries, outpatient pediatrics and newborn care at MaineHealth Franklin Hospital
- One month of inpatient pediatrics at MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children's on the MaineHealth Portland Campus
Residents receive longitudinal pediatric exposure in the continuity clinic, newborn care experiences and structured pediatric rotations. Prenatal and maternity care training supports competence across the lifespan and aligns with the needs of rural family medicine.