Mission Statement and Goals

Mission Statement

The mission of the Center for Family Medicine is to train competent, caring family physicians who will exemplify the ideals and values of family medicine, and who will provide high-quality, safe, and effective medical care for North Dakota communities.

Educational Aims of the Program

The Program will:

1. Maintain a training program in the specialty of Family Medicine that is ACGME-accredited and focuses on the teaching of effective, evidence-based, high-quality and safe medical care.
2. Develop and employ a medical curriculum that aims for all graduates to pass the ABFM board examination on their first attempt.
3. Design learning activities to expose residents to diverse experiences including providing medical care in rural, under-served areas in ND, and in providing care to under-served demographic groups in ND.
4. Complete regular evaluations of individual resident physicians in order to individualize learning plans for resident physicians with the goal of bringing all learners to a high level of competence.
5. Provide continuous learning opportunities to faculty physicians in order to keep their medical knowledge and practices updated to current standards of care.
6. Provide faculty to serve as role models for high standards of professionalism and excellence in medical care.
7. Provide a learning and working environment that exemplifies and promotes inclusion, cultural and ethnic diversity, and safety to medical learners at all levels, staff, faculty, and patients.

The Resident physicians will:

1.  Learn to gather essential and accurate information from patients by utilizing effective listening and communication methods in order to formulate comprehensive evidence-based management plans.
2. Learn to manage and treat the majority of medical problems encountered in clinical practice in all patient care settings including acute and chronic medical conditions.
3. Gain sufficient knowledge and technical skills to competently perform procedures within the scope of family medicine.
4. Learn strategies in providing disease prevention and health promotion.
5. Critique and appraise information for its validity and clinical usefulness, and be able to incorporate the best medical evidence into patient care.
6. Practice professionalism including respect, compassion, integrity, responsibility, and commitment to the ethical practice of medicine.
7. Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to personal and professional development and the need to participate in life-long learning and improvement.
8. Understand the importance of physician well-being and resilience including physical and emotional well-being.
9. Learn skills needed to provide health care in rural, under-served areas, and to under-served demographic groups.
10. Learn to function effectively within the larger health care system coordinating the provision of quality, cost-effective care as a member of the health care team and serving as advocates for patients.