Family Medicine Residency
Welcome
Welcome to the LifeLong Medical Care’s Family Medicine Residency. LifeLong is a well-established and highly regarded community health center in the San Francisco East Bay Area. Our program was accredited by the ACGME in April 2019 and was developed to fill a need to train highly skilled family medicine physicians to work in urban underserved outpatient medicine practices.
We provide a community medicine based educational experience with a focus on teaching whole person care that partners with patients and respects their lived experiences. We use the "clinic first model" to shape our longitudinal curriculum. To that end, our family medicine residency clinic serves as a model of a high functioning and team based clinic.
We attract residents who are motivated to become full scope family medicine physicians with an emphasis on outpatient primary care. We seek out residents who are committed to working with marginalized communities and bring diversity to our community. We are particularly interested in recruiting residents who identify as a person belonging to groups that have been systemically/systematically excluded and marginalized (SEM) in medicine. As a person who identifies as a white woman, it is a priority for me to make space for the advancement of SEM residents.
We recognize and value diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism and are working hard as an organization to bring about change to end systemic racism. LifeLong values diversity in its leaders, members and staff, which serves as a catalyst for a stronger workforce, improved decision-making, and improved health outcomes for our patients.
We distinguish ourselves by our innovative curriculum that takes the resident outside of the exam room and into the community. Our program is tailored to prepare residents for the real world demands of the modern outpatient family doctor. We are excited to be a new, cutting edge, robust, and mission driven program deeply connected to the community we serve.
Sincerely,
Dr. Deborah Simon-Weisberg
Program Director
Program Overview
Our Teaching Health Center
We are a Teaching Health Center program focused on training residents in a community-based primary care services setting. Our residents have their clinical home at the LifeLong William Jenkins Health Center, a brand new, state-of-the-art outpatient health center in Richmond, CA. The health center has primary care for all ages, integrated behavioral health, dental, and urgent care, as well as, imaging, lab services, and a wellness center. It serves as the resident’s continuity clinic throughout the three year program. Residents have access to a private workspace, lounge, conference spaces and sunny balconies.
Our Teaching Health Center
What Makes Our Residency Unique?
- Sponsored by a highly regarded and progressive community health center system.
- Multicultural urban, safety net patient population spanning all ages.
- Integrated behavioral health, including MAT.
- Non-traditional community medicine opportunities such as street medicine and house calls.
- Innovative curriculum with a focus on leveraging community resources to impact social determinants of health.
- Group medical visit model for prenatal, parenting, and chronic conditions.
- Emphasis on team-based care to achieve efficiency and high-quality care in the resident teaching health center.
- Exposure to complementary alternative medicine integrated within primary care.
What Makes Our Residency Unique?
Program Highlights
- Clinic First Model
Robust Team Based Care Model with an emphasis on developing a continuity of care practice - Community Health Center Practice Setting
Providing services to our community regardless of the ability to pay and immigration status - Strong Community Medicine curriculum
A focus on advocacy and long-term community engagement - Advanced outpatient procedures curriculum
Family Medicine preceptors teach and model proficiency in advanced outpatient procedures. - Beautiful, new state of the art facility
Health center built in 2020 features urgent care, dental, onsite x-ray and Quest lab draw station, free covid vaccination and testing to the community and offers integrative medicine (acupuncture, osteopathic manipulation, wellness center) - Integrated Behavioral Health
Psychiatry and counseling services co-located with primary care, Residents are taught and mentored by double boarded Psych/ family medicine faculty. - Non-traditional primary delivery modalities
Street medicine, house calls, MAT, teaching kitchen and wellness center, shared group medical visits, school-based clinics, children’s diabetes camp - Structural Racism Curriculum
Multi-pronged approach to learning about, teaching and advocating for personal and society changes.
Program Highlights
Mission
Educate future leaders in family medicine who reflect the diversity of our community and possess the skills, knowledge and experience to engage in scholarship, partner with patients, families and communities, and promote wellness by addressing the root causes of suffering and disease.
Rotations
Cutting Edge & Outpatient Focused Rotations
- Family Medicine Outpatient
(3 blocks)- Panel Management
- Healthcare Systems
- Quality Improvement
- Population Health
- Leadership
- Community Medicine
(3 blocks)- Social Determinants of Health
- Social Justice
- Community Activism
- Street Medicine
- Primary Care Research
- Behavioral Medicine
(3 blocks)- Integrated Behavioral Health
- Psychiatry clinics in the primary care setting
- Specialized mental health services for all ages
- Outpatient Procedures
(2 blocks)- Comprehensive POCUS training
- Advanced GYN procedures
- Dental Procedures
Outpatient Rotations
Inpatient Rotations/Hospital Partners
Robust inpatient training will occur at the following East Bay Area partner hospitals with well established GME programs:
- UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
(Oakland, CA) - Kaiser Permanente East Bay
(Richmond, CA & Oakland, CA)
- Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (Berkeley, CA)
- Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (Martinez, CA)
Inpatient Rotations/Hospital Partners
Sub-Intern Elective
This 4-week rotation provides the opportunity for 4th year medical students to train at a community-based primary care setting within the LifeLong Medical Care System. Rotators will be based out of our full scope family medicine residency clinic at our teaching health center. Rotators will also have opportunities to experience a variety of clinical settings which showcase the breadth of outpatient family medicine, and may include procedure clinics, geriatrics or pediatrics focused clinics, OB/gyn specialty clinic, providing healthcare for people experiencing homelessness, street medicine, psychiatry clinics embedded within a primary care clinic, and group medical care visits such as Centering Pregnancy, Centering Parenting, diabetes group visit, chronic condition management groups, and behavioral health groups.
Applicants must be in good academic standing and actively progressing toward a Doctor of Medicine degree at an affiliated LCME-accredited institution, or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at an affiliated COCA-accredited, AACOM member institution.
LifeLong is a member of the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program through AAMC. Learners may begin applying to the elective catalogue in February and can expect to begin hearing about acceptances after April 1. Dates are subject to change or to be cancelled depending on the pandemic so please check here for updates.
Director of Health Professions Education & Training, Julia Kelm (jkelm@lifelongmedical.org) for any questions.
For more information and to submit an application, please visit:
Sub-Intern Elective
Vision
Striving to be a national model of a community-engaged family medicine residency program that trains and empowers physicians to deliver care with respect, compassion, and humility.
Application Information
Who Should Apply?
We are looking for applicants who:
- Are aligned with the vision and mission of LifeLong Medical Care
- Bring diversity to the LifeLong Community
- Have overcome adversity and demonstrate resiliency
- Have previous experience in caring for vulnerable populations in a safety-net setting
- Are committed to working in diverse and medically vulnerable communities after residency graduation
- Want a rigorous full scope outpatient focused Family Medicine training program
- Aspire to be drivers of healthcare change and leaders in their work and community
- Interested in shaping a new residency program in a community health setting
- Are Bilingual preferred (especially Spanish)
Additionally, we are committed to recruiting, training, and retaining systematically excluded and marginalized in medicine groups.
Who Should Apply?
Interview Process
Only applications submitted through Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) will be considered. ERAS applications will be reviewed by a selection committee. Due to the large number of qualified applications received, only a select number of applicants will be invited to an interview. Interviews will be offered both in person and remote, according to the applicant’s preference. During the interview day, you will have the opportunity to speak with faculty members, residents, and other members of the LifeLong team. We encourage all applicants to review our website, Instagram, and YouTube for informational content about our program.
Throughout the recruitment season, additional opportunities to visit the clinic site and meet with residents will be announced, depending on COVID restrictions. These opportunities will be extended to all applicants who accept and complete interviews.
Interview Process
Application FAQ's
Here are answers to common questions about the application process, requirements, and the LifeLong Medical Care Family Medicine Residency Program.
Application FAQ's
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
LifeLong Medical Care is committed to providing hope and refuge to the communities we serve. We strive to be accessible, responsive, and engaged with our communities. Our commitment to fight discrimination and racism in all forms and to stand with our communities is strong.
We will continue to shine a light on the health inequities that have roots in historical and institutional discrimination and racism, while supporting the power of our patients and our staff to improve the health of our medically underserved communities.
LifeLong provides a safe, nurturing, and anti-racist environment for our staff, patients and community with culturally appropriate care. We empower ourselves to listen, work with and support our communities impacted by health disparities.
Want to Learn More?
Contact Us & Learn More
For more information, please email FMResidency@lifelongmedical.org
Contact Us & Learn More
Meet Our Team
Meet Our Residents
LifeLong Medical Care is an Equal Opportunity Employer.