Forrest General Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program
Mission Statement
"To recruit, train, and retain academically excellent family physicians who can provide comprehensive and compassionate primary care to the diverse community we serve.
Our Program
Forrest General Hospital Family Medicine Residency opened its doors in 2014 as an unopposed program built on the mission of inspiring world-class care. Our residents have direct guidance in how we shape our residency, our only criterion being constant improvement. Our goal is to produce the best possible physicians.
To date, the Forrest General Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program maintains a 100% ABFM board passage rate on the first attempt. The Forrest General Hospital (FGH) Family Medicine Residency Clinic (FMRC) is an unparalleled ambulatory clinic for residents. In addition to their family medicine continuity clinics, our residents provide acute care and occupational medicine services for all employees of Forrest General Hospital.
The patient experience is also exceptional at the FGH FMRC. We embrace the medical team model and have a clinical pharmacist, a social worker, advanced practice providers, and wellness nurses as members of our care team. Our residents are members of the joint FGH/Hattiesburg Clinic Accountable Care Organization (ACO). This not only provides education in Population Health but also a direct opportunity to practice 21st-century family medicine with direct economic consequences. Lastly, our residency faculty run clinical research for the Hattiesburg Clinic. This provides access to cutting-edge treatments for FMRC patients and a rare educational opportunity for our FGH residents.
The FMRC is physically located on the first floor of the Hattiesburg Clinic, PA, conveniently located directly across the street from FGH. The Hattiesburg Clinic is our partner physician group and is the largest multi-specialty group in the state of Mississippi. Most of our specialty rotations are with Hattiesburg Clinic physicians and often in the same building as the FMRC. In addition to well-equipped examination rooms, the FMRC has a large procedure room, resident work areas, a centralized checkout room, and a conference room. Most ancillary services are offered within the Hattiesburg Clinic and are readily accessible. Most importantly, we are fully integrated electronically with our Epic medical record system, in the FMRC, the hospital, and Hattiesburg Clinic.
Because Forrest General Hospital is a second medical home for our residents, we built a state-of-the-art Graduate Medical Education Department in FGH. This residency-exclusive area, named after the Program Founder, Dr. T. Eric Hale, houses collaborative work areas for the adult and pediatric services, several administrative offices and resident work rooms, two conference rooms for morning and noon didactics, two sleep rooms with en suite bathrooms, a resident lounge, kitchen, locker room, and exercise room. It is truly the home base for our program.
Excellent resident education and quality patient care are our priorities. We provide strong procedural education and integrate practice management such as documentation, coding, and billing into your clinical experience. The resident experience at Forrest General is comprehensive, preparing our graduates to practice in any setting.
Our History
The seeds of our community-based residency program were sown several years ago when administrators at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the State Legislature, and Forrest General Hospital began discussing the formation of a family medicine residency based in Hattiesburg. The major incentive was the tremendous need for family physicians in South Mississippi. After years of planning and fundraising, the first class of residents began in July 2014.
The reasons behind the decision to host a residency in Hattiesburg were many. Forrest General Hospital is a regional referral center with a service area of over 500,000 people. The hospital hosts all subspecialty services and has a level II trauma center. It even hosts a large neonatal intensive care unit with multiple neonatologists.
Across the street from the hospital is the Hattiesburg Clinic, which is the largest multi-specialty clinic in the state. Clinic physicians work in the hospital and are directly involved in the education of residents. Our Family Medicine Residency Clinic is housed in the Hattiesburg Clinic main building, which is connected by a covered walkway to Forrest General Hospital.
FAQs
Where is Hattiesburg?
The ‘Hub City’ is located in the heart of Southern Mississippi. It is an almost equal drive from Mobile, New Orleans, Jackson, and the Gulf Coast. One can be in any of these locations within an hour and 45 minutes.
What are the demographics of the patients we serve?
Though our residents are exposed to a variety of ethnicities, the majority of our patients are African-American, Caucasian, or Hispanic.
What extras are provided beyond our salary?
Residents are given a host of benefits outside of their actual salary. For the most updated information on this subject, please
click here.
What are the benefits of being an 'unopposed hospital?'
Because there are no other residencies at Forrest General, our residents have greater responsibility in managing patient care which enhances the educational value of each rotation. Our residents are exposed to a variety of unique cases.
What is our call schedule?
Night float and call schedules vary based on the rotation schedule.
How much personal/family time do our residents get?
Residents get 20 PTO days annually.
Where do most residents live?
From Downtown lofts to Midtown rentals, there is a wide variety of options for living accommodations in Hattiesburg. Some may choose to buy homes closer to the hospital while others prefer a family-oriented lifestyle in West Hattiesburg.
What schools are in the Hattiesburg area?
What moonlighting opportunities are available?
Second and third-year residents are allowed to moonlight outside of Forrest General Hospital once obtaining approval and submitting all required documents.
How much OB training is there?
PGY1 residents have a dedicated block rotation in Rural OBGYN in Waynesboro, Mississippi. PGY1 and PGY2 residents have a dedicated block rotation in SEMRHI OBGYN with OB Consult days at Forrest General Hospital's labor and delivery unit. More experience is available via electives.
How are resident-faculty interactions?
This is one of the strong points of our residency, as residents work very closely with faculty and staff in guiding the program. Faculty understand that residents are ‘in the trenches’ and have a better understanding of the changes that need to be made to improve their educational experience.
What do the residents do for fun?
Hattiesburg offers a lively nightlife, including downtown life with bars, restaurants, festivals, the Saenger theatre, coffee shops, art and antique stores, and a famous local comic book shop. Downtown Hattiesburg is also near the Leaf River, offering canoeing, fishing, and camping. Downtown Hattiesburg also offers a running club, trivia, and bingo at local watering holes. For athletes, Hattiesburg offers the Red Bean Running Club, Pine Belt Pacers, and a bicycle club headquartered at historic Moore’s bicycle shop across the street from the Hattiesburg Zoo and Kamper Park, also located downtown and 3 minutes from the Hospital. The Longleaf Trace stretches 40 miles, beginning in downtown Hattiesburg. There are also tremendous hunting and fishing opportunities.
Is research required?
Residents are required to complete two scholarly activities, at least one of which should be a quality improvement project.
Is there a resident retreat?
In addition to monthly wellness activities, an annual Crawfish Boil, Christmas Party, and Graduation Ceremony, we also have an annual resident retreat that is planned by our resident wellness committee.
