Department of Family Medicine Celebrating 30 Years of Attracting Physicians to Practice in Idaho

After medical school, physicians receive additional training in specialty areas by completing a residency or fellowship before they begin practicing medicine on their own. ISU understands the health care workforce needs in Idaho and offers this and its other health sciences education programs in order to help increase the number of family physicians and providers across the health care team caring for Idaho citizens.

Leadership within the Department of Family Medicine have been involved at the ground level in building a pipeline for Idaho’s providers to learn and grow, with the goal that a majority of them would remain here to practice, build their families and networks, and enjoy all that Idaho has to offer while providing critically needed, patient-centered care to Idaho’s unique populations.

ISU is part of a group of partner agencies committed to the Idaho Ten Year Graduate Medical Education Strategic Plan, currently in year seven. With this plan, Idaho has seen significant growth in the number of seats for physician residents and fellows available in the state, with an 85% increase so far. Undergraduate medical education has grown as well, thanks to a number of health partners, like the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, multi-state medical education program WWAMI, the Idaho Legislature and the State Board of Education. These increases have contributed positively to the overarching goal to bring more physicians to Idaho and improve access to health care for those who need it most. 

As Idaho’s population continues to rapidly expand, the need for family physicians and all members of the health care team has ballooned as well. Retaining medical providers, particularly in rural areas, has its challenges as well. The Department of Family Medicine at ISU has created a foundation that they expect will flourish as they continue to work toward recruiting and retaining more doctors ready to respond to the individual medical needs of Idaho residents.

Through the years, faculty and staff at family medicine, working alongside many supporters, have championed sustained growth of not just the family medicine residency but also have expanded to offer a pharmacotherapy residency and a community-based pharmacy residency. These are opportunities specifically created for residency training after one completes pharmacy school. A psychology internship and psychiatry residency rural track were also added through collaboration agreements with other institutions. 

Through the years, there have been 173 family medicine physician residency graduates, 36 pharmacotherapy and community -based pharmacy residency graduates, 20 psychology internship graduates, and three psychiatry resident physicians who spent time in SE Idaho as part of the Idaho Rural Track from University of Utah. That’s a total of 231 medical professionals who came to this region with the intent to complete their residency, but many of them found much more than that.

Residency location and clinical rotation locations are a strong driver in a medical provider’s decision of where they choose to practice. Over 55% of physicians completing a residency in Idaho have chosen to remain in the state. For ISU, over 100 of the family medicine residency physicians are still practicing in Idaho.

The department was able to realize this growth and success because of forward thinking individuals who recognize and live by the values of innovation, cooperation and resilience. 

The other reason they have been able to achieve so much is undeniable: collaboration. By forging and fostering partnerships with other individuals and entities working toward the same mission, the leadership at family medicine over the years has positioned this department as a flagship of ISU’s statewide leadership for health sciences education in Idaho.

“We are incredibly grateful for our community health partners in Pocatello and in the Treasure Valley and across the state,” said Rex Force, vice president for health sciences and senior vice provost at ISU. “These partnerships are too numerous to list, but I do want to recognize Portneuf Medical Center and Health West for their unwavering support over the last several decades. These two organizations have truly been game changers in the success of our residency programs and other health programs as well.”

Many other organizations play a part in residency training such as the VA, Bengal Pharmacy and hospitals across the state and in Utah. These sites contribute to the learning and training experience of these residents, allowing them to explore their own passions as they care for people in these communities and grow into compassionate providers. 

Force adds, “It is only by working together that we will continue to fulfill our collective mission to improve access to quality health care for Idahoans. Graduate medical education is changing for Idaho, and we are on track to see continued success for many decades to come.”

Faculty, staff and alumni celebrated the 30-year mark, along with all of the graduates that have completed their residency training here in SE Idaho over the last 30 years in June. The celebration also commemorated the completion of residency for eight graduating physicians, along with welcoming a new cohort of residents to ISU.