Overview

Mission

To train family physicians in a small town, supportive setting, that emphasizes one-on-one mentorship and forges lasting relationships with patients, faculty, and the community

Program Philosophy

1. Purpose: We will nurture and encourage each resident’s deepest motivation for medicine​.  ‘The secret of quality is love’ – Avedis Donabedian
2. Mission: We aim to support each resident as they clarify their personal mission or calling in medicine.
3. Practice: We will build on each resident’s knowledge and abilities through experience with patients in a safe, supervised environment.
4. Relationships: Our work will be based on one on one growth relationships with each resident.
5. Growth in Adversity: We aim to model wisdom through adversity so that residents will be resilient in the face of expected challenges in their profession.
6. We endeavor to pass on the sacred mantle of the practice of medicine, drawing strength from those who have gone before and contributing to each resident’s ability to make medicine better as a whole.

Why start a residency in Darke County?

There are so many reasons why Darke County is a great place for a family medicine residency!  Here are just a few:

1. Rural citizens deserve the same access to primary care physicians as people in urban and suburban communities.  Darke County is designated as a health professional shortage area for primary care and mental health, and it is also a Medically Underserved Area.  Residents will have an immediate impact in making healthcare more accessible.
2. Darke County will offer Residents an excellent quality of life, from a robust parks system, to a low cost of living, to a vibrant downtown with interesting small businesses.  Residents who have families will find a wide variety of employment opportunities for partners and exceptional school systems for their children.  Most important, Residents will find a community that is eager to embrace them.
3. There is already a rich history of health education in Darke County.  Family Health Services, the clinical home of the residency, has established residencies in dentistry and pharmacy.  The physicians at Family Health have a long history of precepting medical students and visiting family medicine residents.  Other providers at Family Health precept students training in nurse practitioner, physician assistant, nursing, and other training programs.

HRSA Grant

Wright State University, in partnership with Family Health Services of Darke County, Wayne HealthCare, and Premier Health, was awarded a $750,000, three-year grant to develop this residency from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  Since 2019, HRSA has awarded 59 grants for rural residency planning and development, and Wright State is the only organization in Ohio to have been awarded.

What is a 1+2 Rural Training Pathway?

1+2 means the first year of the residency is spent in a large urban residency program, and the last two years are spent in a rural setting.  The 1+2 model allows for the best of both worlds – the urban year allows for rotations in specializations that may not be possible to offer in the rural setting, but the bulk of the training program is in the rural setting. 

Relationship with Dayton program

The intern year is spent in Dayton working side-by-side with the Residents in the urban Wright State University Family Medicine Residency Program.  While the two residencies are separate programs, they enjoy a close relationship.   For all years of the program, weekly didactics will be done in tandem with the urban residents, with some sessions being led by rural faculty and other by urban faculty.  Just as the rural Residents will benefit from their intern year in Dayton, urban Residents will benefit from learning about the unique challenges and opportunities that practicing in a rural community presents.