Mission

The Madigan Army Medical Center Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency Program optimizes the learning environment and affords residents educational opportunities to acquire competencies and meet milestones as set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The Program prepares graduates to independently practice preventive medicine and demonstrate proficiency in core public health functions.

Vision

Be the model of excellence for integrating outcomes-driven regional population health services and force health protection measures throughout the United States Army.

Aims

• Develop patient care skills that are compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.
• Develop leadership skills necessary for directing a public health agency.
• Develop research skills leading to peer-reviewed, publishable original research.
• Develop administrative skills required to manage public health programs.
• Address social, cultural and behavioral factors influencing individual and public health.
• Identify and counter disease threats related to military service.
• Communicate clearly to multiple professional and lay target groups in both written and oral presentations.

The residency hosts a weekly didactics session one afternoon each week. Local and national experts provide education on topics pertinent to public health and preventive medicine.

Our program has 13- block rotations, at a total of three local site: Madigan Army Medical Center, University of Washington School of Public Health, and Tacoma Pierce County Health Department. Our residents’ educational experience is further strengthened by attendance at a variety of required military course during the 2nd year, such as the Military Tropical Medicine Course.  

• Research
• Global Health Overseas Rotation
• Clinical Informatics
• Faculty Development (Teaching and Developing Leaders in Academic medicine)
• Infectious Diseases Clinical Practice
• Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division (Epidemiology-focused)

Preventive Medicine residents will serve on-call as the Preventive Medicine Officer on Duty for one week at a time on a rotating basis, responding to inpatient, outpatient, and emergency consults during the duty day and after hours (home call). All consults are discussed with the attending physician prior to disposition. As the second year of training progresses, the resident is granted greater responsibility and is expected to function independently prior to graduation.

Operational focus criteria: Residents are educated on the military scope of practice prior to their graduation.

Tropical Medicine Course

Elective six-week course offered to residents at the beginning of their third year and is a funded integral part of training. The purpose of the course is to familiarize physicians with the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases encountered in developing nations. The course consists of 4 weeks of didactic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (required), followed by 2 weeks of field instruction in a selected country (elective and funding dependent).

Preventive Medicine Senior Leaders Course (6A-F6)

Developed and taught by the US Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDDC&S). This course emphasizes personnel management skills, fiscal responsibility, and problem solving in the Army Preventive Medicine. The course is two weeks in length in San Antonio.

Fundamentals of Occupational Medicine Course (6H-F20)

6H-F20 is a two phased course that provides the knowledge and skills essential for active and reserve AMEDD officers, DACs with responsibilities in administering Occupational Health Programs. The course is one week in length in San Antonio. 6A-F6 and 6H-F20 are typically contiguous in late Jan-early Feb for a total 3-week TDY in San Antonio.

Public Health Emergency Management Course

Initial training requirement for medical personnel assigned as Public Health Emergency Officer and Medical Emergency Manager. This is a one-week course in San Antonio, typically in April.

Maintenance of Basic Life Support certification during residency training.

Simulation plays a vital role in the education of complex and critical situation in Preventive Medicine. All residents participate in our simulation curriculum, which includes simulation of high impact/low volume encounters such as HIV notification.

In addition to the 6A-F6 and 6H-F20 courses, residents receive training throughout the year in both didactic and practical settings to prepare them to lead a department of public health in or out of the Army.

Research is required as part of the MPH thesis. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, resident will work independently to research a topic of public health interest, formulate an appropriate study question, design applicable survey instruments, utilize data collection techniques, analyze, and interpret acquired data, and effectively communicate findings to both lay and professional audiences. The work includes didactic education on research ethics and methods, including scientific writing, participation in a research protocol development workshops, mentorship by University of Washington SPH faculty members, thesis committee members, the Program Director, and other selected residency faculty members.

The resident will present their work in both podium and poster presentation formats in multiple settings, including the semi-annual Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting, will submit his research abstract to a national meeting and will submit the finished manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal for consideration of publication. Attendance in specific University of Washington courses by distance learning is on an as-needed basis. Additional research is supported/encouraged if the resident so desires.

• Our institution and program place a large focus on quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS). All residents participate in the institution’s longitudinal patient safety and quality improvement (QI) curriculum which includes workshops, patient safety reporting, root cause analysis training, and other key patient safety topics as outlined in the GME Institutional Handbook.
• Residents are integrated and actively participate in interdisciplinary clinical QI and patient safety programs through membership in hospital level committees.
• Our program is responsible for providing resident membership to the Emergency Management Functional Management Team and the Infection Prevention and Control committee.
• Assigned residents from the program are freed from clinical duties to attend these regularly scheduled meetings.

• While developing excellent preventive medicine skills, the MAMC Preventive Medicine Residency also focuses on developing future military Preventive Medicine leaders through mentoring and modeling.
• Funding for residents to attend at least one professional conference during residency when presenting a scholarly activity.
• Aside from the professional development planned in the curriculum, residents also have an opportunity to widen their development as military officers participating in medical humanitarian missions in overseas.

• Madigan Army Medical Center
• University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, Washington
• Tacoma‐Pierce County Health Department, Tacoma, Washington

Medical Students are welcome to rotate with the Public Health Residency Program. This is a four-week direct patient care experience in Preventive Medicine Clinical Services during the PM-2 training year, consisting of eight half-days per week, evaluating walk-in patients for sexually transmitted infections, and regularly scheduled patients for latent tuberculosis, animal exposures, and pre-travel counseling. On occasion, patients presenting for initial notification of HIV infection and deferred blood donor counseling are also evaluated. Rotating medical students will be also offered non-clinical opportunities to assist with Environmental Health inspections and otherwise familiarize with the operation of an Army Department of Public Health.

Interviews are offered to all interest Army applicants. In our candidates, we value potential for academic success, but also work ethic, ability to function well in a team, and many other factors which demonstrate potential for long-term success as a military officer. To schedule an interview, contact our program at: dha.jblm.madigan-amc.list.mamc-prevmed@health.mil.

Program graduates take the American Board of Preventive Medicine board exam. This exam is offered annually, typically in October following residency graduation. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete residency training by June 30th and provide proof of an active, unrestricted medical license by July 31st.

Additional information can be found here on the American Board of Preventive Medicine website.

Our residents teach principles of preventive medicine and clinical care competencies to all rotating family medicine and transitional year interns, senior internal medicine residents, and all rotating medical students. Additionally, residents are responsible for presenting various preventive medicine topics during didactic sessions.

Some residents are offered the opportunity to serve as preventive medicine faculty for the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences senior student capstone event Operations Bushmaster, a one week exercise introducing students to chaotic scenarios they might encounter responding to medical emergencies.

In addition to Preventive Medicine, some of our faculty are also board certified in Occupational Medicine.

• The program director and/or associate program director meet with each resident quarterly to provide mentorship.
• Each resident has an assigned faculty mentor that meets with them at least twice annually to monitor progression of training requirements and to provide mentorship.
• All our faculty have an open-door policy and frequently engage in informal mentoring.

• The MAMC Preventive Medicine residency program provides maximal opportunities for resident wellness consistently over the course of the 24-month residency. We have worked to consolidate all official activities in such a manner as to maximize off time without reducing the maximal opportunities for training.
• Residents can participate in an optional Wellness Committee activities.
• Resident wellbeing is reviewed at every Clinical Competency Committee meeting.