Scripps Mercy Family Medicine Residency

With a focus on caring for the underserved, our three-year, unopposed Family Medicine Residency Program offers excellent opportunities for graduate medical trainees to learn the skills needed to become comprehensive family physicians. 

Residents gain diverse experience in women’s health, pediatrics, sports medicine, adult medicine, geriatrics, adolescent medicine and more. The program has a unique dedication to community medicine based out of the continuity clinic at Chula Vista Medical Plaza (part of San Ysidro Health, a federally qualified health center). 

Residents are involved with high school health clinics, student mentorship programs, community-oriented projects and underserved medical clinics in Tijuana and San Diego’s South Bay communities.

Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista is located just seven miles from the US-Mexico border. This means family medicine residents receive significant global-local training at continuity clinics and hospitals in our bi-national community. And across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, our residents may provide primary care in a local shelter that serves the most resource-deprived individuals in the city. 

Additionally, a collaboration called Viajé Interinstitucional de Integración, Docente, Asistencial y de Investigacion (Inter-institutional Retreat for Integration, Teaching, Assistance and Investigation) brings together: 

• Family medicine residents from Scripps
• Medical students from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
• Public health and nursing students from San Diego State University (SDSU) 
• Medical students from the Autonomous University of Baja California in Tijuana 

The group meets in San Quintin in Baja California, Mexico, to provide medical care, health education and other public health projects. This sustainable global health collaboration has served the community for more than 20 years and, as a resident, you can be a part of its continued growth and transformation.

As a Centering Pregnancy certified program, our residents learn how to lead group prenatal visits.

CenteringPregnancy is a group prenatal care and support program developed by the Centering Healthcare Institute. It brings pregnant women, who are due around the same time, out of exam rooms and into a comfortable group setting. The Centering model has benefits for patients, babies and providers, and has been shown to improve health outcomes, self-confidence and much more. 

As a tangent from the Centering model, residents also learn to lead group diabetes visits. These group visits are guided by a patient-centered curriculum that was developed by former family medicine residents.

AOCs provide residents with additional training opportunities above and beyond the core graduate medical education training in family medicine. Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista’s AOCs allow residents increased elective and continuity time in this area. The fulfillment of the training plan is certified in the final training letter written by the program director upon graduation.

Maternal-child health AOC

• Increased continuity experience in OB-GYN outpatient clinics at Operation Samahan and San Ysidro Health throughout the second and third years. More pediatric clinics if desired.
• More pregnancy options counseling, prenatal care, birth control management (including placement of IUDs and contraceptive implants), OB ultrasound training and pregnancy loss management.
• Dedication of eight to 10 weeks of elective time to the AOC. Electives can include: OB teaching elective, OB ultrasound, perinatology, Planned Parenthood, any pediatric rotations, extra lactation training, and teaching an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics course or Centering parenting groups.

Adolescent health AOC        

• Increased continuity at high school clinics
• More opportunities for advanced birth control training
• Leadership and support for mentoring high school students
• Advocacy for policy changes to support high school district wellness policies
• Participation in longitudinal district wellness committees

Additional AOC opportunities

• Sports medicine
• International/border health
• Integrative medicine 

All AOC areas require:

• Participation in a Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC) scholarly project (research/scholarship/service) in area of concentration
• Giving a third-year scholarly talk at grand rounds on a topic in AOC
• Giving a lunchtime talk or a perinatal case presentation in AOC during each academic year
• Attending a CME course in area of concentration — suggestions include the AAFP’s family medicine OB course or the University of California, San Francisco’s antepartum/intrapartum course 

Pediatrics

Our outpatient pediatrics rotation includes time at 3 school-based clinics (Hoover High School, Palomar High School, and Southwest High School) where residents evaluate and treat teens with experienced faculty. The rotation also includes time at several San Ysidro Health clinics, working directly with pediatricians, as well as specialty experience with pediatric mental psychiatry visits and developmental pediatrics. Outpatient experiences also include parenting classes, public health immunization clinics, and mentoring local high school students.

Pediatric urgent care

In this popular and high-yield rotation, residents work with pediatric urgent care physicians at Rady Children’s urgent care clinics in underserved areas of San Diego County. Residents see common presentations, including newborn fever, pharyngitis, rashes, fractures, lacerations, bronchiolitis, croup and asthma exacerbations, as well as patients with complex medical histories.

Behavioral medicine

This rotation offers experience in psychiatric care. Residents are exposed to patients in a variety of clinical settings, including inpatient care, high school clinics and our own continuity clinics. Residents become more familiar with management of common psychiatric diagnoses and community psychiatric resources.

Medicine and surgical subspecialties

During the medicine and surgical subspecialties rotations, residents obtain diverse outpatient experience in such areas as dermatology, ophthalmology, head and neck surgery, cardiology, urology and HIV care. This rotation provides an important opportunity to become more comfortable with physical exam skills and common diagnoses, while also learning when it’s more appropriate to refer patients to specialists.

Musculoskeletal and sports medicine

Residents work alongside orthopedic surgeons and primary care sports medicine physicians at various sites, including our own continuity clinic, UCSD and Rady Children’s Hospital. Residents gain experience in musculoskeletal exams, joint injections, acute fracture/splint management and concussion evaluation and management. Residents also have opportunities to provide football sideline coverage at Castle Park High School and to work in the Sweetwater injury clinics.

Community medicine

The community medicine rotation is the first rotation in our residency program. It allows residents to get to know Chula Vista and their colleagues. This rotation includes an orientation to our community resources, clinic sites and electronic medical records. You will meet continuity clinic patients whom you’ll continue to care for throughout your residency. It’s also a tradition for all residents to go to San Quintin, Baja, California, to lead a community health project and volunteer together at a clinic. 

Emergency medicine at Scripps

Residents help evaluate patients in the emergency department at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista. With the help of emergency medicine attending physicians, you’ll perform various procedures, including laceration repairs, incision with drainage and intubations. 

Emergency medicine at Rady Children’s

Family medicine residents work alongside pediatric residents, pediatric emergency medicine residents and pediatric emergency medicine physicians at Rady Children's Hospital. You’ll receive extensive and diverse experience managing common childhood illnesses and higher-acuity situations. Residents also have an opportunity to perform procedures during dedicated procedure shifts.

General surgery

This rotation is based mostly in our outpatient surgical clinics and family medicine procedure clinics. It also allows residents to follow surgeons in the operating rooms at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista. Residents gain significant experience performing common family medicine office procedures, such as joint injections, skin biopsies, suturing and circumcisions.

Geriatrics

This is a two-week rotation that takes place at multiple sites, including Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, San Diego PACE senior center and Chula Vista Medical Plaza. Residents experience different perspectives of geriatric care, including inpatient, outpatient and home settings. You will work with family medicine attendings and geriatricians. You also give health talks at St. Charles Senior Center, coordinate home visits with your own continuity patients and participate in ride-alongs with caregivers from Scripps Home Health Care. Longitudinally, all second year and third-year residents will take care of long-term patients at our local nursing homes.

Ultrasound

Our ultrasound rotation combines independent study and hands-on ultrasound experience. Residents have access to a portable ultrasound curriculum with hours of ultrasound material (both didactic lectures and simulations). You’ll have opportunities on our inpatient service, OB clinics and sports medicine clinics. There are also opportunities for advanced OB ultrasound learning with perinatology.

Patient Centered Medical Home

Our 12-week PCMH rotation offers residents an opportunity to assume a leadership position in the clinic while also working on improving clinic efficiency. Residents review and respond to abnormal labs, respond to patient questions and complete tasks or forms on behalf of residents who are away. PCMH residents work closely with one of our clinical faculty on quality improvement projects. They also facilitate weekly interdepartmental meetings and develop techniques to maximize charting efficiency and reduce physician burnout.

Gynecology

During this rotation, residents work at several community clinics handling common gynecologic procedures as well as with specialty clinics, such as OB and urology. Residents gain significant experience in gynecologic procedures, including LARC placements, colposcopies and endometrial biopsies.

For elective time residents can choose to pursue additional training in their areas of interest, spend additional time with subspecialists, perform procedures or elect to extend their global health training further by arranging for rotations abroad. Our residents are supported by the program to pursue their personal interests. This may include:

• Participating in additional continuity clinics
• Training in subspecialty clinics and learning procedures
• Practicing hospital medicine in a foreign city 
• Learning tropical medicine in the jungle 
• Advancing language skills via immersion
• Partnering with community health workers

Here are a few examples of electives our residents have pursued abroad: 

• Argentina – Language immersion
• Bolivia – Outpatient primary care
• Colombia – Outpatient primary care
• Ecuador – Outpatient primary care, ultrasound
• Fairbanks, Alaska – Inpatient and emergency medicine
• Lago Atitlan, Guatemala – Primary care, women's health, public health and education
• New Zealand – Outpatient primary care
• Puerto Escondido, Mexico – Language immersion, outpatient primary care

Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista

Established in 1964, Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista joined Scripps Health in 1986 and is growing today in parallel with the community it serves. The hospital has 173 acute-care licensed beds and more than 700 employees. Within the United States, it’s one of the closest hospitals to the Mexican border.

The hospital has an open ICU, allowing the family medicine team to care for floor and ICU patients simultaneously. As one of only two hospitals in the South Bay region with a labor and delivery ward, it handles a high volume of deliveries. Residents work closely with specialists and have the opportunity to participate in many different inpatient procedures and surgeries.

For the 13th year, Fortune magazine named Scripps Health among the top employers in the nation on their annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.

Chula Vista Medical Plaza

The Chula Vista Medical Plaza guarantees a unique, patient-centered experience focusing on healing and preventive care. It serves as our patients’ permanent medical home as well as our residents’ continuity clinic. The facility has been designed around the concepts of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of care — meaning the patient, not the support staff or providers, is the focus of all care and services.

Within the building’s spacious, three-story layout are specialized service pods with 60 well-planned and designed medical exam rooms, 10 fully equipped state-of-the-art dental operatories, a behavioral suite, a full-service diagnostic laboratory and a new radiology department featuring the latest advances in digital X-ray technology, health education/promotion services and social and support services.

Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego

Established in 1890 by the Sisters of Mercy, Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego is located in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego. Rotations include internal medicine and special care nursery (Level II NICU). Family medicine residents work alongside Scripps Mercy Hospital internal medicine residents during their inpatient ward months.

Rady Children’s Hospital

A pediatric tertiary care center, Rady Children’s Hospital serves San Diego and Imperial Valley. Residents provide care here during inpatient pediatrics and pediatric emergency room rotations, working alongside residents from UCSD and other training programs.

High school clinics

Scripps Family Medicine Residency Program staffs three local high school clinics: Southwest High School, Hoover High School and Palomar High School. Residents work in a collaborative team with school nurses, social work students and nurse practitioners to provide medical care and behavioral health services. Our family medicine residents are excellent role models and can serve as mentors to develop a diverse workforce of healthcare professionals from underserved communities.

We also work closely with the San Diego Border Area Health Education Center to provide mentoring experiences at four high schools in the central and southern regions of San Diego County, including City Heights (CAE BHC) and Chula Vista (Promise Neighborhood).

San Ysidro Health and clinics

San Ysidro Health began operating out of a small house in 1969 as an outreach effort of the UCSD School of Medicine. It now encompasses multiple health services and satellite clinics that are subsidiaries of San Ysidro Health, including the Chula Vista Medical Plaza, Maternal Child Health Center, San Ysidro Mental Health, National City Family Clinic, Otay Family Health Center, Comprehensive Health Center and Paradise Hills Family Clinic.

SYHC is a federally designated community health center and is governed by a community-based board of directors representing the ethnically diverse population it serves.

Operation Samahan 

Operation Samahan is a community health site in National City that provides culturally competent care to an underserved population of San Diego. Residents work with our faculty during their OB and gynecology rotations.

Health Frontiers in Tijuana

HFIT is a free clinic in the red light district of Tijuana. It serves some of the city’s most marginalized communities including homeless persons, migrants, deportees and sex workers. It includes an HIV clinic, women’s group, transgender clinic and mental health services alongside basic medical services. Faculty and residents staff the clinic on Saturdays with medical students from UCSD and Autonomous University of Baja California in Tijuana.

The residency program holds daily and weekly didactic sessions in the outpatient and inpatient setting. Each morning, resident and attending didactic sessions are held at the Chula Vista Medical Plaza. And every afternoon, resident and specialist-led didactic sessions are held with the inpatient service, including case reports, pediatric and obstetric topics, specialty topics and ECG rounds.

On Wednesday afternoons, all faculty and residents meet for an educational series of lectures and workshops that address the breadth of family medicine, as well as balint groups, procedure workshops and quality improvement sessions.

We have ongoing monthly sessions of RPrIDE: Residency Promoting Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, with a goal to bring residents and faculty together to address a shared goal of anti-racism and inclusion. RPriDE’s shared mission statement reads: “Racism is at the core of inequities in the social structures and health systems of this country. These inequities are destructive to the health of patients and the well-being of care providers. If we are committed to training leaders in primary care and improving the health of our community, we must commit ourselves to being anti-racist.”

Clinical faculty in other medical and surgical specialties present topics that focus on their expertise. The didactic curriculum addresses the broad spectrum of family medicine.

Grand rounds are also held at our continuity clinic, where resident PCMH teams work with their medical assistants to improve care through practice improvement projects, with a focus on the PDSA cycle model.

The Family Medicine Residency Program at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista offers nine first-year resident (PGY-1) positions each year. The program’s small size gives residents an opportunity to build close relationships with each other during their three years of training. 

• View the class of 2024 (PDF, 280 KB)
• View the class of 2023 (PDF, 330 KB)
• View the class of 2022 (PDF, 340 KB)

We offer fourth year chief positions for graduates who are interested in developing leadership and teaching skills. This position is tailored to individual interests and can provide more maternity care, inpatient, and faculty development experiences. Fourth year chiefs work closely with residents and faculty and focus on specific areas of the curriculum, community activities, recruitment, team building, and support for medical student rotators.

We also have two chief resident positions for third years. They work together with the fourth year chief and faculty to coordinate wellness activities, support curriculum development, review resident rotations, and serve as liaison to ensure resident needs are addressed.

In 2021, the residency received HRSA funding for primary care training and enhancement in community prevention and maternal health. We will offer a new fourth year fellow position for advanced training in maternal health. The experience will include OB clinical experiences on labor and delivery in Scripps hospitals and rural sites, teaching opportunities, leading Centering prenatal groups, gynecological procedure clinics, SUD management, and interprofessional team QI projects that focus on maternal health indicators in our community.

Our graduates practice broad spectrum family medicine in community health centers, multi-specialty groups and hospitalist settings. They serve as medical directors for health care organizations, faculty in academic institutions and health care leaders in multiple settings. More than 75% of program graduates practice medicine in underserved areas and 65% have stayed in the South Bay and greater San Diego area.

Graduate highlights 

• Dr. Maria Carriedo-Ceniceros (2003) grew up in National City. She went east to complete her undergraduate education at Harvard College before returning to UC San Diego for medical school. Dr. Carriedo is now the vice president and chief medical officer for San Ysidro Health.
• Dr. Raul Trejo (2003) grew up in San Ysidro and completed medical school at Harvard University. He is now core faculty with the Scripps Family Medicine Residency Program and leads our Patient-Centered Medical Home curriculum with a focus on quality improvement and health disparities.
• Dr. Rakesh Patel (2003) began working at Neighborhood Healthcare after graduation and is now their CEO. He is a community health leader for northern San Diego County.
• Dr. Eric Leute (2004) is medical director of the Imperial Beach Community Clinic. He has hired six Scripps Family Medicine Residency Program graduates who also teach our residents in the inpatient and OB settings.
• We have three palliative and hospice care fellowship graduates, including Dr. Sonya Koo Christianson (2009), the prior director of palliative care at Scripps, Dr. Johanna Estrada (2015) and Dr. Stephanie Yoon (2012), palliative care attendings at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista.
• With a global health passion and NHSC scholarship, Dr. Brian Sullivan (2010) practiced two years in Saipan. Today he and his family divide their time between Costa Rica and South Dakota.
• Three graduates are practicing in Hawaii, including Dr. Mikela Yarawamai (2015) who is originally from the Big Island and now works closely with the native Hawaiian people.
• Three additional graduates practice in Texas, including Dr. Ruth Morgan (2013). She is medical director at Haven for Hope in San Antonio, a multi-disciplinary program that cares for the vulnerable homeless population.
• Our five sports medicine graduates are working with athletes across California, from UCLA to Stanford.
• Three graduates have received certification in integrative medicine.
• Many of our graduates are teaching the next generation of family physicians in our own program and other family medicine residency programs in California and across the West Coast.

Our program maintains a casual atmosphere that fosters support and togetherness. All incoming interns are paired with PGY-2 and PGY-3 “big sibs” who serve as mentors and create a sense of family away from home throughout the rest of the year. In addition, mid-way through residency, the second-year class celebrates their half-way mark by having a day-retreat to themselves to rekindle and reflect

Quarterly, we host an event called Residents and Faculty Together (RAFT), which gives us the opportunity to connect with each other and our community. Social activities include Halloween costume contests, beach barbecues, bowling, and visiting a local animal sanctuary. Other community engagement RAFTs have included virtual tours of community art spaces, visiting local museums, and cooking classes at an organic farm. 

During the month of November, our residents and faculty support men’s health with an annual “Movember” mustache contest and fundraiser. We also participate in a white elephant gift exchange at our annual Holiday Party hosted by our program director. Every holiday season, our residents sing carols and spread holiday cheer for our nursing home patients.

During our annual retreats, all residents and staff spend a weekend away together where they relax, reflect on the year, and work on program development. Residents participate in an annual fantasy football league — and the competition is fierce. Our residents enjoy being active whether by hiking in our beautiful San Diego backyard, biking, participating in fitness classes together, or Latin dancing. Additionally, every Friday at lunch is designated for individual wellness. 

We also place a great emphasis on our structured wellness curriculum, mirroring the ACGME Aware framework. Through this well-being curriculum, residents and faculty engage in skill development and mindfulness to help promote a healthy and sustainable workforce. We work closely with the Employee Assistance Program psychologists to provide individual and group resident support.

Health insurance

All residents (and their families at minimal cost) are offered individual health insurance including medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage, under the Scripps medical insurance plan. Residents may also participate in the Scripps Wellness Program.

Vacation

Four weeks per year (20 working days) for all residents. Up to 10 additional days for PTO (medical leave and family emergencies).

Sick leave

All residents have a 10-day bank that is used for sick leave as well as holidays recognized by Scripps when residents may not be scheduled to work, depending on their call schedules.

Licensure

All residents in graduate medical education programs in the state of California must possess a Post-Graduate Training license (PTL) within the first six months of starting residency. 

Professional liability coverage

Professional liability coverage is provided to all Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista residents for claims that arise out of the performance of their duties as Scripps employees.

Counseling service

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential, free, short-term professional counseling for employees and family members.

Parking

Free physician parking is available.

Meals

Residents receive a meal card for $25.00 per week, upon completion of medical records, with additional meals during Friday and weekend coverage.

Educational stipend

An annual stipend is available that can be used toward the purchase of books, educational software, USMLE application, conferences, medical licensure and DEA.

Educational resources

All residents have 24/7 access to the medical library at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista. The medical library is staffed with personnel who can assist with research and journal article retrieval. In addition, there are online journals and links to UpToDate, DynaMed, PsycINFO, Embase, AccessMedicine, Cochrane Library and PubMed. These online resources are also accessible from home.

The Scripps Family Medicine Residency Program offers outpatient and inpatient training opportunities for medical students who want to gain experience in a family medicine environment that caters to the underserved Latino population of the San Diego border area. We have a close affiliation with the UCSD family medicine program.

In the inpatient setting, medical students care for patients and round with inpatient teams in training, working closely with interns and senior residents.

The goal of our medical student rotations is to provide participants with a whole picture of the inpatient service, including rounding, admissions, discharge planning, family meetings, daily didactics, working with specialists and night float. Students also have an opportunity to work with the obstetrics service.

Additionally, students have opportunities to work in various outpatient clinics and participate in prenatal care at Operation Samahan.

Requirements

Students must: 

• Be enrolled in a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) approved medical school in the United States or Canada
• Have completed core clerkship training
• Be in good academic standing with their school to qualify for the rotation

How to apply

If you’re interested in applying for a medical student rotation, please print and submit the Family Medicine Rotation Application (PDF, 170 KB) for medical students. If you have questions in the meantime, please send an email to familypractice.scripps@scrippshealth.org.

To learn more about the Family Medicine Residency Program at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, contact familypractice.scripps@scrippshealth.org.