Rural Medicine

The Rural Medicine Fellowship is a 12 month/13 “block” post-residency program that provides specialty training in emergency and acute care topics such as trauma, ortho trauma, critical care, stabilization, EMS and life flight experience, and related procedures.   The goal is to train broad-spectrum family physicians to provide quality advanced level care to children and adults in a rural, under-served, or isolated community.   Training takes place between both major hospital systems in beautiful Boise as well as in our surrounding communities.  Specific training includes procedures such as central lines, airway management and intubation, chest tubes, thoracentesis/paracentesis, laceration repair, conscious sedation, fracture/dislocation management, and bedside ultrasound.  Surgical OB experience is available for up to 16 weeks of the year depending on our OB Fellows elective schedules.  The fellow will maintain a continuity clinic 2 half days per week.

Application

One fellow will be selected each year.  Applicants must have completed a 3-year ACGME accredited Family Medicine Residency and be board certified in Family Medicine.  At this time, we are not able to sponsor visas for the fellowship.  The fellowship starts approximately the last week of July, which varies by academic year.  Please submit the following to apply:

  • A copy of your CV
  • Concise personal statement detailing the following:
    • Reasons for pursuing additional training in Rural/ Emergency Medicine
    • Future career goals
    • Specific interest in this program
  • Letter of support from your Program Director
  • Two additional letters of reference, preferably from Family Medicine faculty
  • Current list of procedure and bedside ultrasound numbers (OK if approximate)
  • Picture

Application deadline is September 15, 2023. Interviews will be scheduled between 9/16/23 and 10/13/23 with 4 interview dates available (this is flexible as needed); 2 virtual and 2 in-person interviews. The applicant will be notified of acceptance or otherwise via phone by 10/16/23.

Email applications to:

Amy Atondo, Fellowship Program Coordinator.
Subject Line: Rural Medicine Fellowship Application

Direct Inquiries: 

Photo of Amy Atondo

Amy Atondo
Fellowship Coordinator
P: (208) 514-2500 x1074
AmyAtondo@fullcircleidaho.org
777 N Raymond Street Boise, ID 83704

Salary / Benefits

  • Salary estimate $75,847.00
  • Sixteen (16) days paid vacation per year. (View ACGME Family Leave Policy)
  • Educational funds in the amount of $1500 for related CME.
  • Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance options for fellow and immediate family.
  • Disability Insurance for fellow.
  • Malpractice Insurance and Workers' Compensation Insurance.
  • Time and funding included for ATLS if not already completed, however completion before start of program highly encouraged.
  • Butterfly Ultrasound provided if one not already possessed.
  • Licenses and dues: Idaho board of medicine, DEA, board of pharmacy, AAFP membership.

Curriculum

General Overview:

Fellowship is divided into 13 four week blocks starting approximately the last week of July.

The breakdown of blocks is as follows, with some flexibility:

  • 1 month orientation/foundations
    • Includes anesthesia (airway), RT, ortho trauma, trauma, POCUS self study
  • 2-4 weeks peds ER
  • 2-4 weeks ortho trauma, option for longitudinal curriculum
  • 2 weeks ICU nights
  • 2 weeks EMS/life flight
  • 12 weeks St. Als EM: approx twelve 8-12 hour shifts monthly
  • 12 weeks St. Lukes EM: same as above (options at both for 24 hour shifts depending on site)
  • 8 weeks rural rotation
  • 8-10 weeks elective
  • Longitudinal POCUS curriculum (includes didactics, simulation)
  • Weekly continuity clinic (2 half days/week)
  • Up to 16 weeks optional surgical/high risk OB training

 

Goals and Objectives:

  • Train a broad-spectrum, board-certified family physician with skills necessary to provide high quality pediatric and adult emergency medicine services in a rural, under-served, or isolated community
  • Train for advanced bedside ultrasound skills in order to better identify acute, life-threatening conditions from illness or trauma
  • Gain advanced emergency procedural skills such as placement of central lines, airway management, complex laceration repair, chest tubes, etc.
  • Gain comfort in management of orthopedic and non-orthopedic traumas
  • Participate in and promote the education of family medicine residents through ultrasound training, didactics, and procedural supervision
  • Note: This fellowship does not lead to additional board certification

Training Facility

  Full Circle Health The clinic experience throughout training will be at one of the 5 clinics of Full Circle Health.  Final clinic location will be determined by December 2022 as we are expanding both our Raymond and Emerald St locations.

Full Circle Health Sites

Faculty

Liz Atnip, MD (she/her)

Rural Medicine Fellowship Director

Dr. Liz Atnip was born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania (sweetest place on earth!).  She attended Penn State University for both undergraduate and medical school, and then headed west for broad spectrum residency training at Full Circle Health.  During her time here, she fell in love with Boise/Idaho and its people, so decided to stay on as faculty after graduating in 2018.   

She completed a 2 year remote fellowship in Integrative Medicine in 2020 through the University of Arizona, and additionally has training in acupuncture. Her clinical interests are teaching, inpatient adult medicine, and OB.  Outside of work she enjoys playing music and volleyball, cooking, gardening, traveling, and spending time with her husband Josh, toddler Wes, and their two pups.  Dr. Atnip is now Director of the Rural Medicine Fellowship

Current Fellows

Nathan Ord, MD

Rural Medicine Fellowship 2023-2024

Dr. Nathan Ord grew up in Juneau AK bouncing between a beached float-house in a remote site and town, playing sports, playing outside, and working on his dad’s crabbing boat. He went to college at Whitman, in Walla Walla WA, where he ski raced, played soccer and studied sometimes. Initially, Dr. Ord planned to go into research, but after pipetting all summer in a lab, decided he preferred working with people and changed course towards medical school.

Along the way, Dr. Ord worked as a teach/coach with a ski academy in Vermont, a medical assistant with a clinic in Juneau, an X-ray tech, started a CNC fabrication business with some friends mostly making 3-d wooden maps, and had lots of adventures.

Dr. Ord is now status post UW WWAMI in AK. He decided to specialize in Family Medicine because of the long-term patient relationships and breadth of training. Dr. Ord’s plan is to return to AK after residency and fellowship and practice full-spectrum family medicine.

But until then, his partner Emily Fitzgerald and their dog Tikka are having fun exploring Idaho; mountain biking, skiing, paddling, hunting, and trying to get outside as much as possible.

Past Fellows

Alyssa Griffin, MD

Rural Medicine Fellowship 2022-2023