The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, offered its first fellowship in 1986, the Obstetrics Fellowship for Family Medicine Physicians. Since then, the residency has added six more fellowships that provide an additional year of training for family medicine physicians in the following specialty areas:
Sports Medicine
Fellows receive education and training in state-of-the-art sports medicine care. They work with UA athletic team physicians, coaches, trainers and athletes, and with local high school athletes. Fellows also see patients at the College’s Dr. Bill deShazo Sports Medicine Center.
Geriatrics
Designed to give family medicine physicians the skills to provide comprehensive care for the growing geriatric population. The fellowship offers experiences that include collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, as well as working at nursing homes, hospice, assisted living and geriatric psychiatry facilities.
Behavioral Health
Provides skills for family medicine physicians, particularly those planning to practice in rural communities, to better care for patients with mental health and psychiatric concerns. Fellows receive training in evaluation and treatment of psychiatric problems as well as autism, ADHD, personality disorders and management of chronic pain.
Hospital Medicine
Provides training at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, a tertiary-care facility with 583 beds. One of only a few nationwide that includes a rural focus.
Obstetrics
The oldest such training program in the U.S. created to address the overwhelming need for obstetric care in rural and remote areas of Alabama. Fellows master high-risk, operative obstetrics and office obstetric and gynecologic procedures, including ultrasound, colposcopy, cryotherapy and endometrial biopsies.
Emergency Medicine
The fellowship includes rotations through radiology, anesthesia and trauma and advanced courses in obstetrics, airway management and advanced life support.
Pediatrics
Fellows receive a variety of experiences in both primary care and tertiary care settings, with some rotations taking place at Children’s of Alabama, a Birmingham-based hospital specializing in care for ill and injured children.