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Vol. 66, No. 2 2015
Northeast Florida Medicine
Residents’ Corner: Naval Hospital
Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville is home to the Navy’s
earliest and one of its largest family medicine residencies. In
1963, NH Jacksonville was one of the first in the country to
offer a general practice residency training program. The resi-
dency program was completely restructured in 1969—due to
the family practice movement—and transitioned to a family
practice residency program. NHJacksonville’s programstarted
with 24 resident positions per year, and has since grown to
39 (13 per year group).
NHJacksonville’s residency programhas received numerous
honors, including the 2015 and 2014 Outstanding Achieve-
ment in Scholarly Activity Award from theUniformed Services
Academy of Family Physicians, the 2013Excellence inTeaching
Award, and the 2011 Family Medicine Clinical Site of the
Year Award from the Uniformed Services University of the
Health Sciences. The program was recently ranked in the top
two in Florida by the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.
NH Jacksonville’s Family Medicine Residency Program’s
research has been noticed on a national level, with multiple
publications in medical journals. New curriculum innova-
tions include research workshops, a scholarly activity point
system, and the appointment of both a faculty research
coordinator and a resident coordinator. In-house analysis
revealed an increase in research and participation by residents
after these interventions. Each June, the program hosts its
annual research symposium in collaboration with the family
medicine residency programs atMayoClinic and St. Vincent’s
HealthCare. InMarch, four NH Jacksonville physicians pre-
sented their research topics (acupuncture, back pain, child
obesity, and psychiatry screening) at the Uniformed Services
Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting.
NH Jacksonville recently expanded its simulation training.
Residents and other providers now have the opportunity to
practice numerous skills and procedures inmultiple scenarios.
The training makes use of high-tech computer-operated and
non-computer operatedmannequins.These hands-on clinical
experiences better prepare residents for a wider range of real
clinical encounters.
The Family Medicine Residency Program is a three-year
program, accredited by the AccreditationCouncil forGraduate
Medical Education. The curriculum for residents includes
rotations in internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediat-
rics, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, orthopedics, dermatology,
urology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, geriatrics, cardiology,
medical intensive care, neonatal intensive care, psychiatry,
neurology, community medicine, radiology, and various
sub-specialty electives.To broaden experience, residents cross-
train in the intensive care unit, emergency room, and pediatric
wards at UF Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Residency programgraduates have additional opportunities
to further their education through study in fellowships. Avail-
able programs include geriatric medicine, sports medicine,
obstetrics, and aerospace medicine. As a training hospital,
NH Jacksonville also hosts rotations of medical students from
the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,
providing residents the opportunity to mentor the next gen-
eration of physicians.
After the first year, residents have the opportunity to pursue
operational medicine as a general medical officer on ships,
aviation units, or with the Marines. They also have the op-
portunity to pursue training in flight or undersea medicine.
Upon completion of the three-year Family Medicine Resi-
dency Program, graduates are assigned to a duty station and
join the fleet as medical officers.
NH Jacksonville’s priority since its founding in 1941 is to
heal the nation’s heroes and their families. The command is
comprised of the Navy’s third largest hospital and five branch
health clinics across Florida and Georgia. There are 70,000
active and retired sailors, soldiers,Marines, airmen, guardsmen
and their families enrolled with a Medical Home Port team
at one of its facilities. To find out more, visit the command
website at
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Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s Family Medicine Residency Program
By Lt. Jason Pesqueira, MD, Naval Hospital Jacksonville
