For inforamtion regarding the PGY1 schedule please see the Missoula curriculum page. All Kalispell rotations in the R2 and R3 years are split 26 two 2-week blocks. 

*Vacation may be taken during these blocks
FCM- Family and Community Medicine

Serving the Flathead Valley, Greater Valley Health Center is a Federally Qualified, non-profit community health center offering integrated medical, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy, diagnostic ultrasound and case management. GVHC’s main clinic is in Kalispell, minutes from Logan Health Medical Center where residents do their hospital-based rotations. In addition, GVHC has a satellite rural clinic in Hungry Horse, three school based-health centers and a growing home visiting program. GVHC provides behavioral health services in seven schools in Kalispell and Evergreen. Residents provide care to patients across all of GVHCs care locations.

For those who were willing to share their income level, eighty-five percent of the GVHC patient population is below the 200% Federal Poverty Level. We offer sliding scale payment for all services. Providers at GVHC care for patients of all ages, providing chronic disease management, wellness, reproductive health care, and prenatal care. With the acquisition of Sykes Pharmacy in Kalispell and Columbia Falls, GVHC now has an integrated Medication Management Pharmacist on site that complements the health center’s 340B discounted medication program.

• Some of Greater Valley’s health programs include:
  • LGBTQ+ Health including gender affirming care
  • Comprehensive outpatient substance use treatment including medication assisted therapy for opiate and other substance use disorders
  • HIV and Hepatitis C testing and treatment
  • Comprehensive miscarriage management
  • School based health care
  • Psychiatric medication management and behavioral health counseling
  • Outreach services to the underserved via a variety of community agencies

Watch a welcome video for GVHC here. 

Adult Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and ICU experiences take place at Logan Health Medical Center.  In addition to 3 months of adult inpatient medicine/admissions in the PGY1 year in Missoula, Kalispell residents in the PGY2 and PGY3 years complete an additional 4 months of adult inpatient medicine, 6 weeks of emergency medicine, and 2 weeks of critical care.

Strengths of this experience:

• Dedicated teaching hospitalist service where residents work one-on-one with attendings
• Open ICU as well as a dedicated critical care rotation
• Specialists function as consultants, with the teaching service providing primary management
• Wide variety patient pathology with high patient acuity and emphasis on resident autonomy and independent learning

In addition to the experiences above, residents also complete rotations in Cardiology and Geriatrics. The PGY3 Cardiology 2-week rotation includes inpatient rounds and outpatient clinic with the cardiologists at Logan Health Heart and Lung. The PGY2 4-week Geriatrics rotation includes experiences in nursing home and skilled nursing care, palliative care consultations and clinic sessions, and home visits as well as team meetings for hospice patients. Residents also follow continuity patients at a local nursing home on a longitudinal basis.

Kalispell PGY2 and PGY3 pediatric experiences take place at Logan Children's Hospital. Logan Health Medical Center is home to Montana’s only children’s hospital, including a Level 3 NICU and PICU.  This curricular area spans all three years of training.In addition to the Missoula PGY1 rotations in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and newborn hospital care, Kalispell residents complete an additional month of ambulatory pediatrics, a month of pediatric sub-specialty care, one month of inpatient pediatrics, and two weeks of NICU.  Residents also see pediatric patients in their panels during continuity clinic. 

Strengths of this experience:

• Access to the only dedicated children’s hospital of its kind in Montana
• High-acuity inpatient pediatric experience focused on high volume times of year
• Energetic pediatric hospitalist group committed to teaching future rural family physicians
• Outpatient experience focused in busy primary care and specialty pediatric clinics
• Option to do rural ambulatory pediatric rotations in Butte, Anaconda or Hamilton

Obstetrics experiences take place at Logan Health Medical Center (inpatient obstetrics and perinatology), Greater Valley Health Center (longitudinal prenatal care) and reproductive health care at Flathead Family Planning, our Title X clinic located within the health department. Logan Health Medical Center is a tertiary referral hospital for obstetric care for Western Montana and bordering areas of Idaho. This curricular area spans all years of training. In addition to two months of inpatient OB and one month of Gynecology in the PGY1 year in Missoula, Kalispell residents complete an additional 4 months of inpatient obstetrics.  In addition to the core obstetrics and reproductive health curriculum, our program offers optional tracks in Advanced Obstetrics and Reproductive Health. 

Strengths of this experience:

• Resident coverage of Labor and Delivery, with a complex OB population
• Work with a variety of providers, including residency faculty, certified nurse midwives, obstetricians, and perinatologists
• Flexible work hours allow residents to maximize learning and volume throughout their two-week blocks
• Excellent OB volume: 80-100 vaginal deliveries and 20-30 c-section assists for residents in the OB track; 30-60 vaginal deliveries and 10-30 c-section assists for non-OB track residents.
• Gynecologic procedural training on the rotation as well as regularly in continuity clinic, including LARCs, MVA, EMB, and colposcopy
• Strong reproductive health curriculum including optional training in medication and procedural abortion as well as a dedicated track
• Advanced Obstetrics Track
• Reproductive Health Track and additional curriculum details

A longitudinal integrated experience allows residents to explore public and community health with various community organizations. Experiences include school-based clinics operated by Greater Valley Health Center, Shepherd’s Hand Free Clinic, and seeing patients at Flathead Family Planning, our Title X clinic. Residents also gain exposure to community health resources through Flathead City-County Health department and other local community organizations. 

FMRWM has a longitudinal orthopedic curriculum. In the PGY-1 year residents work one-on-one with an orthopedic surgeon in a non-operative consult clinic at Partnership Health Center.  The experience focuses on common musculoskeletal injuries and complaints, x-ray interpretation, joint injections, physician-directed rehabilitation, and non-operative fracture management.  Orthopedic didactics occur on a quarterly basis provided by orthopedic surgeons and core faculty members. In Kalispell residents work once monthly with a non-operative orthopedist seeing patients at Greater Valley Health Center. In addition, residents staff local high school football games with the team doctor and in the PGY3 year staff the walk-in clinic at the Base Lodge at the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort.  Longitudinal team coverage and sports event coverage are available.