A university/community hospital family practice residency program

A residency program associated with a major university has many obvious advantages. On the other hand, a residency program located in an area of health manpower shortage is a major advantage to that community. This paper describes the development of a university affiliated family practice residency in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. It reports that it is possible to form a successful alliance between a medical center and a rural community, bringing increased primary care to the community, upgrading the quality of medicine practiced in the community and augmenting the staff of the local hospital without sacrificing training for the family practice residents. Furthermore, the residency program can become financially self-sufficient.