Pediatric Primary Care Residency

The UNC Primary Care Residency started in June 2011 and has been a huge success. Children, especially those with complex health care issues, need pediatricians who have the medical knowledge to care for their illnesses, the skills to coordinate care with subspecialists and other team members, and the savvy to connect them with resources in their communities. Primary care pediatricians, especially those taking care of underserved patients, have different residency training needs than physicians preparing to practice subspecialty medicine. Primary care providers must develop a true medical home for their patients, be able to evaluate and manage mental health and behavioral issues, and provide chronic care in a high quality, evidence-based manner.

Additionally, where tertiary care pediatric programs have traditionally emphasized provision of care in resource-rich settings, underserved primary care practice requires a unique set of procedural, critical care, and stabilization skills. The UNC Primary Care Residency allows us to further focus on the unique needs of primary care pediatricians. By the end of their training, graduates of this program will be exemplary general pediatricians that are very capable of practicing in any venue in which children's health needs are underserved.

Overview

Primary Care residents spend about 6 months each year in the Cone Health System (Moses Cone Hospital, Women’s and Children's Center and Tim and Carolynn Rice Center for Child and Adolescent Health) in Greensboro, NC and about 6 months each year at the North Carolina Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Moses Cone and the Rice Center have been integral parts of the UNC residency program for decades. They were selected as the core sites for our primary care trainees because of several unique educational factors, including a well-established community teaching program, award-winning community resources, a diverse patient population, and extensive public-private partnerships that benefit the health and welfare of children.

Our current residents already spend several months during their residency at each of these superb community sites, and excellent faculty are in place to supervise these experiences. The residency programs are fully integrated, and all residents in the UNC Pediatric Residency Program get broad exposure to community settings as well as subspecialty and tertiary care. Every resident who trains with us will be comfortable and confident practicing in a broad range of venues.

More information about the application process and UNC School of Medicine’s other pediatric training programs can be found through the UNC Pediatrics Residency website. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to both the Pediatric Primary Care and Pediatric categorical residencies through the ERAS system.

Our Sites

UNC Primary Care residents will rotate at the following Cone Health sites in addition to UNC-affiliated sites:

• The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital is a 628-bed not-for-profit hospital and the flagship institution of Cone Health. From its beginnings in 1911 as a trust established by Bertha Lindau Cone, Cone Health has grown into one of the premier healthcare institutions in North Carolina. Today, Cone Health consists of five hospitals and numerous free-standing outpatient facilities, including Cone Health’s MedCenter High Point and MedCenter Kernersville. Cone Health is a member of The HealthCare Alliance. Cone Health is a not-for-profit health system serving people in Guilford, Forsyth, Rockingham, Alamance, and Randolph counties. In 2020, Cone Health provided nearly $530 million in uncompensated care to the community.
• The Women’s and Children’s Center at Moses Cone is home to one of the area’s most experienced neonatal intensive care teams. The hospital’s level II and III unit has been providing care to critically ill newborns for over 20 years. In 2020, the parents of 5,600 newborns trusted the Women’s & Children's Center at Moses Cone for one of life’s biggest moments. The newborn nursery rotation is based here.  
• The Tim and Carolynn Rice Center for Child and Adolescent Health, a primary care practice, serving patients from birth to age 21, providing well visits, sick-child care and a wide range of services for children who are chronically ill, developmentally delayed or affected by mental health issues.