As a resident in Reading Hospital’s Family Medicine Residency Program, you’ll gain experience across an exceptional breadth of patient care while serving a culturally and socioeconomically diverse population. You’ll work with individuals from all walks of life across all insurance types and in urban, suburban, and rural settings. From prenatal care through geriatrics, you’ll build meaningful, continuous relationships and truly become your patients’ physician.

Below is a quick glimpse of some specialized areas.

Family Medicine

Our residents - side by side with accomplished, talented faculty - care for a diverse population in our office and hospital. You will care for patients of all ages in the Family Health Care Center, where patient visits exceed 14,000 annually. You will receive training in procedural skills, chronic disease management, practice management, preventive care, newborn, well-child, gynecologic, and behavioral healthcare.

Since 2010, our clinical site, the Family Health Care Center, has followed a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model and we have been a leader in preparing resident physicians for the changing healthcare world. The “Epic” electronic health record is integrated throughout our health system. Please see our Curriculum page to learn more about our innovative X+Y scheduling model that better prepares our residents for future practice and reduces the fragmentation of training experiences.

Internal Medicine and Hospital Medicine

Our Family Medicine Inpatient Service reflects the full scope of the specialty, providing integrated care for adults, children, and newborns under the guidance of experienced family medicine faculty. Residents assume continuous, year-round responsibility for the service, developing autonomy while faculty serve as consultants, mentors, and a vital safety net. The curriculum is further enriched by core rotations in cardiology, neurology, dermatology, and critical care, along with a wide range of elective opportunities to support individual interests and career goals.

Pediatrics

In today's medical education landscape, many institutions struggle to achieve robust pediatric training for their family medicine residents. In contrast, at Reading Hospital, both inpatient and outpatient pediatric training are a unique area of tremendous strength. Residents treat large volumes of inpatient and outpatient pediatric patients as supervised by dynamic family medicine and pediatric clinician educators. Our pediatric faculty are essentially extensions of our own core family medicine group and treat our family medicine residents with ownership. Approximately 25 percent of Family Health Care Center patients are pediatric. You will perform procedures including circumcisions and will have responsibility for pediatric advanced life support for all inpatients.

Women's Health

For residents with a special interest in Family Medicine Obstetrics, the robust volume of babies delivered at Reading Hospital allows the flexibility to provide more experience to residents who desire advanced training. In addition to the Obstetrics and Maternal Child Health rotation blocks, residents will provide continuity of care to women through their entire pregnancy, caring for them from diagnosis to delivery and beyond.

Gynecology training combines experiences at our own Women's Health Center and in a private gynecology practice. Training in gender affirming care, domestic violence, contraception, pre-conceptive counseling, and sexual health are included. Residents gain skills in performing women's health office procedures including IUD placement, Nexplanon placement, and colposcopy, among others. Point-of-care ultrasound is included in this curriculum.

Geriatrics

In addition to a dedicated geriatrics rotation, focused on comprehensive geriatric assessment, residents receive longitudinal training throughout the program. You’ll care for your own geriatric patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings and serve as the primary physician for several nursing home residents, building continuity and expertise in managing complex, aging populations.

Behavioral Medicine and Addiction Medicine

Residents collaborate closely with our PhD psychologist to care for patients within the Family Health Care Center. Behavioral medicine training is delivered as a longitudinal experience, complemented by annual block rotations. Throughout the program, residents address a wide range of concerns impacting family health, including substance use, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based treatment approaches. Core elements of the curriculum include training in motivational interviewing and counseling, while equipping residents with essential skills for comprehensive, patient-centered care.

We work closely with our psychiatry colleagues, and one Grand Rounds presentation monthly is dedicated to psychiatric topics relevant to primary care. Components of our Addiction Medicine Fellowship are incorporated into the Family Medicine Residency Program, including rotation at the Caron Foundation, a world-renowned drug and alcohol facility.

Population Health and Community Health

The present and future of family medicine lies in our connection to the communities we serve. Care extends far beyond the exam room, requiring meaningful engagement with patients in the context of their everyday lives. Our program emphasizes addressing biopsychosocial barriers and advancing health equity to reduce disparities.

Residents gain firsthand insight into the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape health through diverse experiences, including population health research and work with the Western Berks Free Medical Clinic. Numerous volunteer opportunities with community agencies are available, including participation in a Street Medicine program serving individuals experiencing homelessness. For those with a deeper interest, leadership roles such as Resident Director of Community Medicine and Outreach, as well as involvement in the Community Medicine Committee, offer opportunities for greater engagement and impact.

Support for Your Education

Conferences and Meetings

Our conference series features a dedicated afternoon of protected educational time each week, complemented by morning reports that set a strong scholarly tone for the day. Sessions are intentionally varied, emphasizing hands-on, interactive learning with practical clinical applications. Recurring monthly offerings include American Family Physician Journal Club, pediatrics, behavioral health, procedural training, osteopathic principles and practice, and of course, resident wellness.

Library and Communication Services

You will have access to the David George, MD Medical Library, a comprehensive, multisource learning facility encompassing countless periodicals and databases. Our medical librarians are there to help you.  Among many other resources and databases, physicians have access to AMBOSS, Dynamed Plus, Micromedex, and the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Guide embedded into the Epic electronic health record.

Research and Scholarly Activity

Scholarly activity is a cornerstone of a thriving residency program, and a spirit of inquiry is woven into the fabric of daily training. We cultivate habits of lifelong learning and equip residents to answer clinical questions at the point of care using the best available evidence.

Our research presence, particularly in population health, continues to grow, supported by resources such as the Hanna Center for Primary Care Research. Throughout residency, each resident completes at least one scholarly project, contributing to a dynamic and evolving academic environment. Quality Improvement is embedded into our didactic curriculum, and each team completes at least one QI Project yearly to improve our practice. Our multidisciplinary teams help to foster collaboration and understanding within our Family Health Care Center.