Thank you for showing interest in the Latrobe Hospital Family Medicine Residency.  Our program was founded in 1974 as a direct response to a community need to provide well trained physicians to take care of our local families.  Having since graduated more than 150 residents I am proud to say we have more than met that need.

We pride ourselves in being one of the best programs in Pennsylvania.   This is based on a few key principles by which we abide:

First, we have always tried to make our training as much like “the real world” as possible.   Each resident is assigned to one of three family medicine offices for their outpatient training.  Each office is staffed by three or four attending physicians.  The residents are treated like partners in a real office setting.  This is in contrast to many residencies that have a “resident clinic” with rotating preceptors who don’t have the same commitment to and investment in the patients that we have.  We now have thirty-five years worth of evidence to say this type of training makes a big difference. 

Next, we truly value our residents and involve them in every aspect of the program.  From resident recruitment and selection, to curricular changes (both large and small), to any challenges the program may face we include the residents in the decision making process.  Having trained and worked at other programs, I can attest to the fact that this is unique.

Lastly, and most importantly, we recognize the importance of family.  We foster this by offering optional hospital-subsidized housing across the street from the hospital.  Since we allow residents to take call from home for all three years if they live across the street, this allows them to do such things as tuck their children in at night or run home to let the dog out. 

Recently, some of our graduates have pursued fellowships in geriatrics, sports medicine, and obstetrics.  Some work as hospitalists, some in urgent cares, some in the outpatient setting, with most practicing “traditional” inpatient/outpatient family medicine.  If you train with us I promise when you graduate you will be the type of physician you would want to take care of your family.


Sincerely,
Mike Semelka, DO