Message from the Program Director

But at UB, we know Olean as home to one of the hardest-working rural residency programs in family medicine and the only rural 1 - 2 training track in New York State.   

What does that mean for you?

More patients.

More medically complex cases.

More individualized, unopposed training.

Join our accredited residency program, and you’ll benefit from in-depth clinical training and didactics in two distinct environments: a suburban, university setting, and a medically underserved rural region.

During your productive first year, you’ll train in Buffalo, refining your evaluation skills alongside a team of residents from UB’s urban and suburban tracks.

From there, you’ll relocate to Olean, a community whose welcoming atmosphere mirrors the attitude you’ll encounter in our program.

Rather than senior residents teaching you, you’ll receive one-on-one mentoring from an experienced faculty member dedicated exclusively to your development.

Rather than the pro forma reviews that come standard in many residency programs, we conduct personalized quarterly evaluations.

That’s how we ensure that our program is meeting your career goals and helping you evolve into a clinically skilled, culturally competent practitioner.

We can afford to give you this personalized attention because of our size. Each year, we invite only two residents into our rural program. We rotate your clinical schedules, so you never have to compete for hands-on experience.

And you’ll get a wealth of it.

Although small in numbers, this region is rich in clinical diversity. You’ll find yourself managing a wide variety of cases — not only those that you’d expect to see in typical family medicine practice, but those that, in larger cities, would likely be referred to specialists.

A 6-week-old infant in need of a sepsis workup?

A 20-year-old woman with pelvic inflammatory disease?

A 45-year-old man with acute MI?

A senior citizen with sudden-onset delirium?

To our residents, that’s a standard caseload on the inpatient service.

Olean General Hospital, site of your inpatient service, is a regional referral center. It serves a large catchment area – between 60,000 and 100,000 patients, depending on the diagnosis.

Just as significant, its medical director is a family practitioner, so you’ll train in a hospital that holds our expertise in the highest regard.

Likewise, when you care for outpatients in our federally qualified health center, you’ll engage in collegiate partnerships with health professionals who view you not as a subordinate, but as a community health care leader in the making.

Year after year, our residents rise to that role.

Since the inception of our 1-2 rural training track in Olean, our region’s infant mortality rates have dropped from significantly higher than the statewide average to below average. Our residents have played an important part in that turnaround; they continue to do so by collaborating with us on interventions to reduce premature delivery and low birth weight.

These are some of ways our program is making an impact on the lives of people who face tremendous barriers to care.

If that appeals to you, take a moment to explore our website. Learn more about our curriculum and clinical training sites.

We always welcome bright candidates with a commitment to rural health care. In return, we’ll transform you into not only a highly skilled family physician, but a more confident, compassionate individual.

Regards,
Christina Roosa, DO