Each resident has a work station in an office shared with two residents - one from each of the other classes. There are faculty offices, a medical library, a staffing office and administrative offices. There is also a study area for University of Iowa medical students and College of Pharmacy students on rotation through the Family Practice Residency Program. Residents have several PCs available to conduct literature searches, surf the Internet or complete presentations. Each resident spends time throughout the residency becoming familiar with the operation of the model office, including computerized financial records, billing, scheduling and other practice management topics.
Residents also have the opportunity to serve on clinic policy making committees.
The patient mix at the East Des Moines Family Care Center includes both the new immigrant populations of Bosnians, Somalians, and Hispanics as well as families who have been clinic patients for more than three generations. Our patients represent every age group from the newborn to the elderly and they occupy the entire socio-economic range. The number of annual clinic visits per calendar year averages about 30,000. Recently, the clinic has averaged more than 200 active OB patients and had 344 deliveries in 2000. Residents are involved in 1500 deliveries per year, another number which is continually increasing.