About the Colville Rural Training Track

A Message From Sam Artzis, MD, Colville Site Coordinator and Michael D. Snook, MD, Colville Faculty

Family Medicine Spokane Rural Training Track

It's been our privilege at NorthEast Washington Medical Group to have established the first Family Practice Rural Training Track site in the United States in 1986. We have seventeen, and soon to be eighteen, fully certified Family Practice physician graduates. We have appreciated and enjoyed our close working relationship with Family Medicine Spokane and our affiliation with the University of Washington School of Medicine Department of Family Practice.

NorthEast Washington Medical Group was established in 1979 by three separate rural practices that combined. We now are a multi-specialty group practice that is uniquely orientated in a very rural community and have become a mini-referral center with a Family Practice base. Our faculty includes eleven family practitioners, five internal medicine physicians, including a board certified gastroenterologist, two general surgeons, four emergency physicians, an orthopedist, a radiologist and four midlevel providers. Our two Family Practice residents are an integral part of our practice. NorthEast Washington Medical Group provides both inpatient and outpatient medical care to the entire Colville valley and parts of three counties in rural northeastern Washington, serving a patient population of about 38,000.

The strength of the Colville RTT is our patient base and the outstanding group of physicians that work with the RTT residents. This group of physicians has the best of both worlds - we're able to perform as primary and specialty physicians, as well as clinical instructors. Our residents receive excellent didactic teaching and precepting, usually at a ratio of five faculty physicians per resident. The residents also have the opportunity to establish their own practices and identity within our group. Because of the support of the group of physicians and our patient population, we are able to provide our residents with a range of clinical experiences.

The Colville valley is served by Mt. Carmel Hospital, an outstanding rural hospital that received the NOVA award in 1994. The NOVA award is sponsored by the American Hospital Association, which recognizes five hospitals nationally each year. Mt. Carmel has also been recognized by various state associations for its' excellence in care. Mt. Carmel Hospital is affiliated with the Providence Health Services. It is a modern, extremely well administrated facility with full ICU, ER, obstetrical services, and surgical capability. The staffs, both administrative and nursing, has been very supportive over the years to the FMSRTT Residency program.

Colville is a close knit, lovely community located in forested and mountainous northeastern Washington. The area offers ample recreational opportunities, outstanding schools, and a range of cultural opportunities. The RTT setting is a unique opportunity for physicians in training to experience a small rural community and to become a part of that community. Our group of physicians is collegial. The staffs at the Colville Medical Center and Mt. Carmel Hospital are warm, caring, and generally fun to be around. The staff physicians and our residents strive to balance service, education, and personal time. Our group of physicians is dedicated to continuing our role in graduate medical education. We strive to provide the best possible education and learning experiences for resident physicians who truly wish to practice in rural areas.

Sincerely,

Sam Artzis, MD, Colville Site Coordinator
Michael D. Snook, MD, Colville Faculty 

Last Updated Friday, July 01 2011 @ 06:43 AM PDT|5,614 Hits