And they’re joining the Stanislaus Family Practice Residency program for the start of a three-year training program to become family practice physicians. After doctors graduate from medical school, they are required to complete a three-year residency training program.

“We’re proud of the people we’ve recruited and graduated,” stated Dr. John Payne, Program Director for the residency program. “Doctors from around the country are discovering that we’re among the best places in the country for family practice training.”

The nine incoming Residents will graduate knowing how to deliver babies, perform minor surgery, practice general orthopedics and provide daily healthcare maintenance to their patients. This broad spectrum of training is designed to prepare these physicians to practice in rural or underserved settings or to practice in third-world countries. This unique aspect of the residency training means that physicians are prepared to be nearly self-sufficient when it comes to providing care when there are no specialist physicians nearby and care is urgently needed.

“We try and expose our residents to opportunities they wouldn’t have in most other residency programs,” Payne stated. “They do a lot of surgery and will be able to easily deliver babies after they’re finished. They don’t just catch a few babies and call it quits. Their rotations in obstetrics, surgery and orthopedics are quite extensive.”

Competition for the 9 residency spots is fierce as the program has a national reputation for quality. There were over 225 applicants for this year’s entering class; this in a time when there are fewer doctors choosing a family practice residency with too few doctors available to fill existing programs.

“It’s getting harder and harder to find physicians interested in family practice medicine,” stated Payne. “The pay is a lot less, the hours are long and the job is very challenging.”

Salaries for family practice physicians are around $120,000 while specialty physicians commonly make more than $250,000.

Not only does the program attract top-flight physicians, but it encourages them to stay in Stanislaus County. Since 1975, records show that 51 residency graduates have stayed to provide care in Stanislaus County. The impact on the community is significant because an average physician practice has between 2500 – 3000 patients.

The county’s general practice residency program was established in 1935 and converted to a family practice residency in 1975. Since then, there have been 187 graduates. The Stanislaus Family Practice Residency is a partnership between the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency and Doctors Medical Center in affiliation with the UC Davis, School of Medicine.

See below physician profiles.

Stanislaus Family Practice Residency Program

Physician Profiles

Dr. Kash Vang, a first-year resident from UC Davis, plans to focus on serving the Hmong community in Oroville. He has previously served with numerous medical outreaches to the Southeast Asian community. He envisions using his language skills to help provide services to people in their native tongue. At the age of fifteen he remembers accompanying his father to a physician’s office, only to have the physician shout as his father “you are wasting my time.” He then slammed the man’s chart on the reception desk and with his faced flushed, burst out “What is wrong with these people?”

Dr. Jorge Del Valle is a third-year resident who was born in Modesto and raised in Mexico until he was fourteen. He was one of eleven children born into a migrant labor family. His family returned to Modesto, where he learned English and and easily assimilate into the Hispanic and non-Hispanic community. He was the first of his family to go to college, entering Modesto Junior College, then attending UC Davis. He graduated from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. and returned to Modesto for the residency program.

Dr. Ben Morrison, a 2003 graduate of the residency program, took a position in downtown Stockton where he will practice medicine in a clinic for the underserved. Dr. Morrison met his wife Dr. Susan Mao, during the residency program. Dr. Mao also graduated with the class of 2003.

Dr. Jose Rodriguez, a 1996 graduate of the residency program, was a young boy working in the fields picking a variety of fruits when he envisioned a brighter future for himself and his family. The inability to obtain medical care due to his family’s lack of funds and knowledge of the English language spurred his decision to pursue a career in medicine. Since his graduation, Dr. Rodriguez has worked in the county’s Hughson Medical Office, helping the underserved. He also now serves as a teaching physician in the residency program.

Dr. Juan Lopez Solorza, a 2001 graduate of the residency program, practices medicine in Modesto at the McHenry Medical Office. Born in Mexico, Dr. Solorza was raised in Stockton where his parents worked in the local food cannery. He performs full scope family practice medicine, including Obstetrics. He has also won the “Core Faculty of the Year” award as a teacher in the Stanislaus Family Practice Residency Program.

The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (HSA) is an outpatient medical system with 9 medical offices located throughout Stanislaus County. The HSA operates the Public Health Department, an Urgent Care Center and multiple programs serving over 500,000 patients and clients each year in Stanislaus County. The HSA also is in local partnerships for the MOMobile project and the Stanislaus Family Practice Residency Program. The HSA has extensive community health information available at its web site www.hsahealth.org