Auburn Community Hospital residency program readies clinicians to serve rural communities
Rural patients can struggle to access healthcare services, sometimes going years without treatment. This makes the effective management of chronic and complex conditions challenging for rural clinicians. A collaborative initiative between Auburn Community Hospital and SUNY Upstate University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine aims to train the next generation of family medicine physicians who are committed to providing high-quality, innovative and patient-centered care in rural settings.
The Auburn Family Medicine Residency – Rural Track Program is a unique “1+2 program” during which residents spend their first year in SUNY Upstate’s tertiary center and their second and third years at Auburn Community Hospital.
In their first year, residents care for patients with supervision from Upstate-based faculty and staff, giving them the opportunity to experience team-based care in a large practice. During year two, the residents are based in Auburn and get a first-hand look at what it means to care for a rural community, partaking in rotations to experience the full scope of physician practice while promoting community engagement.
In year three, residents continue caring for their patients, including diagnosis and creating individualized treatment plans. They continue training with rural program co-residents, with a series focused on practice management and community medicine topics to prepare them to transition to independent practice.
In addition, throughout years two and three, residents take geriatrics longitudinal curriculum at Finger Lakes Center for Living, return to Upstate part-time for didactics and have dedicated elective time to pursue additional training in their individual areas of interest.
The first program cohort, two residents, graduated in June 2026, having served over 1,200 patients. One graduate is staying on at Auburn as a hospitalist while the other will practice as a primary care physician. Program feedback from both patients and residents has been overwhelmingly positive. With the growing need of primary care in rural areas, Auburn anticipates expanding the program in the near future.
For more information, contact Michelle L. Tonzi, residency program coordinator, at tonzimic@auburnhospital.org or 315.567.0507.
