ECU Internal Medicine Rural Residency Track
Overview
The ECU Internal Medicine Rural Residency Track is designed to train future leaders in rural health care. Residents remain fully integrated within the ECU Internal Medicine Residency Program while gaining extensive experience in rural hospitals and clinics throughout eastern North Carolina. The goal is to prepare physicians to become primary care physicians, hospitalists, subspecialists, educators, and health system leaders who will serve rural communities.
The Rural Track accepts one resident per year for a total of three residents across all training years. Approximately 50% of training occurs in rural settings while maintaining access to the academic resources, subspecialty services, and tertiary care experiences available at ECU Health Medical Center.
Mission
The goal of the Rural Residency Track is to prepare internal medicine physicians to return to and lead in rural communities. Graduates will be equipped to serve as major pillars of their local health systems, improving access, quality, and continuity of care across eastern North Carolina.
Training Sites
Residents remain based within the ECU Internal Medicine Residency Program in Greenville, while gaining substantial experience across rural ECU Health sites.
Primary rural training sites include:
- ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, Washington, NC
- ECU Health Chowan Hospital, Edenton, NC
Additional rural experiences may include ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan, ECU Health Duplin, ECU Health Edgecombe, and other ECU Health community locations.
ECU Health Rural Training Network
Primary training sites include ECU Health Beaufort Hospital and ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital. Additional experiences may occur at ECU Health Chowan, ECU Health Duplin, ECU Health Edgecombe, and other community-based ECU Health locations.
Locations across North Carolina
- The Outer Banks Hospital – Dare County
- ECU Health Chowan Hospital – Chowan County
- ECU Health Roanoke – Chowan Hospital – Hertford Country
- ECU Health North Hospital – Halifax County
- ECU Health Bertie Hospital – Bertie County
- ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital – Edgecombe County
- ECU Medical Center – Pitt County
- Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University – Pitt County
- ECU Beaufort Hospital , a Campus at ECU Health Medical Center – Beaufort County
- ECU Health Duplin Hospital – Duplin County
Curriculum Structure
The Rural Residency Track follows the core ECU Internal Medicine curriculum while incorporating substantial community-based training. ICU rotations, consult services, continuity clinic, conferences, and residency leadership activities remain centered in Greenville. Rural experiences emphasize emergency medicine, hospital medicine, and ambulatory care in community hospitals.
Approximately 50% of rotations across the three years will be rural-based, while the remainder will occur through the main ECU Health Medical Center and Greenville-based training environment.
Rural Track Clinical Experiences
Rural-based rotations include:
- Emergency Department rotations
- Hospital medicine rotations
- General internal medicine/community inpatient experiences
- Outpatient rural clinic experiences
Core Greenville-based experiences remain unchanged for:
- Continuity clinic
- ICU rotations
- Subspecialty consult rotations
- Program leadership, advising, conferences, and residency infrastructure
Program Size
The Rural Residency Track includes:
- 1 resident per year
- 3 residents total across PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3
- Full integration within the ECU Internal Medicine Residency Program
Sample Three-Year Curriculum
| Rotation Category | PGY-1 | PGY-2 | PGY-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECU Hospital Medicine / Cards | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Rural Hospital Medicine | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Medical ICU | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Night Medicine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emergency Medicine | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Consult Services | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Ambulatory / Community Clinic | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Director's Month | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vacation | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
Why Choose ECU Rural Internal Medicine?
- More community based training with direct mentorship from rural physician leaders
- Leadership development opportunities through committees like quality and mortality review.
- Exposure to the full spectrum of rural health care
- Integrated ECU Health network experience
- Preparation for careers in rural practice and health system leadership
This track is ideal for residents who want the strength of academic internal medicine training combined with meaningful, longitudinal experience in rural health systems.
Residents will learn how to care for patients in multiple clinical environments, understand what can be delivered locally versus at a tertiary academic center, and develop the leadership skills needed to improve health care access across rural eastern North Carolina.
Career Pathways
Graduates will be prepared for careers as primary care physicians, hospitalists, subspecialists, medical directors, and community health leaders throughout rural North Carolina and beyond.
Application Information
Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider both the traditional and rural residency tracks. Candidates may:
- Apply to one or both tracks through ERAS.
- Do not need to use signal on both programs, one will suffice
- Interview for one or both programs, based on interest and availability.
- Participate fully in the NRMP match process without disadvantage when applying to both.
The ECU Internal Medicine Rural Residency Program welcomes applicants who are eager to contribute to both the academic medical community and rural health systems.
Applications are accepted through ERAS, with selection and match occurring through the NRMP.
Rural Track Leadership
Rural Track Site Director
Primary Rural Site: ECU Health Beaufort Hospital
Clinical interests: Medical Education, quality improvement with focus on system improvement, Hospital Medicine
Board certification: Internal medicine, FACPResidency: Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
Medical School: M S Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, India
Rural Track Site Director
Primary Rural Site: ECU Health Chowan Hospital
Clinical Interests: Sleep Medicine, Quality improvement with focus on mortality data from regional perspective, Hospital Medicine
Board Certification: Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine
Residency: University of Vermont/Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Medical School: George Washington University School of Medicine
Service Line Coordinator (ECUH Beaufort)
Service Line Coordinator (ECUH Roanoke-Chowan)