Alaska was the last state in the United States to have a residency program. There is only one residency program in Alaska – the Alaska Family Medicine Residency (AKFMR). AKFMR has been affiliated with the University of Washington since its inception. AKFMR provides rigorous training to help prepare residents to practice in any challenging setting, but particularly rural settings. Residents receive extra training in rural settings, emergency medicine, orthopedics, obstetrics, pediatrics, neonatal intensive care, and trans-cultural medicine to prepare them for the unique challenges of bush practice. The majority of inpatient rotations are at Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC), the largest hospital and primary medical referral center in Alaska. Rotations are also done at three Tribal medical centers. Inpatient and outpatient rotations also occur at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage, a 150-bed inpatient and outpatient facility. It has Alaska’s only Level 2 trauma center and is a referral center for all Native hospitals and clinics in the state. Many residents spend six weeks of their second year in Bethel, AK, serving the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Delta Regional Hospital, a JCAHO-accredited facility. It is fully equipped for primary acute care medical services and has air transportation links to Anchorage hospitals. The population of the area is 89 percent Alaska Native, primarily Yup’ik, Chup’ik, and Inupiaq Eskimo, as well as Athabascan. A site for R2 rural rotations, Kanakanak Hospital is located in Dillingham, Alaska, and run by the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation. Kanakanak Hospital is a 16-bed facility providing 24-hour medical, pediatric, and obstetrical care.
