FAQ

What is the goal of In His Image?
Why should I train in a Christian program?
How much patient exposure will I receive?
What is your accreditation status?
How much flexibility is there in rotation scheduling?
I'm interested in overseas medical missions. How much surgery experience is available?
What's Tulsa like?
How will my family fit in?
Are you affiliated with a single denomination? Do you have a doctrinal statement?
What's my call frequency?
What will my salary and benefits be?
What are the details on the benefits?


What is the goal of In His Image?
The goal of In His Image Family Medicine Residency is to recruit and train medical students, preparing them to practice excellent, high-quality medicine in a wide variety of settings, with a strong emphasis on providing health care to medically underserved populations, both in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S. this includes rural and urban settings, as well as the Indian Health Service.

Internationally the emphasis is on third-world settings, providing health care as well as assisting in the development of local medical educational efforts and community, regional and national health care systems. IHI provides residents interested in international rotations with a partial scholarship and assistance in raising financial support.

Unique to this training program is an emphasis on preparing residents to provide spiritual care to their patients. Specifically, there is a distinct spiritual curriculum which focuses on the integration of faith and medicine. All residents and core family medicine faculty have a strong Christian faith.

The graduates of our program are mature, caring individuals with well-developed personal qualities and interpersonal skills prepared to function in leadership positions.  Residents and graduates practice with a high level of professional competence, personal integrity and spiritual sensitivity.
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Why should I train in a Christian program?
This is a great question and must be well thought through. Residency training is an intense educational experience designed to be the final segment of formal medical training prior to going into independent practice. Being taught by mature Christian physicians and residents helps to develop skills in the integration of your faith with the practice of medicine, and offers many opportunities to grapple with difficult issues in medicine while being supported by faculty and colleagues. There are daily opportunities to share your faith with patients, families and staff.
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How much patient exposure will I receive?
Your work will be both demanding and rewarding. You'll learn many procedures including circumcision, vasectomy, obstetric ultrasound, colonoscopy (and EDG), treadmill stress testing, colposcopy, central lines and thoracentesis - in addition to others. Osteopathic residents interested in OMT are precepted by our osteopathic attendings. Everyone is expected to manage labor and delivery on a minimum of 30 patients during the first year. Those who take the optional OB track will deliver 80 babies, including 40 by C-section, over three years. 
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What is your accreditation status?
We currently have a four-year ACGME accreditation (the maximum granted to any program is five). Our next scheduled review is September 2011.
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How much flexibility is there in rotation scheduling?
During your three years in residency, you will have several elective months to select your own rotations, including overseas or local medical missions, in-town clinical experience, or an out-of-town rotation. Plus, with ten residents in your class, you will have the ability to switch rotations with your classmates as needed.
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I'm interested in overseas medical missions. How much surgery experience is available?
In addition to exposure to the outpatient surgery capabilities of our busy family medicine center, our program provides strong general surgery blocks in both the first and second years of residency. Some residents use elective time to receive additional training and experience in surgery.
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What's Tulsa like?
We love calling this riverside city home, with its meandering river parks, many nearby lakes, over 1,000 restaurants, extensive retail shopping and genuinely friendly people. It is a progressive and pretty city in America's heartland that you can feel good about bringing your family to. Tulsa is home to two world-class art museums, ballet, opera, musicals, theatre and an outstanding philharmonic orchestra. Another very real benefit? Salaries stretch farther in Tulsa. While the quality of life here is high, the cost of living is comfortably below the national average.

Tulsa is also an important center of business and technology with thriving businesses in energy, technology and communications, finance, medicine, education and transportation. Newsweek named Tulsa one of 10 strong emerging technology cities. Southern Living magazine named Tulsa one of its "Five Favorite Southern Cities." Tulsa was selected as one of America’s Most Livable Communities by the Partners for Livable Communities. Check out the these websites for more information on our beautiful city: http://www.oklatourism.gov/ and http://www.visittulsa.com/.
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How will my family fit in?
We have a great mix of singles, couples, families, male spouses and female spouses. You can look forward to regular Bible studies and frequent get-togethers for fellowship and fun. In short, we believe that if we expect you to be sensitive to the needs of your patients, we must help meet the emotional and spiritual needs of you and your family.
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Are you affiliated with a single denomination? Do you have a doctrinal statement?
We are a Christian program but we are not affiliated with any single denomination. Our residents and faculty attend a variety of churches: Baptist, Bible Church, Charismatic, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, etc. We have developed our own Statement of Faith. And like many other Christian organizations we adhere to the Lausanne Covenant developed by 2,300 people from 150 nations.
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What's my call frequency?
Call during your first year will average every fourth night. Call for second and third year residents averages twice a month plus one evening inner-city clinic at the Good Samaritan Health Services mobile medical van. We believe in balance. Though you'll work hard, our on-call schedule is designed to allow time for family, spiritual growth, exercise and recreation. Also, our attendings are in-house 24/7 during call.
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What will my salary and benefits be?
Effective July 1, 2009

What are the details on the benefits?

• Books and pc allowance of $2,000 may be used PGY1 year or saved for later
• Three weeks paid vacation per year
• Continuing Medical Education of up to $1,000 and five days per year for PGY2 and PGY3 residents
• Food allowance when assigned to hospital rotations
• Professional Dues paid for American Academy of Family Physicians, Oklahoma State License Fee, DEA License, CMDA membership
• Additional Benefits include clinical lab coats, pagers, parking, certification in BLS, ACLS, ATLS, ALSO and PALS
• Sample Contract for PGY1 residents
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