Frequently Asked Questions About Residency Care

Since Cheshire Medical Center's Family Medicine Residency is the first such program in our region, we anticipate many questions about receiving care at our Family & Community Care location on Maple Avenue in Keene and how training the next generation of Family Medicine providers will affect our community.

For more information on choosing a Family & Community Care provider, visit Choosing a new provider.

Direct press inquiries to MBarone@cheshire-med.com.

What are resident physicians?

Residents are physicians who have graduated from college (4 years) and medical school (4 years), completing a minimum of an additional 3 years of supervised training and education to prepare for independent practice. Residency training programs, through a rigorous process, are approved by a national accrediting body. Residents have a medical training license and fill the same roles as other healthcare providers but are supervised by board-certified physicians (also known as attending or faculty physicians), such as Dietrich and McCrory.

Family Medicine residents serve as primary care providers (PCP); they also see patients in other hospital areas, including Labor and Delivery, the Emergency Department, and the medical-surgical hospital units. Family Medicine residents are increasingly independent over their 3 years of training but always have a supervising faculty physician.

What are the benefits of seeing a resident physician?

Having a resident physician on your care team is a fantastic experience! Resident physicians are still in training and are eager to learn. Their learning foundation has been the most recent evidence and practices in Family Medicine, and they are driven to stay informed with the newest health information while working towards their board certification. The residents will add a new dimension to care, bringing a diverse set of knowledge and experiences as they continue their training and prepare to become independent providers. 

Residents have a smaller panel of patients and, like other members of the care team, are invested in providing high-quality care. They are also overseen and often accompanied by faculty physicians, who are also dedicated to continually advancing their medical knowledge and expertise. Your whole care team may include a combination of providers – residents, faculty physicians, and associate providers – which helps you always have access to your team. 

How is the Family & Community Care team different than Cheshire's Family Medicine department on Court Street?

Family & Community Care at Maple Avenue is part of Cheshire Medical Center but distinct from the Family Medicine department at the main campus at 580 Court Street.

We will share electronic medical records, all of which you can also access via myDH, but have different staff, providers (resident physicians, faculty physicians, associate providers), and facilities. Faculty physicians will be the first providers at the clinic, and then residents will start in July 2024.

I am a current Court Street Family Medicine patient. How will this affect me?

It may not. Current patients in Cheshire's Family Medicine department on Court Street may elect to become patients with a new provider at the new Family & Community Care or may stay with their current provider. At Family & Community Care, resident physicians, faculty physicians, and associate providers will all see patients.