Sonora Family Medicine Residency

Hanford Sonora Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Program

Nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Adventist Health Sonora offers an accredited Graduate Medical Education Program in a friendly rural setting. Residents in the Hanford Sonora Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Track spend their first year at Adventist Health Hanford, gaining experience in a wide variety of clinical settings. Their second and third years are spent building patient care skills in Adventist Health Sonora's Rural Health Clinic and rotating through a range of inpatient and outpatient services. Our residents learn to address the unique challenges of rural populations and prepare for a meaningful career in rural healthcare.

Across the country, people in places like the Mother Lode often have a harder time accessing healthcare, in part due to a shortage of physicians in rural areas.

Adventist Health Sonora is working to change that. The Hanford Sonora Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Program is an accredited graduate medical education program designed to grow the next generation of rural medicine physicians right here in Sonora.

About the residency

Our program operates in partnership with Adventist Health’s Family Medicine Residency program in Hanford, California. Residents spend their first year of residency in Hanford and experience a wide variety of clinical settings and complex pathology, with an emphasis on inpatient medicine, including pediatrics and obstetrics.

The second and third years of training are spent at Adventist Health Sonora. During these years, residents build their clinical and patient care skills in the Adventist Health Sonora Rural Health Clinic, as well as at the inpatient hospital where a full range of faculty, specialists and consultants are on hand to provide residents with a comprehensive experience designed to prepare them for careers caring for and addressing the unique challenges of rural communities. Residents rotate through inpatient services in medicine, obstetrics, and surgery as well as outpatient experiences in pediatrics, women’s health, emergency department, orthopedics and sports medicine, geriatrics and population health.

A small-town medical center accomplishing big things

Adventist Health Sonora is proud to offer our community a range of advanced services which are rarely seen in rural settings. These include the Diana J. White Cancer Institute with medical oncology, radiation oncology and infusion services; an extensive orthopedics program with surgeons specializing in treatments for hand and upper extremities, sports medicine, and joint replacement; and an acclaimed spine surgery program designated by Blue Cross Blue Shield as a Blue Distinction Center. Our cardiac catheterization lab recently underwent extensive renovations and began offering percutaneous coronary intervention, the only cardiac program of its kind in our region.

Quality Awards and Accreditations:

• Achieved “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group (Spring 2025, Fall 2024)
• Certified by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) for outpatient hematology-oncology practices at the Diana J. White Cancer Institute
• Certified as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The Joint Commission

Application Information

We are looking for applicants who fit our mission. These applicants demonstrate commitment to the ideals of family medicine and whole-person care, possess and develop excellent clinical and interpersonal skills and are willing to provide care to the underserved with energy and compassion.

Our Program

• Active accreditation by ACGME
• Deadline for application is December 15
• Applications must be submitted through ERAS only
• Residency Complement: 4-4-4
• Fully furnished resident suite
• On-call rooms and bathrooms with a shower
• Didactic facility with smartboard
• Complimentary drinks and snacks are provided by Nutritional Services
• Designated physician parking

Expenses to relocate to Hanford, CA will be reimbursed up to $1,500 and expenses to relocate from Hanford, CA to Sonora, CA will be reimbursed up to $1,500. All receipts are to be submitted to Program Coordinator who will secure and forward them to the Human Performance Department. (Said money may be taxable). Moving expenses include: Moving Truck, Boxes, Tape, Packing Paper/Bubble Wrap, Hitch, Gas.

Basic Qualifications for Consideration

• Minimum of three letters of recommendation
• Five years or less since medical school graduation (some exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis)
• U.S. citizen, green card holder, or permanent resident status. Applicants requiring visa sponsorship will not be considered
• Passing USMLE scores with no more than one failed attempt on any of the steps
• No practice of medicine in CA since medical school graduation
• Personal statements demonstrating interest in rural family medicine (interest in practicing in a rural area)

Interviews are by invitation only and only qualified applicants will be interviewed. Due to the high volume of applications, telephone calls and emails requesting an interview or inquiring into application status are not accepted. We look forward to reviewing your application.