Message from the Department Chair

Welcome! The UArizona Department of Family and Community Medicine is one of the top-ranking family medicine programs in the country. We are known for providing outstanding clinical education to medical students, residents and fellows, conducting ground-breaking research and developing innovative community engagement programs designed to improve the health of individuals, families and communities.

What's more, we believe in fostering a culture of inclusive excellence. All identities and differences including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, socioeconomic status, educational backgrounds and geographic region are embraced and valued. A culture of inclusive excellence creates role models, broadens perspectives, combats negative stereotyping and optimizes our ability to provide exceptional healthcare for all.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine places strong emphasis on research, particularly in the fields of tobacco cessation, substance use disorders, obesity and related diseases, cancer survivorship, behavioral health, disabilities and Native American health. 

Third-year residents are required to conduct a research project and present their findings at an intra-departmental poster session near the end of their training.

We offer two residency tracks, one of which focuses on practicing medicine in rural and underserved areas, which abound in Arizona. Our Global Health Residency Training Program is for residents who share our commitment to reducing health disparities worldwide, as well as in Arizona and the U.S.

We also offer fellowships in Integrative Medicine and Sports Medicine. In addition, the American Academy of Family Physicians frequently ranks our Family Medicine Interest Group among the top 10 in the country.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine’s numerous outreach programs include our Mobile Health Program, which provides prenatal and primary care in underserved neighborhoods in and around Tucson; Camp Wellness, which teaches people with serious mental illness to make healthy lifestyle choices; and our Tucson Family Advocacy Program, a medical-legal partnership that helps low-income patients overcome barriers to the care they need.

In February 2016, we opened an integrative care clinic for patients living with serious mental illness, in collaboration with the University of Arizona Department of Psychiatry, putting us at the forefront of behavioral health care.

Kristen Rundell, MD
FCM Department Chair