Scripps Mercy Hospital Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a community-based, mission-driven Family Medicine program situated seven miles from the US-Mexico border, structurally organized around a federally qualified health center continuity clinic (San Ysidro Health) and explicit binational, underserved-community training. The curriculum is built for full-spectrum practice, including obstetrics with Centering Pregnancy group prenatal care, a fourth-year HRSA-funded non-surgical OB-GYN fellowship, and five named Areas of Concentration (OB-GYN, Adolescent Health, Sports Medicine, Substance Use/Behavioral Health, Global Health) each requiring a community-oriented scholarly project. Research exists as applied community health scholarship (COPC projects, conference presentations) rather than bench science, and the program explicitly states it selects residents demonstrating "commitment to working with underserved populations, community medicine, global health and cultural humility." Graduate outcomes skew heavily toward FQHC leadership, medical directorships, and local South Bay/San Diego practice (65% retention), with a smaller but notable stream into palliative care and sports medicine fellowships, reflecting an identity centered on social justice, health equity, and border-region community medicine rather than subspecialty or academic research careers.