Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center-Hugh Chatham Health Program

Family Medicine Analyst Verified · Oct 11, 2026

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center-Hugh Chatham Health Program

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center-Hugh Chatham Health Program is a residency program specializing in Family Medicine, located in Elkin, North Carolina, directed by Mary-Emma Beres, MD and coordinated by Mary Blackburn. The program accepts applications through December 31, 2026. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at [email protected] or (336) 466-6773. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

This is a new rural-track family medicine program sponsored by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center but based entirely at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, an independent 81-bed community hospital in Elkin, NC, explicitly designed to train physicians for ambulatory, full-spectrum practice in underserved, small-town settings rather than subspecialty or urban academic careers. The curriculum emphasizes continuity outpatient family medicine, obstetrics, behavioral health integration (including buprenorphine induction via EMS mobile integrated health), and geriatrics/transitional care, with structured pediatric exposure split between a tertiary children's hospital 30 minutes away and a local community pediatrician. Research is not part of the program's stated identity; instead the emphasis is on daytime-heavy scheduling, resident wellness, and hands-on rural generalist skill-building, with faculty biographies consistently highlighting service in FQHCs, Indian Health Service, farmworker health programs, and obesity/OMT/lifestyle medicine. The program values applicants drawn to whole-person, "womb to tomb" primary care in a small, tightly-knit hospital system rather than those seeking procedural subspecialization or academic research tracks.

Who it fits

An applicant whose ERAS narrative centers on rural or underserved primary care service, full-spectrum family medicine (including obstetrics and behavioral health), and a preference for small-community, high-continuity practice over urban tertiary-center training.

Research intensity

Low - research is not mentioned as part of the curriculum or program identity; emphasis is entirely clinical and community-service oriented.

Career orientation

Community Practice

Important

The program requires at least one letter of recommendation to be from a family physician.

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