The CUEVA Family Medicine Residency offers an innovative 2-week mini-block rotation schedule, with our residents returning "home" to the Family Medicine Practice Center every other block (with a few exceptions annually). Our residents start building their patient panels on day 1, and follow their patients throughout their residency. With the 2-week mini-block rotations our residents have 12 electives across their 3-years of training, allowing them to focus on areas of interest and expand their training to meet their career goals.
Program Description
The CUEVA Family Medicine Residency is a community-based training experience in Gilbert, Arizona, designed to prepare residents for full-spectrum family medicine.
The Family Medicine Residency Program was established in 2023. Our program offers full scope Family Medicine training within our new Family Medicine Practice Center , Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, and the surrounding community. Residents gain experience across inpatient medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatrics, emergency medicine, outpatient care, POCUS, addiction medicine, and procedures while caring for patients from many cultural, social and economic backgrounds. All of our residents have the opportunity to participate in our Medical Safe Haven, a clinic focused on trauma-informed care for patients affected by human trafficking. Additionally, all of our residents have a longitudinal experience at our Chandler Care Center, a clinic that provides free medical and dental care for uninsured pediatric patients including those who are undocumented.
With supportive faculty, community partnerships, and a focus on underserved care, residents build the skills to practice in a variety of settings after graduation, including outpatient family medicine, hospital medicine, fellowship training, academic medicine, and rural community-based care.
As part of Dignity Health, we are a member of CommonSpirit Health’s national network of more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states. That broad perspective supports our local commitment to community-based training, health equity and compassionate care. CommonSpirit is a nonprofit, faith based organization and our mission is to make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.
Our sponsoring institution, Creighton University, maintains a strong dedication to Jesuit values, including academic excellence, social justice and community engagement, making it one of the leading Catholic universities in the United States.
Program Highlights
- Community-based hospital training environment
- Full-spectrum family medicine training in a diverse urban setting
- Strong inpatient, outpatient, obstetric, pediatric geriatrics, POCUS, addiction medicine, and procedural experience
- No 24-hour call. No more than 4 night float weeks per academic year, unless electives selected require night float.
- Medical Safe Haven longitudinal experience highlighting trauma-informed care for patients affected by human trafficking
- Educational area of concentration in obstetrics
- Point-of-care ultrasound training with a GE V-Scan device provided to all incoming residents for use during their 3-years of residency training with longitudinal education in POCUS use throughtout all 3 years
- Supportive faculty, with a dedicated behavioral health interdisciplinary team who support the residents' wellness.
- Emphasis on resident wellness throughout training, and a resident-led Wellness Committee.
- Training focused on underserved care, health equity and community partnerships.
- Gilbert, Arizona is a highly desirable city for young adults, with the median age being 36 years old. It's an ideal city for families, with great amenities and schools. Gilbert, Arizona boasts 330 days of sunshine annually. Gilbert is a 20 minute drive away from
- Phoenix, a 30 minute drive away from local lakes, and a 2 hour drive away from the mountains.
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Name, Title
Curriculum
The curriculum is organized around progressive responsibility, broad clinical exposure, and continuity with patients across care settings.
Residents train across inpatient medicine, obstetrics, emergency medicine, surgery, and behavioral health with longitudinal training in Family Medicine, pediatrics, and geriatrics. Our residents gain training in multiple procedures.
Additional Curriculum Experiences
Didactics and protected education time
Residents participate in Didactics every Friday afternoon. This is protected time for our residents. Didactics sessions include, but may not be limited to, resident presentations, faculty training/presentations, workshops, quality improvement project, morbidity and mortality conferences, Balint group, wellness sessions, and core curriculum series.
Call schedule and night float
The program uses a night float system; we do not schedule 24-hour call. This structure supports ACGME work hour compliance while helping residents maintain balance throughout training.
Procedural training
Residents gain experience with inpatient and outpatient procedures, including central lines, intubations, arterial lines, lumbar punctures, paracentesis, thoracentesis, laceration repair, IUD placement, colposcopy, endometrial biopsy, joint injections, splinting and casting.
Electives
Residents have twelve electives that are 2 weeks each over the course of their training, allowing time to explore areas aligned with their career goals, including local, out-of-area, and international elective opportunities when available.
Training Locations
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center
Gilbert, Arizona
Chandler Regional Medical Center
Chandler, Arizona
Phoenix Children's Hospital - Gilbert Campus
Gilbert, Arizona
Various outpatient locations within close proximity to the residency.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary
For the 2026-2027 academic year, annual resident salaries are:
PGY-1: $68,875
PGY-2: $71,799
PGY-3: $75,569
Health & Insurance
Medical (tiered options) for employee and family
Dental (tiered options) for employee and family
Vision for employee and family
Health savings account
Child Care savings account
Life insurance
Short term disability (optional)
Accidental death/dismemberment
How to Apply
The CUEVA Family Medicine Residency utilizes ERAS for receiving applications and Thalamus for scheduling interviews.
Faculty
Benjamin Ihms, DO: Program Director
Hadass Fuerst, DO: Core Faculty & Family Medicine Practice Center Medical Director
Brandon Jones, MD: Core Faculty & Associate Clerkship Director for MS3 rotations
Mario Tempe, DO: Core Faculty & Director FM Inpatient Medicine Service & Sub-Interns
Laila Younes, MD: Core Faculty & Director Women's Health for Family Medicine
Hadia Khan, MD: Core Faculty & Director Scholarly Activity
Anthony Slade, DO: Core Faculty & Director POCUS Education
Residents
PGY1 Residents:
Brandon Burrell, DO
Hao Chen, DO
Connor Christensen, DO
David Galvan, MD
Eden Pope, DO
Lauren Rose, DO
Randy Vu, DO
Gabriela Wagoner, MD
PGY2 Residents:
Andrew Barnes, MD
Blake Gerken, MD
Shelby Hall, DO
Benjamin Mills, DO
Priya Nayak, MD
Ryan Orlando, DO
Pragya (Priya) Srivastava, MD
PGY3 Residents:
Christopher Denetso, MD
Grant Hughes, DO
Mariano Maniscalco, DO
Kelly (Connor) Ogden, DO
Sebastien (Winston) Sorhaitz, DO
Austin White, DO
Contact Information
Marlene Ashton, Program Coordinator
Marlene.Ashton@CommonSpirit.org
480.942.1833
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