Why Tacoma Family Medicine?
Our program’s mission and vision unite the TFM family together. For over 40 years, our residents have graduated from here to various careers in urban and rural settings doing full scope family medicine -most of them doing obstetrics. Taking pride in their accomplishments has been the joy of my career. Seeing the ways in which our graduates serve to make the world a better place is inspiring. As program director, I want to welcome you to our webpage and if you are committed to serving underserved communities, we hope you will consider residency here in Tacoma.
I have been faculty here since 2009 and moved into the program director role in spring of 2021. I am excited and honored to be stepping into these shoes. I am a Tacoma native and am proud to serve the community that I love. I trained at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington DC and then returned to Seattle for residency at Seattle Indian Health Board which is where my adventures in taking care of the underserved really began. From there I worked for 10 years at Health Point community health center in Federal Way, Washington before returning to my hometown as faculty at TFM. What I have enjoyed most as faculty has been working with residents and trying to share my insights on how to succeed in an under-resourced FQHC-type practice – wherever that may be – and sustain that practice and passion over time.
Starting this job during the Covid-19 pandemic, my goals are both about tradition and innovation. I hope to continue the legacy that has made our program a standout for excellent training incorporating all facets of family medicine. Our OB training is top notch as is our inpatient adult and pediatric training being located on campus with both Mary Bridge Children’s hospital and Tacoma General Hospital (including level II trauma center and level IV NICU and award-winning Stroke and Cardiac care teams). We have gone from being the only residency in town to one of several with excellent collaboration amongst the various local family medicine programs to improve the education of all residents in town.
Our accredited Patient Centered Medical Home clinic provides care to a varied patient population that reflects the diversity of our city. Most of our patients are enrolled in public health insurance (Medicaid and Medicare) and nearly half identify as non-white with Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Russian being the most frequent foreign languages spoken in our clinic. This diversity of patient background combined with the diversity of practice within family medicine has been what keeps me interested and engaged in my career.
At the same time, we are evolving along with the practice of biopsychosocial family medicine and have curriculums for point of care ultrasound (POCUS), transgender care, medication assisted treatment/medication for opiate use disorder (MAT/MOUD), Osteopathy (OMM); Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI); wellness & rural medicine (to name a few). We are also providing care as part of a high school-based clinic and have faculty who lead in advocacy and service to our community’s changing needs. If this intrigues you, I hope you will consider joining us so that we can support you finding the joy in your family medicine career.
Natalie Nunes MD, FAAFP