Fellowship Directory
Kootenai Clinic Family Medicine Residency Rural Health Fellowship
Last updated: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Fellowship type
Rural Medicine
Community setting
Rural
Address
1919 Lincoln Way St 315
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
Country
US
Phone
208-625-4255
Fax
Website
https://www.kootenairesidency.org/rural-health-fellowship/
Program director
Crystal L Pyrak MD, FAAFP
Fellowship sponsored by Dept of Family Medicine
Yes
Number of positions offered
1
Number of positions filled
1
Duration of fellowship
12 months
Stipend per year
Funding sources
State Government
Institution
Other funding sources
Other benefits
Sick Leave / Personal Time
Time off for conferences
Funding for attending conferences
Parking
On-site Child Care
Meals
Moving Allowance
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
Health Insurance
Liability Insurance
Leads to Degree / Accreditation
Other Degree / Accreditation
Prerequisites for acceptance
1. Graduate or Senior Resident with plans to graduate prior to start of Rural Health Fellowship in good standing from a GME certified Family Medicine Residency 2. Board certified or board eligible in Family Medicine with plans to complete ABFM certification during fellowship year 3. Currently or planning to be licensed in the State of Idaho
Application deadline
Oct. 1st
Date notified of selection
Dec. 1st
Description
Training in the rural practice environment • Working in a rural setting often presents different challenges to providing healthcare including limited resources, limited access to specialty care, variable transportation options, and physical distance between patient and clinic sites. Integrating these challenges on top of the standard work of being a family physician can be daunting. During the rural fellowship, the resident will spend six months of fellowship year at the rural critical access hospital in Orofino, Idaho. This will allow hands on training with family physicians in broad spectrum rural practice. Advanced procedural and specialty care training • Most of the rural critical access sites in Idaho require family physicians to be comfortable practicing in clinic, emergency, inpatient, and critical care settings, and have comfort with advanced procedures. During the six months the rural fellow will be located in Coeur d’Alene, continuity clinic time will be intermixed with both required and elective opportunities in such areas as emergency medicine with trauma care, critical care, inpatient medicine, medical subspecialties, radiology, low risk obstetrics, and urgent care. Connections between fellow and Idaho rural community • Research demonstrates physicians are more likely to choose rural practice and remain practicing in a rural setting if they develop connections to the community. To promote greater connection to rural communities throughout the fellowship there will be suggested non-medical activities for the fellow to participate in when working outside of Coeur d’Alene. Such as public health, and community and local government engagement. There will also be required completion of a community medicine or quality improvement project. Engagement in rural healthcare leadership • Rural healthcare infrastructure remains fragile across the United States as rural communities face challenges in funding, leadership, and quality of care. Critical access hospital systems that thrive have engaged passionate leadership. To demonstrate how healthcare systems function, the fellow will engage in leadership activities.