The mission of the UCSD Family Medicine Residency Program is to foster resident individuality and growth in an academically rich and culturally diverse environment emphasizing the development of excellent clinical skills and evidence based analysis, community service to underserved populations, and preventive medicine in the context of the entire human lifecycle. Key features of the program include:

1. Training in an Academic Health Center - Sometimes the best way to learn medicine is from the specialists conducting research —Family Physicians who integrate the knowledge in practical clinical application. 
   
   
2. Excellent Evidence Based Medicine Curriculum - Residents develop the skills necessary to care for the patient population in their communities. 
   
   
3. Comprehensive Continuity Experience - The Family Practice Center is the heart and soul of any residency. Residents learn to comprehensively care for patients in continuity under the supervision of a diverse faculty. 
   
   
4. Community Based Experiences - Highlights include a three-year, longitudinal, clinical rotation at St. Vincent DePaul Village for the Homeless, OB Clinics in the La Maestra Community Clinic, and work at the UCSD Student Run Free Clinic projects throughout San Diego county. 
   
   
5. Opportunities for Research and Academic Enrichment - The Department of Family Medicine and Public Health is ranked among the best in the nation for NIH grant funding amongst similar departments. Our faculty are pioneers and leaders in the fields of Health Outcomes, Quality of Life Analysis, Epidemiology, Women’s Health Issues and Health Care Delivery Systems Analysis.

The work done by residents in the Scripps Family Practice Residency Program education component takes place in part at the San Ysidro Health Center(SYHC), Scripps Chula Vista, UCSD, and Chula Vista Family Clinic. In1994 the vision of the program was developed but some difficulties in starting the teaching program were apparent. The mission of the residency program is to care for the undeserved and outreach to Latino populations. SYHC has provided pediatric, OB/GYN, and mental health services to the community for thirty years. At Scripps Hospital in Chula Vista with one of the newest Intensive Care Units (ICU's) and Emergency rooms in the county have been very cooperative in implementing the residency-training program.

The first year of the residency program consists of a one-month block in community medicine, which is comprised of speakers, field trips, didactic sessions, and public health services. The second year consists of a one month elective that allows residents to gain experience on the other side of the border. The Spirit of Caring, in cooperation with Scripps Chula Vista, Sharp, Chula Vista, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District is a mobile pediatric van.

The residents also provide acute visits to children at community sites in Chula Vista.