A Message from the Director

Northwest Washington Family Medicine Residency is the realization of my professional aspirations as an educator and as a physician. With the support of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s St. Michael Medical Center, the Harrison Foundation, the State of Washington, and the greater Kitsap Peninsula community, we have been afforded an opportunity to create a program that embodies a very specific vision of what it means to be family physicians, to train family physicians, and to provide services to populations otherwise vulnerable to deficiencies in our current national health care environment.

Family physicians care for patients from birth through the end of life. We establish relationships that engender trust such that our patients can be honest with us, and we can be honest with them. We care for them in clinics, in hospitals, in assisted care facilities, on the sideline at sporting events, and in their homes. Faculty members at NWFMR strive to model the dedication required to be a family physician; and all are dedicated to providing a supportive environment in which residents assume graduated levels of responsibility providing compassionate patient care. A process of frequent evaluation and feedback by faculty provides the structure around which residents construct a professional identity that includes ongoing self-evaluation, professional patient/peer interactions, community involvement, and appropriate self-care.

Our residents are high-quality, dedicated physicians selected because of their alignment with our goal of training Family Physicians to practice in less-urban locales in the Pacific Northwest. Enhanced training in mental health, in sports medicine, addiction medicine, and care for marginalized/vulnerable populations address specific needs in our region. Community partners including Kitsap Mental Health Services, Kitsap Recovery Center, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Specialty Clinics, Kitsap County Drug Treatment Court , Kitsap Food Line, The Salvation Army, Coffee Oasis, The Marvin Williams Center, The Doctors Clinic, Silverdale Pediatrics, Kitsap Children’s Clinic, Kitsap Rescue Mission, and The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties are instrumental in teaching family physicians to employ these advanced clinical skills for the benefit of our community.

Thank you for your interest in learning more about our program. The Frequently Asked Questions page is available to answer common questions, and I am more than willing to answer any questions that may not be addressed there.

Michael Watson, MD, FAAFP
Founding Program Director