Hands-on training with a broad knowledge base, solid procedural skills, comfort with telemedicine, and the ability to improvise — Year 1 in Sioux Falls, Years 2–3 in Pierre.
2
Residents Per Year
Small cohort, high faculty access
2012
Program Established
South Dakota's second CFM residency
400+
Sister Program Graduates
Sioux Falls FMR since 1973
75%
Stay in SD & Region
Sister program graduates in SD & contiguous states
Program overview
Three minutes with our residents and faculty. More honest than any brochure.
Why Pierre Rural
Year 1 at the Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls builds your continuity panel alongside our sister program. Years 2 and 3 move you to Avera St. Mary's in Pierre — where rural family medicine is the daily reality.
Only 2 new residents each year. Faculty know your name, your strengths, and what you're working toward — with hands-on responsibility from early in training.
Residents serve as primary physicians for obstetric patients — from first prenatal visit through delivery and postnatal care — with faculty supervision at Avera St. Mary's.
Pierre is South Dakota's capital — 14,000 people on Lake Oahe with parks, trails, hunting, and fishing. Train where rural physicians are needed most, in a community you'll want to stay.
Three-year program
Year One
Your first year is at the Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls — shared with Sioux Falls Family Medicine residents — with inpatient rotations at Avera McKennan and Sanford Health.
Year Two
Residents relocate to Pierre to train at Avera St. Mary's Hospital and Avera Medical Group — with community medicine, geriatrics, dermatology, and musculoskeletal rotations.
Year Three
Tailor training to your interests with electives, a required rural rotation, IHS opportunities, and moonlighting up to 60 hours per month.
Where you train
Sponsoring Institution
One of the region's largest faith-based health networks. At Avera McKennan, you'll train inside an integrated hospital that's deeply tied to communities across the Upper Midwest.
Sponsoring Institution
The nation's largest rural health system. At Sanford, you'll work with the systems and patient populations you'll see for the rest of your career in regional practice.
Rural Rotation Sites
South Dakota and surrounding rural communities
Where you'll live
Pierre is a friendly community that's a great place to live, work, play, and raise a family — the community you'll call home for the majority of your residency.
Live weather — Pierre, SD
50+ miles of trails 2 golf courses State Capitol on the Missouri River
14K
Population
11+
Public parks
50+ mi
Trails
35+
Restaurants
$255K
Median home price
$885
Median rent (3BR)
Voices from the program
“Most of our providers here have been here for years. They know what it's like to practice in a rural area — you'll see interesting pathology from people waiting things out. We have a lot of geriatric population, chronic conditions, the bread and butter of family medicine.”
“Here in Pierre you can make it what you want. If you want that experience, there is opportunity here. There is a lot of flexibility to make this what you need and what you want.”
Mark Huntington, MD, PhD, FAAFP
Site Director — Pierre
Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency
"We train excellent family medicine physicians in rural medicine by serving Pierre and the surrounding rural communities."
Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency was born from the Governor's Primary Care Task Force in 2012 — the state's investment in a second Center for Family Medicine residency to increase primary care access for South Dakotans.
After your first year in Sioux Falls, you'll train in Pierre at Avera St. Mary's Hospital — more than 150 miles from the next non-critical-access hospital. That distance shapes the medicine: geriatric populations, chronic conditions, and the breadth of bread-and-butter family medicine.
Our goal is simple: be a consistent pipeline for South Dakota and the surrounding region's rural physician workforce.
Mark Huntington, MD, PhD, FAAFP
Site Director, Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency
Ready to explore?
Curriculum details, training sites, electives, and the rural track.
Explore the curriculum →What life in Pierre Rural actually looks like. Parks, housing, cost of living.
Life in Pierre RuralThe best way to evaluate a program is to train in it. Request a 4-week rotation or a shadow day.
Request a rotation →Get to know the faculty who'll shape your three years.
Meet the faculty →ERAS deadline: September 30. Interview season runs October through January.
Application checklist →The first step is showing up
The best way to evaluate a residency is to experience it. Rotate with us for an afternoon, a week, or a full month, and see how the program actually works before you apply.
Questions? Call 605-339-1783 or send us a message.
