Our mission is to prepare family physicians to care for rural communities. With year one in Sioux Falls and years two and three in Pierre, you'll build broad clinical knowledge, strong procedural skills, confidence in telemedicine, and the resourcefulness to meet the needs of the people who count on you.
2
Residents Per Year
Small cohort, high faculty access
2017
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
Why Pierre Rural
Begin year one at the Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls, building relationships with your continuity patients and learning alongside our sister program. In years two and three, make your home in Pierre and train at Avera St. Mary's, where caring for rural families is part of every day.
With just two new residents each year, faculty get to know you — your strengths, your goals, and where you want to grow. You'll take on hands-on responsibility early, with mentors beside you to guide and encourage you.
At Avera St. Mary's, you'll take the lead in caring for obstetric patients, building relationships from the first prenatal visit through delivery and postpartum care — with experienced faculty guiding you along the way.
South Dakota's capital offers small-town warmth and room to explore, with parks, trails, hunting, and fishing along the Missouri River and nearby Lake Oahe. Build your skills where rural physicians are needed, and put down roots in a community that feels like home.
"Family medicine treats every generation, from newborns to geriatric patients. No other specialty offers that range, or that flexibility."
Brad Kamstra, DO
Program Director, Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency
Three-year program
Year One
Start your residency at the Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls, learning side by side with Sioux Falls Family Medicine residents. Inpatient rotations at Avera McKennan and Sanford Health help you build a strong foundation for the years ahead.
Year Two
Make your home in Pierre and continue your training at Avera St. Mary's Hospital and Avera Medical Group. Broaden your skills through rotations in community medicine, geriatrics, dermatology, and musculoskeletal care while getting to know the community you'll serve.
Year Three
Shape your training around your interests through electives, a required rural rotation, and Indian Health Service (IHS) opportunities. You can also gain additional experience and income through 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
With a warm welcome and room to put down roots, Pierre is a place to build your career, enjoy life, and raise a family. For most of your residency, it's the community you'll call home.
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
$317K
Median home price
$999 - 1299
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.”
"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
Faculty, Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency
Picture your future here.
See how our curriculum, training sites, and electives prepare you to care for rural communities.
Explore the curriculum →Discover a place to feel at home, from parks and recreation to housing and everyday living.
Life in Pierre RuralMeet the people and experience the training firsthand through a four-week rotation or shadow days.
Request a rotation →Get to know the faculty who will teach, encourage, and support you throughout your residency.
Meet the faculty →Ready to grow your career in rural family medicine? Learn how to apply through ERAS.
Application checklist →Spend time with our residents and faculty, experience the training firsthand, and picture yourself as part of our community before you apply.
Questions? Call 605-339-1783 or send us a message.
