Family Medicine
The Harnett Health Family Medicine Residency program provides a wide range of progressive family-centered patient care. Each resident is equipped with the ability to care for individuals and families from birth to adulthood. In addition to being dually-accredited, our program has an added qualification of osteopathic recognition through ACGME. Faculty of the program strives to uphold osteopathic principles when practicing medicine within the resident-run Coats Medical Clinic or on inpatient services at Betsy Johnson Hospital and Central Harnett Health.
Program Director – Regina Bray-Brown, MD.
Dr. Bray Brown has been involved in resident education at Harnett Health since 2018. She served as associate program director prior to becoming program director in 2021. She has also served as Director of Medical Education for all of Harnett graduate medical education since 2020. Dr. Bray received her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Family Medicine at the VCU-Fairfax Family Medicine Residency Program. She is an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and is particularly active at the state level in North Carolina for both the NCAFP and the NCS-ACOFP. She enjoys teaching at the undergraduate and graduate medical levels. In her free time, Dr. Bray is an avid Peloton rider, and she loves playing with her two children and her Bernese mountain dog.
Associate Program Director -Varshaben Songara, MD.
Dr. Varsha Songara has been Core Faculty at Harnett Health Family Medicine Residency since July 2017 and was made Associate Program Director in June 2021. Dr. Songara received her undergraduate and graduate medical education in India and completed her Family Medicine residency training at Cleveland Clinic Akron General in Akron, Ohio. She is board certified in Family Medicine since 2012 and certified with a Focused Designation in Hospital Medicine since 2018. She has been living in the Triangle area with her family since 2013. Besides teaching, she enjoys outdoor activities.
Director of Osteopathic Medicine – Dr. Marta Bringhurst
Dr. Bringhurst has been the Director of Osteopathic Education at Harnett Health Family Medicine since 2021. She is an assistant professor of OMM at Campbell University, where she directs the first-year OMM courses, and is also core faculty at the Campbell University ONMM-3 Residency. She is a graduate of Kansas City University School of Osteopathic Medicine, and is board certified in both family medicine and osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine. She completed her primary residency in family medicine at Firelands Regional Medical Center, and her ONMM residency at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital. She is also a graduate of the Campbell University Masters of Health Professions Education program. As core faculty in the family medicine program, she precepts in the clinic two days per week. Dr. Bringhurst is passionate about primary care, osteopathic medicine, patient and physician wellness, and adult learning strategies. During her personal time, she enjoys reading, doing yoga, and participating in local community theater.
The curriculum is structured to prepare each resident for Family Medicine in a rural or underserved setting. A strong emphasis is placed in medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery, community medicine, geriatrics, and a host of other rotations. To ensure each resident receives continuing education outside of the clinical setting, didactics are held weekly on Friday afternoons. Throughout the three years of training, residents will receive increasing responsibility throughout didactic and clinical experiences.
- PGY-1 (12 months)
- Inpatient – 3 months
- Night Float – 1 month
- FMP – 1 month
- Community Med – 1 month
- Pediatrics – 1 month
- OB – 1 month
- ED – 1 month
- Surgery – 1 month
- Elective – 1 month
- Cards – 1 month
- PGY -2 (12 months)
- Inpatient – 1 month
- Night Float – 1 month
- FMP – 1 month
- Pediatrics – 1 month
- FMOB – 1 month
- ED – 1 month
- NICU – 1 month
- Psych – 1 month
- Geri – 1 month
- Sports-Neidecker – 1 month
- Obesity – 1 month
- Elective – 1 month
- PGY-3 (12 months)
- Inpatient – 2 months
- FMP – 2 months
- Ortho – 1 month
- Practice Mgmt – 1 month
- Outpt Peds – 1 month
- Peds ED – 1 month
- OB/GYN# – 1 month
- Elective – 3 months
Harnett Health Family Medicine Residency seeks to be an integral part of the community that we serve, going beyond the boundaries of our Family Practice Clinic. To that end, we have established a partnership with Falcon Children’s Home; serving as the primary care physicians for their residents. In an effort to promote healthy living and community engagement, each resident will participate in 2 community outreach events per year. In partnership with Campbell University’s Community and Global Health department, our residents provide care to migrant farm workers who would otherwise lack access to quality health care within our community.