Practitioner Recuitment

Seeking - MD with residency training in Internal Medicine or Family Practice, Board Certified or eligible.

Kirkpatrick Family Care (KFC) is seeking a physician to join our growing Internal Medicine practice in Longview, Washington, population 40,000 (county 105,000), located 40 miles north of Portland, Oregon and 130 miles south of Seattle, Washington, on I-5.

We take care of teenagers and adults with acute or chronic medical issues and are open 365 days a year - no exceptions since January 1, 1996. We accept commercial and Medicare patients.

In 2006, recognized us as the best clinic in Washington State. KFC has 13 practitioners and serves over 20,000 patients. Dr. Kirkpatrick has been rated 1st or 2nd best doctor in the area for the past 5 years and twice been named State of Washington Internist of the year for community service. We offer numerous ancillary services and close relationships with tertiary care centers in Portland and Seattle.

While the Longview area is growing at a rate of 6.76% since 2000 it has maintained its small-town feel. People greet each other, traffic lights change in one minute, and high school rivalry football games draw 5,000 fans. Still, the cost of living remains well below the national average, and the median home sale price has been $194,000 this year. Realtors say housing costs are half to two-thirds what they are for comparables in Seattle, Olympia and Vancouver.

The local public school system has received numerous awards and features a program for academically talented students. Also, college-bound students can take Advanced Placement (AP) courses and often attend class at Lower Columbia College. Some graduate simultaneously from high school and community college, saving thousands of dollars in educational costs.

The quality of life in Longview is amazing. Outdoor-oriented residents enjoy a wide variety of seasonal activities including running, biking, camping, hiking, mountain climbing, boating, kayaking, rafting, snowshoeing, and cross-country and downhill skiing. Additionally, the community is a huge supporter of youth sports, so kids have numerous chances to take part in more traditional athletic events and leagues. Indoors, participating in music, dance, and theatre groups is popular. At least 20 “road show” artists appear annually at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Rose Center Wollenberg Auditorium. Furthermore, the city of Longview maintains 13,000 tress on city lands and parks, making the city remarkably scenic.

KFC practitioners mainly focus on outpatient medicine; however, all of our physicians and several PA’s hold privileges at St. John Medical Center, the local 193-bed acute care hospital and Level III Trauma center. They share a simple night and weekend on-call schedule (the typical in-patient census is 10-20). Also, a physician and one of our nurse practitioners see patients at all four local nursing homes.

We expect our providers to use their accumulated knowledge in addition to national recommendations, for the betterment of each patient, one at a time. While supporting independent thinking, we also try to promote an atmosphere of collegiality in which difficult cases can be discussed with a “team” approach.

Because KFC is located in a Medically Underserved Area (MUA), we have been able to recruit international medical graduates on J-1 visas. Their combined medical and social backgrounds help provide different outlooks on how to approach and treat more complicated patients.

We recognize how important it is for our practitioners to balance professional and personal needs; therefore, we offer flexible hours, including part-time, evening, and weekend shifts. Many of our employees enjoy religious, academic, cultural, and recreational activities, thus we adjust their work schedules so as to avoid conflicts.

KFC is known for its community involvement, its employees coach and volunteer in many activities. The clinic sponsors concerts at Lake Sacajawea, Columbia Theatre and Wollenberg Auditorium, in addition to many kids sports and musical productions. Our foundation awards one to three scholarships to high character students interested in “helping careers” (health care or education)

Our eight clerical staff members take business pressure off the providers. Our administrator, Steve Trotter, has four Bachelor Degrees from the University of Washington (Business, International Trade, Geography and Political Science). Over 50 medical and clerical staff members facilitate patient care by the doctors, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants.

Washington state is extremely diverse, offering rain forests, beaches and tide pools, unparalleled vistas, volcanoes, wildlife, glaciers, lofty mountains, wilderness, trout-laden lakes and wild rivers. Washington is the leader in the design and manufacture of jet aircraft, computer software, electronics, biotechnology, aluminum, lumber and wood products, mining, and tourism. Washington has a rich Native American heritage. Also, Washington has become home for many people from Central America, Russia and Southeast Asia.

Washington is a pacesetter in women’s political leadership. Our Governor, both U.S. Senators and our districts new U.S. Representative are women, as are 40% of state-elected officials.

Washington is committed to environmental sustainability; it is one of Americas “greenest” states.

If our clinic and community sound interesting to you, please contact me (360-431-3753 or ) or Steve (360-423-9580 or ).