The Fully Integrated Readiness for Service Training (FIRST) is a three-year medical school curriculum to fast-track UNC School of Medicine students into UNC Family Medicine Residency, followed by three years of service in NC with ongoing support in practice.

CHAPEL HILL, NC – February 12, 2020 – The UNC School of Medicine is pleased to announce the acceptance of the fifth class of the Fully Integrated Readiness for Service Training (FIRST) Program. The FIRST Program was established in 2015 and provides participants the opportunity to complete their MD in three years and includes a conditional acceptance into a North Carolina Residency program. Following training, scholars will take part in three years of service in a rural and/or underserved area of North Carolina. They will receive ongoing support from UNC Department of Family Medicine in partnership with the NC Office of Rural Health.
The 2020 FIRST Scholars are medical students Allison Carter, Kayden Alcala-Maddox, Angela Clayborne, Audrey Faber, Kandis Fogleman, and Bailey Sanford – each selected based on their commitment to high demand specialties, Family Medicine and Psychiatry, as well as academic record, leadership qualities, and potential for success in serving the residents of North Carolina.
The Director of the FIRST Program, Catherine Coe, MD, noted, “Expansion of the FIRST Program to the branch clinical sites and specialties is aligned with UNC’s mission to care for the people of North Carolina. The FIRST trainees are committed to caring for the underserved and will help provide the workforce our state needs.”
One of the unique qualities of the FIRST curriculum is the early integration of students into the clinical setting. Students work closely with a family physician or psychiatrist while completing their coursework for real-time application of new knowledge. Other schools across the nation have used accelerated tracks to help address their states’ workforce needs, but none have included the full pipeline from medical school, to residency, to service to the underserved.
FIRST is one of a kind, showing great commitment from UNC and affiliated partners to make a difference in the health of North Carolinians who need access to care. These latest scholars will complete their medical school training in May 2022, enter residency, and begin practicing medicine in an underserved NC community as early as 2025.






For more information about the FIRST program, please contact Dawn Morriston dawn_morriston@med.unc.edu or visit the FIRST website.