Family Medicine
Program Overview
Eisenhower Health Family Medicine Residency is a community focused program that provides training for full-spectrum family medicine practice. Our program’s strengths are the engagement and diversity of our residents and faculty. The program has strong support from the leadership at Eisenhower Health and provides most training on-campus.
Residents care for patients in our primary clinic at the Center for Family Medicine (CFM) at the Eisenhower George & Julia Argyros Health Center in La Quinta. Residents and faculty work in teams to care for a wide variety of patients. We also practice at Volunteers in Medicine in Indio, caring for people with no health insurance. Residents provide care for diverse populations from across the Coachella Valley.
We offer six electives over the course of the three years of training. This allows residents to broaden their knowledge or to focus on an area of interest. Residents in the past have focused on sports medicine, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, integrative medicine, and urgent care.
Our first class graduated in 2016. And since then, we have expanded from 8 residents per year to 12 residents per year and have added several new faculty members. We were awarded Osteopathic Recognition by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2019.
Program Structure
The Eisenhower Health Family Medicine Residency Program is a unique program that will provide the foundation for your professional career as a family physician. Founded in 2011, our Family Medicine Program is designed with a mission to train exceptional future family physicians within a vibrant learning environment, while learning and providing “Health Care As It Should Be.”
Family Medicine residents experience the benefits of the highest quality medical training delivered in an environment of teamwork and personal attention. We encourage each new resident to become an essential member of the team, building genuine camaraderie between residents and attendings.
Our goal is to train residents with the broad spectrum of skills required of a family physician, but more importantly, residents will achieve the ability to become expert self-learners as they develop their breadth as family physicians in our changing health system.
Family Medicine residents at Eisenhower Health receive broad-based preparation that includes not only standard clinical procedures, but also training in ethics, geriatrics, obstetrical care, sports medicine, and occupational and preventive medicine. We fully endorse and emphasize the Core Competencies as described by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which are Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, and Interpersonal and Communication Skills.
We seek resident physicians who are humanistic, caring, and well-rounded, and who desire to serve the culturally diverse population of the Coachella Valley. Our young residency program provides myriad opportunities for leadership development, as we expect our new residents will participate in our program’s ongoing evolution.
Rotation Schedules
Family Medicine three-year core curriculum: 13 four-week blocks.
| Rotation Name | Weeks |
|---|---|
| Cardiology | 4 weeks |
| Chemical Dependency | 1 week |
| Community Medicine | 2 weeks |
| Elective | 4 weeks |
| Family Medicine Inpatient Service | 4 weeks |
| Fundamentals Assessment Block | 4 weeks |
| General Inpatient Medicine | 8 weeks |
| Intensive Care Unit | 4 weeks |
| Musculoskeletal Medicine | 4 weeks |
| Night Service | 1 week |
| Palliative Care | 2 weeks |
| Psychiatry | 2 weeks |
| *Pediatric Inpatient | 4 weeks |
| *Pediatric Outpatient | 4 weeks |
| Surgery | 4 weeks |
| Rotation Name | Weeks |
|---|---|
| Elective | 8 weeks |
| Emergency Medicine | 4 weeks |
| Endocrinology | 4 weeks |
| Family Medicine Inpatient Service | 6 weeks |
| Family Medicine Obstetrics | 8 weeks |
| *Federally Qualified Health Center | 4 weeks |
| General Inpatient Medicine | 4 weeks |
| Musculoskeletal Medicine | 2 weeks |
| Night Service | 2 weeks |
| *Pediatric Inpatient | 4 weeks |
| *Pediatric Outpatient | 4 weeks |
| Rheumatology | 2 weeks |
| Rotation Name | Weeks |
|---|---|
| Dermatology | 4 weeks |
| Elective | 12 weeks |
| Ear Nose Throat | 2 weeks |
| Family Medicine Inpatient Service | 4 weeks |
| Geriatrics | 4 weeks |
| Gynecology | 4 weeks |
| Night Service | 4 weeks |
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine | 4 weeks |
| Practice Management | 4 weeks |
| Pulmonology | 4 weeks |
| Urgent Care | 4 weeks |
| Urology | 2 weeks |
*Pediatric Inpatient: Loma Linda University Medical Center
*Pediatric Outpatient: UCR Health - Pediatric Clinic
*Federally Qualified Health Center: Innercare
Leadership & Faculty
Chad Braun, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine
Years Practicing: 26 years
Years on Staff: 3 years
Languages: English
Professional Education
Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Residency: Riverside Methodist Hospitals
Board Certification
American Board of Family Medicine
Message from the Program Director
Thank you for visiting the Eisenhower Health Family Medicine Residency Program!
We invite you to spend some time on our site to get to know our program, our family, and the Southern California desert we call home.
The Coachella Valley, which stretches from cosmopolitan Palm Springs in the west to the historic Salton Sea in the east, is home to a diverse population and provides an equally diverse training experience for our residents. As a resident, you’ll partner with patients from all walks of life, helping them to meet their health and wellness goals in the hospital, in your continuity clinic, at our local free clinic, in the skilled nursing facility, and even out in the community where too many of them live without housing.
What sets Eisenhower apart from many community residency programs is the unique opportunity to practice family medicine across healthcare systems. You will be managing a panel of patients at the Eisenhower Center for Family Medicine and at our second satellite clinic in North Palm Desert where you’ll learn from committed faculty members who are passionate about family medicine and resident education. In addition to these two clinics, residents also participate on a longitudinal basis by providing primary gynecological care to our undeserved population through Volunteers In Medicine clinic in Indio California.
As the oldest program in the Coachella Valley, Eisenhower’s Family Medicine Residency enrolled its first class in 2013 and has grown tremendously since that time. In addition to our partnership with Volunteers In Medicine, residents spend time with a number of community partners – and that number is growing every year. Our partners here in the desert include the University of California-Riverside, Planned Parenthood, and the Transgender Health and Wellness Center. The breadth of opportunities right in our own community makes Eisenhower an easy choice for residents hoping to explore all that family medicine has to offer.
The desert is also a great place to live year round. Whether you love the outdoors, the arts, dining out, shopping, or fun family activities, there’s something for everyone. And when you’re ready for your weekend off, head out of town in any direction to a convenient destination like downtown Los Angeles, the beach, the mountains, or Las Vegas.
We think you’ll like what you see here at Eisenhower Health, and we hope you’ll consider becoming part of our family.
Associate Program Director
Rajdeep S. Brar, MD
Rajdeep S. Brar, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine*
Years in Practice: 7 years
Years on Staff: 7 years
Languages: English
Professional Education
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Internship: Eisenhower Medical Center
Residency: Eisenhower Medical Center
Board Certification
American Board of Family Medicine
Core Faculty
Conrado Barzaga, MD
Vice President and Chief Project Officer, Innercare
Director of Resident FQHC Experience, Innercare
Vice President and Chief Project Officer, Innercare
Director of Resident FQHC Experience, Innercare
Ramanpreet Brar, MD
Ramanpreet Brar, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine*
Years Practicing: 5 years
Years on Staff: 5 years
Languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Tagalog
Professional Education
Medical School: St. Luke’s College of Medicine
Internship: Eisenhower Medical Center
Residency: Eisenhower Medical Center
Board Certification
American Board of Family Medicine
Aimmee Chin, MD
Aimmee Chin, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine
Years Practicing: 3 years
Years on Staff: 3 years
Languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog
Professional Education
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Residency: Eisenhower Medical Center
Fellowship: Medicos Medical Center
Board Certification
American Board of Family Medicine
American Board of Physician Specialties
Victor Cisneros, MD, MPH
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Languages: Spanish
Years In Practice: 4 years
Years on Staff: 4 years
Professional Education
Medical School: University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Residency: University of California Irvine
Fellowship: University of California Irvine
*Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
Asha Dasika, MD
Asha Dasika, MD
HOMETOWN: Riverside, CA
UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MEDICAL SCHOOL: University of California, Riverside School of Medicine
ABOUT ME: I am a born and bred SoCal girl who loves her kitty, Maya. I love spending time with family and friends and live to build relationships with people. I moved to Boston for college where I learned that I cannot live without the sun and that I cannot live with snow. I have been living my best life back home in SoCal and am so excited to be joining Eisenhower!
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT: As an MS2, I participated in the SIMS Fellowship at Betty Ford Center for Addiction Treatment. I also got a 5 on my AP Chem exam in high school and will brag about that forever.
WHY EISENHOWER HEALTH? I chose Eisenhower Medical Center because from the moment I began my interview, I felt like I was home. Eisenhower’s mission and clinical priorities are incredibly aligned with my own, and I felt like I had found my people. I have a strong passion for mental health in primary care, advocacy for foundational addiction treatment, and healthcare for underserved and minority populations, and these are all things that Eisenhower focuses on in their training. I am so excited to be joining the Eisenhower FM family!
Kulwinder K. Fayssoux, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine*, Traditional Primary Care
Years in Practice: 18 years
Years on Staff: 14 years
Languages: English, Punjabi, Spanish
Professional Educations
Medical School: St. Louis University Medical School
Internship: Crozer-Keystone Family Practice Residency
Residency: Crozer-Keystone Family Practice Residency
Board Certification
Board Certification Authority: American Board of Family Medicine
Marcel Fraix, DO
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation*, Neuromuscular Medicine*, Traditional Primary Care
Years in Practice: 17 years
Years on Staff: 6 years
Languages: English
Professional Education
Medical School: Western University of Health Sciences
Internship: Pacific Hospital Long Beach
Residency: UC Davis Health
Fellowship: Western University Health Sciences – Downey
Board Certification
Board Certification Authority: American Board of Physical Medicine/Rehab
Cyrus Mohrdar-Ghaemmaghami, DO
Cyrus Mohrdar-Ghaemmaghami, DO
HOMETOWN: Riverside, California
UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL: Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo
MEDICAL SCHOOL: Western University – College of Medicine of the Pacific
ABOUT ME: I love anything that gets me outside. My fiancé and I couples matched into the area and are excited to learn as much as we can.
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT: I hope to dive deep into functional medicine as I believe personalized medicine is the future.
WHY EISENHOWER HEALTH? My fiancé and I wanted to find an area with good people that was still close to family. That, combined with wanting great teaching is why I chose Eisenhower.
Joseph E. Scherger, MD
Joseph E. Scherger, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine*
Years in Practice: 47 years
Years on Staff: 16 years
Languages: English
Professional Education
Medical School: UCLA School of Medicine
Internship: University of Washington School of Medicine
Residency: University of Washington School of Medicine
Board Certification
American Board of Family Medicine
Ashraf Zadshir, MD
Ashraf Zadshir, MD
Professional Details
Primary Specialty: Family Medicine
Years Practicing: 17 years
Years On Staff: 3 years
Languages: English, Farsi, German, Spanish
Professional Education
Medical School: Heinrich-Heine University Dusseldorf
Internship: University of New Mexico
Residency: USC – California Hospital Medical Center
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