General Curriculum

Wards
The traditional ward team includes a member of the department's faculty acting as attending physician, with a PGY2 or PGY3 resident and one or two interns. Depending on the rotation, a fellow, one to three medical students, an extern and a Pharm D may join the team. The intern, who gets advice and counsel from the team's more senior colleagues, is responsible for patient care. All house staff are expected to participate in the education of medical students.

Admissions
The average number of admissions is four per intern per call night at Medical University Hospital and three per intern per call night at the VA Hospital.  Interns are responsible for no more than five new patient admissions per 24-hour period.  Upper level residents assist with all admissions and a surge intern is available to come in on heavy admission nights.

Typical Houseofficer Assignments

Monthly intern assignments include 3-4 subspecialty wards and 4-5 general medicine wards. Interns also spend a month in the emergency room, in the Medical Intensive Care Unit, and in ambulatory care.

On-Call Schedule
Each resident is off a minimum of one in seven days on all rotations. 

Schedules vary depending on the rotation.All post-call interns and residents are relieved by 1 PM (or after 30 hours, whichever comes first).  There are no post-call continuity clinics.  Other schedules are as follows:

Medical University Hospital: Interns are on call q 4-8 depending on the rotation.  Residents participate in a night float and short call system (5 pm-8pm) Sunday through Thursday night.  Residents work as night float for approximately 22 nights per year.  During the emergency room rotation, call is generally taken in 8 hour shifts, with four days on, then 36 hours off.

Medical Intensive Care Unit: Residents are on call q 4th night. Post call, they are finished after morning rounds, and have a short day on pre call days.

VA Medical Center: Team on call q4 with interns on call q8.  Residents participate in a night float and short call system (5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.) Sunday through Thursday night.  The ICU is a combined MICU/CCU attended by both Cardiology and Pulmonary/Critical Care.  Call is q3 in the ICU.

Clinics
Throughout their three years, interns and residents spend one afternoon a week in one of the longitudinal care clinics at the University IM seeing an average of five patients per session.  In addition, during UIM clinic rotations, interns and residents have 3 one half days per week of continuity clinic.

Conferences
Grand rounds are held every Tuesday at 8 a.m. Morning report at all hospitals for residents, interns and students is held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Morning report often begins with a teaching topic lead by the Chief Resident. Residents then present interesting cases which are discussed with an emphasis on forming a differential diagnosis and appropriate work-up.

A variety of topics are covered at daily noon conferences.  An intern conference is held once monthly.  During July and August an Emergency Lecture Series is held, which focuses on common Internal Medicine emergencies and "cross-cover" issues.  Throughout the remainder of the year, topics in subspecialty and general medicine diseases are presented.  Other noon conference topics include M & M, CPC, journal club and senior resident presentations.  While rotating on a service house staff may attend weekly specialty conferences for that service if they choose.
 Read more about Conferences and Lectures

Fellowships
Fellowship positions are available in nine medical subspecialties: cardiovascular medicine, clinical pharmacology, endocrinology-diabetes-medical genetics, gastroenterology and hepatology, hematology-oncology, infectious diseases, nephrology, pulmonary and critical care medicine, and rheumatology and immunology.

Programs are for two or three years, depending on the subspecialty and the orientation of the trainee. These programs provide the necessary prerequisites for acceptance by the subspecialty boards of the American Board of Internal Medicine by offering subspecialty clinical training, research and didactic educational opportunities.

About 70% of the department's house staff graduates seek additional training in subspecialty fellowships.  

The Chief Medicine Residency
Each year, three residents are selected to participate for a fourth year as chief residents, occupying junior faculty positions in the department. This unique opportunity lets residents learn about education mechanisms, research, personnel management and medical administration, and allows them to experience working as an attending physician.