We make an investment in our residents' futures through conferences, retreats, job mentoring workshops, advisors, evaluations, and a well-rounded competency-based curriculum.
Conferences
We have a broad curriculum of conferences that include case based discussions, journal clubs, morbidity and mortality conferences (M & M), clinical pathological conferences (CPCs), and morning reports. The centralized noon conference series is delivered from a central location and broadcast to the other three hospitals. The broadcasting system has two way communications to each site to allow interaction, questions and answers from all locations. The conferences are also digitally recorded and archived online for review at any time. Senior residents present their Chairman’s conference as part of the curriculum delivered every year. Specific conferences during the ambulatory block cover doctor patient communication skills, cardiac auscultation skills, and the curriculum on evidence based medicine.
Retreats
Intern Retreat: Geriatrics Education
Each year of training includes a focused retreat to enhance your education. In first year, the retreat focuses on the approach to the older patient. All disciplines within internal medicine will be faced with a high percentage of geriatrics patients. Using a council of elders, interns learn some key concepts of the four most commonly seen geriatric syndromes.
Teaching Retreat for PGY-2 Residents
In July of the second year, the class is taken away to a resort for two days. This Teaching Retreat includes workshops to develop skills in teaching, timed just prior to serving in the upper level role where residents set the tone for the medical students and interns. Facilitators from around the country come to help teach the curriculum. Residents get specific training in giving feedback and creating good learning environments on their teams. The retreat also provides an introduction to leadership skills and teamwork.
Leadership Retreat for PGY-3 Residents
In the final year of training, residents participate in a half-day retreat on leadership. Individualized data on their leadership skills is provided and reviewed with them. The class then reviews the best and brightest of the quality improvement projects submitted by its members and chooses the top ones to implement as a class. This retreat further promotes teamwork and collaboration and provides a capstone effort for the seniors.
Advisors
A strong advisor and mentoring system is in place to keep you on track for your career goals. Each resident is assigned one faculty advisor and one program director advisor. The faculty member is generally in whatever field you choose choice and will meet with you three to four times over the year to monitor performance evaluations and to serve as a resource around research projects, fellowship application process, and provide advice for whatever you might need. The program director advisor meetings are twice yearly in the first year and yearly in the final years to review your progress as well. A formal annual review is performed every year. Almost all of the residents will additionally have the same continuity clinic preceptor for all three years of training. This faculty member also serves as an unofficial advisor and advocate over time.
Job Mentoring Series
The Job Mentoring Series is offered every year for residents and fellows in the department of medicine who are looking for jobs. Three workshops are offered in the fall to teach the important aspects of preparing a curriculum vitae, understanding the various employment options within healthcare, and negotiating a contract. The final workshop in the set is offered in the spring which teaching the basic concepts of practice management and running an office practice.
Evaluations and Competency-based Curriculum
Our track record in medical education innovation includes some unique evaluation processes to assess each resident’s clinical performance. These include a number of 360-degree tools, patient satisfaction surveys, unannounced standardized patients in the continuity clinic, and a number of self-directed projects for the competency portfolio. Leadership, citizenship, and interprofessional interactions are all part of the clinical assessment. Direct observation and self-reflective activities round out the assessments on doctor-patient communication skills and professionalism.
