Curriculum

The Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago Internal Medicine Residency strives to create a collegial learning environment. Residents can develop into internists skilled not only in the practical aspects of medicine, but also the humanistic qualities that define the best physicians.

Residents learn an evidence-based approach to patient care, which allows them to apply diagnostic and therapeutic concepts in accordance with the most current recommendations. Our graduates are well prepared to take on the challenges of a medical career, whether the next step is subspecialty training, general internal medicine, or hospital-based medicine in either the community or academic setting.

Categorical residents are required to complete seven core electives:

  • Cardiology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Geriatrics
  • Hematology/Oncology
  • Infectious Disease
  • Nephrology
  • Neurology
  • Palliative Care
  • Pulmonary Medicine

Additional rotation options include Allergy/Immunology, Endocrinology and Rheumatology. Opportunities for outside electives are available for second- and third-year residents.

  • PGY 1 Typical Schedule
    • General Medicine and Telemetry for 7-8 months, of which one is usually spent as a night float intern. The night float rotation is comprised of distinct blocks of two to two and a half weeks.
    • Critical Care Medicine (ICU) for 1-2 months
    • Two weeks of ICU – NF combined with two weeks of other subspecialty
    • Ambulatory Medicine for one month
    • Elective Rotations for 1-2 month(s)
  • PGY II and III Years
    • 3–4 Rotations in Ambulatory Medicine (includes ER)
    • 3–4 Rotations in Critical Care
    • 6–8 Rotations in medical subspecialty electives
    • One month in Geriatric Medicine
    • One month in Palliative Care/End-Of-Life Medicine
    • Remaining rotations in supervisory capacity on the general medical floors and Telemetry
    • 1-2 months as a night float resident
    • A maximum of one month may be spent off campus during the three-year Categorical Internal Medicine Track

Clinical Experience

  • General Medical Floor and Telemetry Services
    Teams rotate on telemetry and general medical floors. The telemetry team oversees the care of patients with different medical conditions requiring cardiac monitoring. Each team is led by the supervisory upper-level resident (PGY-2 or PGY-3) along with one or two interns and often a medical student. Each team is responsible for approximately 6 to 10 patients. There are short and long call teams assigned each day on general medical floors to oversee admissions.

    There are two night float teams assigned to the general medicine and telemetry floors. Each night float team consists of one senior resident and one intern. Dedicated teaching attendings are assigned to provide teaching rounds for 4-5 hours per week. Significant teaching also occurs at the bedside throughout the course of the day.

    The educational environment is enriched by the presence of medical students, primarily from the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine.

    The resident teams participate daily in multidisciplinary rounds, thus facilitating patient-centered care and effective communication among healthcare professionals. Overall, the participation of resident teams in daily multidisciplinary rounds reflects a commitment to providing high-quality, patient-centered care and fostering a collaborative healthcare environment.
  • Critical Care Services
    Critical care education occurs in a combined 21 bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago, as well as a 18 bed unit at Ascension Saint Mary - Chicago. The critical care service at Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago is composed of six senior residents and one or two interns each month.

    Interns do two weeks of ICU night rotation as part of the ICU team. Two busy cardiac catheterization laboratories add to the spectrum of patients cared for in this unit. A full-time director of the ICU adds to the quality of the educational experience.

    The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) serves medical and surgical patients, with the medical service patients being a mix of traditional intensive care patients and those with acute cardiac disease. Daily rounds with a full time intensivist and electronic ICU supervision complement the academic experience in this unit.

    The Critical Care Unit at Ascension Saint Mary - Chicago is staffed by full-time intensivists who also provide teaching and supervision to the three residents and three interns assigned to the service each month. Residents rotate through both ICUs over the course of their training and benefit from the differences in pathology and patient types.
  • Ancillary Services
    In addition to high-quality consulting specialists in all fields of medicine, Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago has a full array of outstanding support services. The Clinical Laboratories and Radiology departments are state-of-the-art and include a digital radiology system and on-site MRI and PET-CT.

    Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago offers cutting edge cancer care through the Mark M. Connolly Center for Cancer Care, offering our residents an opportunity to be part of personalized, multidisciplinary cancer care.

    The building also houses a gastroenterology center, through which our residents rotate. The departments of nursing and pharmacy are well-staffed and supportive of our educational programs.
  • Training in Ambulatory Medicine
    Per ACGME requirements, our internal medicine residents spend 33% of their training in an ambulatory care setting. At Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago, the house staff receives diversified training in ambulatory care. As a university-affiliated community hospital, our program offers the optimal balance between general medical and subspecialty exposure.

    Residents spend one half-day per week at an outpatient continuity clinic. All residents are assigned clinic patients whom they follow throughout their residency. Residents act as attending physicians in caring for their patients and gain meaningful experience in patient management and decision-making. Although independence is encouraged, a dedicated preceptor is always present to supervise and teach.

    Additional ambulatory care education is provided in several month-long ambulatory rotations, a month-long primary care elective, a Palliative Care/End-of-Life elective, a one-month Geriatric rotation and Emergency Medicine experience. During their outpatient training, residents gain experience in ophthalmology, outpatient gynecology and other specialties.

    Our goals for medical education in the ambulatory setting are centered around not just the acquisition of knowledge in outpatient medicine, but also the of attitudes that can foster longitudinal doctor-patient relationships built upon trust and mutual respect.

    We at Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago feel we can offer the best opportunity for you to meet these goals and invite you to partner with us in our efforts to achieve excellence in ambulatory medical education.
  • Research

    Categorical residents receive protected research time during PGY I, II and III.

    During the research rotation, the resident review different research topics and articles on key historical events — ranging from the Tuskegee Study to John Snow — and also learn about public health crises such as the opioid epidemic, COVID-19 pandemic and racial disparities in medicine. They acquire basic research skills such as conducting a literature review, critical appraisal of research article, writing a case report or writing a review article.

    The resident may also work on an individual project such as a quality improvement project. An introduction to research lecture is offered during the intern workshop and then a research lecture series is conducted throughout the year. Resident also participate and complete a variety of Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) modules to learn about patient safety, root cause analysis and reducing medical errors.

    Every resident participates in a quality improvement (QI) research project, with guidance from the research director and mentors from various subspecialties. The QI project is an ACGME-required scholarly activity. The residents are encouraged to do a QI project based on their interest of fellowship or career goal. All residents are assigned to different research focus groups such as cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology and global health. This enables our residents to conduct scholarly activity to enhance their fellowship potential, develop personal research interests and develop career goals.

    The residents work on a variety of different projects such improving the rate of lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography, improving patient education about the COVID-19 vaccine in the outpatient clinic, improving patient satisfaction by reducing patient isolation with healthcare provider's portraits, etc. Residents participate in the American College of Physicians northern Illinois chapter meeting, ACP national meeting and other subspecialty national meetings. All residents are encouraged to submit poster presentations, do case presentations and participate in other conference activities.

    A research lecture series is conducted on a regular basis. The lectures cover basic research topics relevant to clinical research.

    The residents also sign up for individual subspecialty focus groups based on their interest. This gives them the opportunity to create new projects and learn to do research on ongoing projects. In the focus groups, they write case reports, case series and prospective case series, and initiate new quality improvement projects.

Didactic Experience

In addition to teaching rounds conducted by the Attendings, formal teaching conferences are conducted each day. These conferences are well attended by both faculty and house staff, which encourages the active interchange of ideas. Conferences include:
  • Morning Reports
    • Case-Based Morning Reports: a favorite among housestaff, these morning reports are an interactive discussion of cases presented by chief residents and residents to peers and Attendings.
    • Ambulatory Morning Reports: a weekly review prepared by residents, of cases from their ambulatory continuity clinic.
    • Resident Grand Rounds: weekly formal lectures prepared by residents providing an overview of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of various disease processes.
    • Journal Clubs: monthly discussions of recent literature with an emphasis on critical appraisal skills.
  • Mid-Day Conferences
    • Core Internal Medicine Lecture Series: lectures by faculty from the attending staff on both general and subspecialty internal medicine.
    • Medical Emergency Lecture Series: a review series of noon lectures held the first two months of the year.
    • Department of Medicine Grand Rounds: weekly lectures by invited speakers from around the country on state-of-the-art diagnosis and management of varied disease processes.
    • Morbidity and Mortality Conferences: an informal opportunity for the residents to discuss cases each week with the program directors in a supportive learning environment.
    • Tumor Boards: a conference developed by the Hematology-Oncology department to review cases and disease management during hematology-oncology and radiation oncology rotations.
    • Monthly Morbidity and Mortality Conferences: A more formal and structured M & M conference is arranged by department of medicine each month where senior residents present a case and it is curated by an attending physician.

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

At the Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago Internal Medicine Residency Program, we are committed to providing our residents with a comprehensive medical education that prepares them for the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare. As part of this commitment, we have recently introduced point of care ultrasound (POCUS) training into our curriculum.

POCUS is a versatile tool that enhances clinical decision-making, aids in rapid diagnosis and ultimately improves patient care. By integrating POCUS training into our residency program, we equip our residents with a valuable skill set that will benefit them throughout their medical careers. We are proud to offer this training opportunity and remain dedicated to staying at the forefront of medical education.


  • Three-Year Integration: Our POCUS training is integrated throughout all three years of residency, ensuring that residents gain proficiency and confidence in ultrasound usage.
  • Didactic Lectures: Residents benefit from robust didactic lectures that cover the fundamental principles of POCUS, ultrasound physics and clinical applications.
  • Hands-On Learning: We emphasize hands-on learning to reinforce theoretical knowledge. Residents have the opportunity to perform ultrasound scans on volunteers to gain practical experience.
  • Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI) Modules: We provide access to the Global Ultrasound Institute's online modules, offering a comprehensive and structured approach to learning POCUS.
  • Bedside Scans: Residents practice POCUS during teaching rounds, in the intensive care unit, and during their emergency medicine rotation. These real-life scenarios help them apply their skills in clinical settings.
  • Focus Interest Groups: Our unique feature is the opportunity for residents to form focus interest groups. These groups play a pivotal role in shaping our POCUS curriculum, ensuring that it remains relevant and dynamic.