Our Curriculum

Our Internal Medicine program operates on a 4+1 (x+y) model, which means that our residents rotate on a core rotation or elective experience for 4 weeks (x) and then transition to a week of ambulatory experience (y) which includes their continuity clinic. The beauty of the x+y model is that it helps to provide a more consistent presence of our residents for their patients in the clinic as well as ensure that residents have a consistent opportunity for wellbeing throughout the academic year. Click below to get a sense of what a typical block schedule looks like.   Learn more >>

 Ascension St. Vincent Internal Medicine 4+1 Categorical IM Curriculum

Each four week rotation is separated by one week of ambulatory (continuity clinic and subspecialty clinics) plus a full weekend off duty. 

PGY1

16 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
4 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
4 weeks of Inpatient Cardiology
4 weeks of Medical ICU Days
4 weeks of Medical ICU Nights
8 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
2 weeks of Clinic Chief (acute care visits in Internal Medicine clinic)

PGY2

12 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
3 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
3 weeks of Inpatient Cardiology
3 weeks of Medical ICU Days
3 weeks of Medical ICU Nights
6 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
1 week of Chief Clinic (acute care visits in Internal Medicine clinic)
6 weeks of Electives (e.g. Medical subspecialty or “other” like administrative med, POCUS, or research)

PGY3

9 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
3 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
3 weeks of Medical ICU Days
3 weeks of Medical ICU Nights
6 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
12 weeks of Electives (e.g. Medical subspecialty or “other”like administrative med, POCUS, or research)

Ascension St. Vincent Internal Medicine 4+1 Primary Care Track IM Curriculum 

Each four week rotation is separated by one week of ambulatory (continuity clinic and subspecialty clinics) plus a full weekend off duty. Up to 3 residents per class can elect to participate in the Primary Care Track.

PGY1

16 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
4 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
4 weeks of Inpatient Cardiology
4 weeks of Medical ICU Days
4 weeks of Medical ICU Nights
8 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
2 weeks Clinic Chief (acute care visits in Internal Medicine clinic)

PGY2

12 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
3 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
3 weeks of Medical ICU Days
6 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
3 weeks Rural Medicine
3 weeks Hospice / Palliative Care
3 weeks Dermatology
3 weeks of Electives (e.g. Medical subspecialty or “other” like administrative med, POCUS, or research)

PGY3

6 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Wards
3 weeks of Inpatient Medicine Nights
6 weeks of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Electives (e.g.pulmonary consults or endocrinology consults)
3 weeks Sports Medicine
3 weeks Psychiatry
3 weeks Women’s Health
3 weeks Ambulatory Cardiology
3 weeks Advanced Ambulatory
6 weeks of Electives (e.g. Medical subspecialty or “other” like administrative med, POCUS, or research)

Ascension St. Vincent Internal Medicine Residency Available Electives

* Selective (IM Specialty): Minimum of 6 during whole residency.
** Global Health requires approval(application)-- may join ASV annual trip to Honduras or seek another opportunity.

Internal Medicine Required Longitudinal Curricula

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
LGBTQ Health
Addiction Medicine
Healthcare Disparities
Residents as Teachers
Wellbeing
Patient Safety / Quality Improvement (PSQI)

In our x+y model as noted above, residents will have continuity clinic on their Y weeks. For more information on this, please click HERE.

The patient population at the PCC is diverse, both culturally and socioeconomically. We strive to provide a team-based approach - with pharmacy, social work, psychiatry, and financial services in-house.

Residents in clinic may spend either a half day (8a-noon or 1p-5p) or whole day in clinic seeing continuity patients.

Residents typically spend 2 blocks per year (4 weeks of ICU days and 4 weeks of ICU nights. Exception: Primary Care Track residents) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Again, we stick to a day/night model. ICU Day residents work on a traditional teaching team consisting of an Intensivist, one senior resident, and two to three interns, with occasionally one 4th year “sub-intern.” ICU Night residents work on a team that consists of an Intensivist, a senior resident and two interns.

Residents work exclusively in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), though have the opportunity to work in the trauma-neuro ICU or cardiovascular ICU if they elect to pursue the “Advanced Pulm” rotation elective in their senior years (especially palatable for those interested in critical care fellowship).

Residents undergo procedure training through simulation prior to working in the ICU during orientation, and with refreshers that are offered periodically throughout the academic year. During ICU months, interns become proficient at central lines, arterial lines, and intubation with opportunities to learn other procedures including bedside ultrasound, placement of dialysis catheters and para- and thoracentesis. Our medical ICU has a high acuity with medically complex patients and diverse diagnoses and clinical scenarios - the educational opportunities are endless. We do have a pulmonary critical fellowship at our institution with two fellows per class, who help periodically supervise teaching teams in the MICU and help lead educational and procedure workshops throughout the academic year. Our residents otherwise have ample opportunity to complete procedures, run codes, and have end of life discussions with patients/families.

Residents work on either a month of days or a month of night float. ICU day residents work from 7a-6p (or later if work is not complete) and night float residents provide coverage from 6p-7a, doing both admissions and cross coverage.

The following tracks allow our residents to enhance their skills in areas of interest. The Primary Care Track is available to three new PGY-1s and typically determined post-match. The other tracks below (Clinician Educator, Quality and Patient Safety, Women’s Health, Hospitalist, and Global Health) are available during PGY-2 and PGY-3 year.

Primary Care Track
The Primary Care Track is designed to equip residents with the skills and experiences they will need to practice as outstanding primary care physicians in urban, suburban, or rural settings. The curriculum tilts rotational requirements toward ambulatory experiences in the PGY-2 and PGY-3 years. Mentorship is emphasized from early in residency. Ambulatory rotations are designed to optimize flexibility to allow residents to gain experience in areas of interest or in areas where growth is needed. Our Primary Care Interest Group meets outside of work and with speakers who are practicing in a variety of settings in primary care and ambulatory IM. Most graduates from the Primary Care Track practice primary care internal medicine, but others have become hospitalists or completed fellowships. Our program leadership actively seeks feedback from residents who have completed the track as we continually work to meet the training needs of our current residents.

     Primary Care Track Curriculum

Clinician Educator Track (CET)

The Clinician Educator Track (CET) is a one to two year certificate program for residents who are interested in teaching and scholarly activity. With mentorship from a faculty member, residents develop additional training and skills in communication, teaching, assessment, educational leadership, curriculum development and scholarship. Residents in the track have the option of a dedicated CET elective month to assist in completion of the track requirements. Graduates of the track have gone on to faculty appointments in Internal Medicine residency programs, and would be helpful for residents interested in academic medicine following a subspecialty fellowship as well.

Global Health Track

The Global Health Track (GHT) is an option for our PGY1 and PGY2 residents that carries through to their PGY3 year. This track helps to guide residents interested in developing a better understanding of global health systems, cultural impact on health, and epidemiology of diseases. It includes didactics and opportunities for scholarly work in a global health related area, as well as participation in two weeks of international service and experience. Ascension St. Vincent Graduate Medical Education hosts a multidisciplinary trip annually, sending a group of faculty and residents to Honduras to partner with a Honduran healthcare team and medical professionals from other institutions.

Hospitalist Track

The Hospitalist Medicine Track allows residents to develop diverse skills to efficiently and effectively provide high value compassionate patient care. Under the guidance of a core teaching faculty mentor, residents enrolled in the hospitalist track will develop skills that allow them to competently perform best clinical practices and patient care, understand the business of hospitalist medicine, and participate in the advancement of hospitalist medicine through committee and leadership opportunities.

Patient Safety & Quality Improvement (PSQI)

The Patient Safety & Quality Improvement (PSQI) is an evidence-based curriculum for internal medicine residents with an interest in quality and safety education, research and administration. This twenty-four month track provides additional knowledge and skills to equip its graduates with tools to become innovative leaders in Quality or Patient Safety.

Pocus Track

The POCUS (Point-of-care ultrasound) Track is a curriculum focused on training up physicians withan expertise in an increasingly useful modality -bedside ultrasound. The ASV IM Residency has a longitudinal curriculum to train all residents at some level in the use of POCUS. This track takes that training to the next level, ensuring competence in cardiac, pulmonary, vascular, and abdominal POCUS. It is available to PGY-2 residents, continuing into the PGY-3 year. The track includes access to modules, hands-on teaching by ultrasound-trained faculty, creation of a personal image portfolio, and participation in monthly POCUS didactics with opportunities for leadership and teaching. Training in POCUS has proven to be useful in preparing residents for multiple potential career paths, including Hospitalist, Outpatient Primary Care, Critical Care, and Cardiology, making this track a highly desired opportunity by many of our residents.

Women’s Health Track

The Women’s Health Track is an evidenced based, women’s health curriculum for Internal Medicine residents with an interest in diseases and health issues specifically affecting women. Residents in this curriculum will receive additional education and procedural experiences specific to women’s health. Interested residents may enroll any time prior to the start of the PGY-2 year.

Women's Health Track Curriculum 

Providing medical care in the patient’s native language helps foster a stronger patient-physician relationship and can also assist with patient adherence to recommended therapies and interventions. With approximately 42 million people in North America who speak Spanish, it is important to cater to the diverse linguistic needs of the various patients.

The primary objective is to learn medical Spanish terminology in order to complete a medical encounter in Spanish effectively and efficiently. The self-guided terminology documents are designed to prepare for the official medical Spanish language proficiency exam administered by Ascension St. Vincent language services department. This self-directed program has been designed to allow learning of the terminology based on the participant’s baseline knowledge of Spanish language as a whole and of medical Spanish. This track is designed for those individuals who already possess an advanced conversational level of Spanish language and will not include a resource on grammar. Additional resources such as an electronic flashcard deck will be provided to participants to assist with studying. Individuals who complete this track will graduate with a certification of completion from the Internal Medicine Residency.

The Medical Spanish Program consists of the following components: 

• Terminology review 
• Electronic flashcard deck review 
• Advanced understanding of Spanish grammar
• 50-question online exam
• ASV Language Proficiency Exam  

Upon successful completion of this course, individuals are considered “bilingual providers” who are proficient in the target language (Spanish).  Note that this does NOT mean that you are a “certified interpreter”.  Bilingual providers are able to complete encounters in the target language but cannot interpret for other individuals.  If you wish to become a certified interpreter, you should seek out resources at Luna or other national accrediting bodies for medical interpretation certification.