Internal Medicine housestaff training at The University of Arizona originated in 1972. We consider the training experience to be highly competitive and successful. Residents learn the fundamentals of inpatient medicine while caring for patients on the general medical wards and in state-of-the-art intensive care and cardiac care units. The experience is broadened by ample exposure to ambulatory medicine. We also have one of the highest board pass rates in Arizona.

Our program saw a major change in 2003-2004 with the merging of University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program with the Tucson Hospital Medical Education Program to become the University of Arizona-Tucson Hospitals Internal Medicine Residency Program. This welcome merger carries the addition of an increased number of housestaff as well more variety in inpatient and outpatient experiences, as well as the addition of many dedicated faculty. Residents are now able to care for patients in a variety of settings: a University hospital, VA, and community hospital.

(Want a Sneak Peek ? Meet our residents here)

Goals and Facilities

Residents are expected to focus on three major goals which include education, clinical excellence and research. Research opportunities are plentiful and encouraged. Our intent is to provide the necessary background for the successful practice of medicine and to allow growth and interest in research at an early stage in training. To accomplish this, three major teaching facilities are utilized: University Medical Center, the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, and Tucson Medical Center. In addition, outpatient continuity clinic experiences are available at University Medical Center, Tucson Medical Center, Southern Arizona VAHCS, El Rio Clinic and Kino Community Hospital's Outpatient Clinic.

Conferences

To promote housestaff education, a number of required conferences are scheduled during the work week. These include morning reports, our Thursday Academic 1/2 Day for all residents, as well as Morbidity and Mortality conference and Grand Rounds held weekly at each hospital. Residents on the inpatient service also participate in bedside attending rounds. Each institution is staffed using a teacher/hospitalist attending model, whereby each team is managed by one attending.

Call Schedule

While in training, call schedules vary by institution. At UMC long call is every fifth day on the General Medicine Wards. While on ICU or CCU, overnight call is every fourth night with a senior resident in-house and dedicated to assisting interns assigned to call. At SAVAHCS overnight call is every fifth night. At TMC overnight call is every fourth night. Interns and residents are assigned several weeks in the course of the year where they may be called in for "back-up" call in the event that a colleague suffers an illness or other personal or family emergency. In addition, second and third year residents are assigned several nights a year for ICU and CCU float coverage during elective rotations.

Ambulatory Experience

Ambulatory care training is gained from various well-designed clinical experiences within our program. Residents have the opportunity to form long-term therapeutic relationships with their patients through their weekly half-day continuity clinic experience. These clinics occur during each year of residency, building a core group of patients throughout the three years. The Yale Curriculum offers a case-based didactic tool for teaching within the structure of continuity clinics. Attendings assigned to each clinic offer guidance through these cases as well as their own management advice while supervising patient visits. The R2 year also offers a focused ambulatory care month at our VA hospital. This rotation provides for exposure to the outpatient aspects of each medicine subspecialty as well as interdisciplinary experiences in dermatology, ophthalmology and neurology clinics. Our Geriatrics rotation offers not only home-based primary care exposure, but also various outpatient clinic experiences. The R3 year offers a community-based outpatient medicine rotation where-in the resident works one-on-one with a seasoned private practice internist offering care to his/her panel of patients. It is here that our residents are not only able to become more well-versed in the management of outpatient medical issues, but are also exposed to issues related to billing, coding and successful private practice management. There is also ample urgent care exposure in our residency training program. During the R2 year residents work in the TMC hospital's Minor Emergency Care unit. As an R3, the level of responsiblity is stepped up with a rotation in the busy TMC Emergency Room.

Electives

Elective experiences are designed to allow residents to customize their training in accordance with their career plans. Elective options are varied and flexible ranging from Internal Medicine subspecialties to Radiology, Pathology, Orthopedics and Palliative Care. Unique memories are available with the Indian Health Services Cardiology and Rheumatology trips which visit multiple sites on the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In addition, many residents elect to pursue research opportunities.

Research

During any year, residents may elect to do formal research projects with a faculty mentor, ranging from bench to clinical research. Many residents have published abstracts and papers as well as received grant support. All of our residents compete in the ACP Clinical Vignette Competition for the State of Arizona and are encouraged to submit clinical and research abstracts for this meeting.

(View some of our residents' research)

End Result

In all three years of training an emphasis is placed on the team approach to patient care. At each level, residents are encouraged to learn and teach the important aspects of clinical evaluation and the pathophysiology of disease processes. With each year of additional training, greater responsibility for patient care and teaching of other team members is given. The third year resident will experience critical care, medical consultation, community based private practice, ward medicine, electives and continuity clinic. By the completion of the third year, residents are expected to be competent and independent in inpatient and outpatient medicine.

Career Success

Our residents have been fortunate to enter the fellowships and practices of their choice. Recent graduates have entered fellowships at our own institution as well as the University of Utah, Cleveland Clinic, Washington University at St. Louis, Stanford University, Brown University, Harvard University, Rush-Presbyterian, University of North Carolina, University of Alabama, University of Cincinnati, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin, UT Houston, UT San Antonio, Loma Linda University, Johns Hopkins, Medical College of Southern Carolina, University of New Mexico, UC-San Diego, Mayo Clinic, Tufts University, Duke, Tulane, Wake Forest, Washington University, UCLA and USC.

(See what our former residents are doing.) 

Curriculum

A typical curriculum for three years of categorical medicine residency training is as follows:
 

PGY I
 

Ambulatory Block 0.5 month
CCU (UMC) 1month
ICU (UMC) 1 month
General Medicine Wards 7 months
Elective 1.5 months
Vacation 1 month
 

PGY II

CCU (UMC) 1 month
General Medicine Wards 4.5 months
ER (VA) 1 month
Ambulatory Care (VA) 1 month
Geriatrics (VA) 1 month
Minor Emergency Clinic - MEC (TMC) 0.5 month
Electives 2 months
Vacation 1 month
 

PGY III

ICU (UMC) 1 month
Community Medicine 1 month
General Medicine Wards 4.5 months
Electives 2.5 months
General Medicine Consult Service (VA) 1 month
Emergency Medicine (TMC) 0.5 month
Admitting Officer of the Day - AOD (UMC) 0.5 month
Vacation 1 month