The Internal Medicine Residency at Dell Medical School offers both a categorical program and a preliminary internship. There are two tracks within the categorical program: the Veterans’ Affairs Primary Care Track and Dell Med’s Distinction in Care Transformation.
Curriculum Components
Rotations
Trainees have rotations spread over inpatient wards, ICU and outpatient clinics, as well as an opportunity to gain exposure to medical subspecialties and other electives. Morning attending rounds are the foundation of the educational experience and involve interdisciplinary teams that include Dell Med students and pharmacy residents. Residents follow a six plus two schedule, completing six weeks of different inpatient rotations followed by two weeks of ambulatory clinic.
Block Rotation Schedule
- Clinic: 12-14 weeks
- ICU/CICU: 8 weeks
- Wards: 16 weeks
- Night float: 4 weeks
- Emergency medicine: 2 weeks
- Elective: 6 weeks
- Vacation: 3 weeks
- Clinic: 12-14 weeks
- ICU: 8 weeks
- Wards: 16 weeks
- Night float: 4 weeks
- Emergency medicine: 2 weeks
- Palliative care: 2 weeks
- Consult selective: 1-3 weeks
- Elective: 2 weeks
- Vacation: 3 weeks
- Clinic: 12-14 weeks
- Wards: 8 weeks
- ICU: 8 weeks
- Night float: 2 weeks
- GI: 2 weeks
- Cardiology: 2 weeks
- Renal: 2 weeks
- Hematology/oncology: 2 weeks
- Infectious diseases: 2 weeks
- Endocrine: 2 weeks
- Elective: 4 weeks
- Consult selective: 1-3 weeks
- Vacation: 3 weeks
- Clinic: 12-14 weeks
- Wards: 12-14 weeks
- ICU: 4 weeks
- Night float: 2 weeks
- Neurology: 2 weeks
- Consult selective: 6 weeks
- Elective: 8 weeks
- Vacation: 3 weeks
Conferences
Teaching conferences include daily morning rounds and a noon conference. On Wednesdays, conferences include departmental grand rounds, morbidity and mortality and journal club. Nationally known speakers in internal medicine present during grand rounds. There are also monthly multidisciplinary process improvement meetings and Dell Med Grand Rounds. During ambulatory week, in addition to pre-clinic conferences, residents attend an academic half-day that includes exploring care through the lens of quality and safety.
Highlights
Highlights of the program include:
- Mentorship with an assigned faculty member from the start of residency to provide guidance in achieving professional development, academic success and wellness.
- Global Health Program opportunities.
- Dell Med Incubator, a forum to promote and strengthen scholarly academic work and projects and receive feedback from faculty and peers.
- Attendance at regional and national conferences.
- Intentional holiday leave.
Tracks
The Distinction in Care Transformation is the honors component of Dell Med’s signature graduate medical curriculum focused on health systems science. Internal medicine matches up to five categorical residents per year into the distinction track. Residents who match into the Primary Care Track also participate in the training.
Residents in the distinction track receive the same diverse clinical training experience as a categorical resident. In addition, participants receive education in design thinking, quality improvement, leadership, health equity, academic scholarship and care transformation. Residents lead projects in quality improvement, health care value and/or population health. Ideal applicants show a commitment to systems-based improvement, leadership and academic scholarship.
Based in the Austin VA Outpatient Clinic, the Primary Care Track provides an education focused on outpatient care while taking care of the nation’s veterans and other complex populations. The track trains excellent primary care general internists to be leaders and innovators who provide evidenced-based, socially responsible care.
The program provides diverse outpatient clinical training, individualized mentoring, hands-on experience in quality improvement and comprehensive didactics in ambulatory clinical topics, evidence-based medicine and social determinants of health.
If you are interested in learning more about the Primary Care Track, please contact the program director.
Program Director: Robin Reister, M.D.