Our program

The education and clinical training of internal medicine residents is the central focus of the department of medicine. Our curriculum is well balanced between inpatient and ambulatory care activities. The unifying principle is to provide experiences that enable the trainee to acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes of the internist in order to provide in depth, comprehensive care.

Stipends and benefits

Internship (PGY 1)

The PGY 1 year is designed to provide experiences which enable the trainee to make the transition from medical student to clinically competent physician. On-call responsibilities are one in every fourth night. The first-year resident is responsible for the ongoing care of approximately five to twelve patients and admits three to five patients per night.

Junior supervising resident (PGY 2)

The second year is designed to provide experiences in the supervision of interns and students, and broader clinical experiences in primary and consultative medicine. House officers spend six to seven months on inpatient rotations in general internal medicine, cardiology, and critical care medicine. The remainder of the year is spent in ambulatory block and subspecialty rotations.

Senior supervising resident (PGY 3)

The third year of training is designed to provide mastery of the academic and clinical skills necessary to become a board certified internist. Clinical experiences emphasize ambulatory training. In general, house officers spend four to five months on inpatient wards. Outpatient rotations in endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology and rheumatology round out the resident's experience in subspecialty ambulatory medicine.

Fellowships and advanced training

Subspecialty fellowships are available in cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonary and critical care medicine and rheumatology. In addition, six chief medical residents are appointed each year.

The preliminary program in internal medicine

Preliminary interns take part in the same curriculum and develop a solid base of internal medicine knowledge before entering their chosen specialty. Residents completing their preliminary year typically pursue such fields as anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, neurology, ophthalmology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and radiology. Inpatient experience is predominantly scheduled on the general medicine and subspecialty wards at LLUMC and the VA Medical Center. Ambulatory experience is provided through the intern ambulatory block and elective rotations.

The primary care track internal medicine residency

The primary care track provides unique and comprehensive training for those who plan careers in primary care general internal medicine. Our goal is to train highly competent, socially responsible general internists skilled in the contemporary methods of primary care. While maintaining the traditional core of training in internal medicine, the primary care track emphasizes the role of the internist as a member of an interdisciplinary healthcare team working not only with other physicians, but also allied health professionals such as psychologists, nurses, social workers, dietitians, physical therapists, and occupational therapists.

The primary care track supplements the traditional track in several ways. First, the curriculum emphasizes rotations in outpatient geriatrics, adolescent medicine, psychiatry, dermatology, community resources, managed care, and women's health. The curriculum also includes conferences on primary care topics and ambulatory case presentations. Second, elective opportunities are extended beyond the traditional subspecialty rotations to include addiction medicine, allergy and immunology, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and women's health. Third, the continuity care clinic experience is extended to include two clinics per week on non-call rotations. In general, the ambulatory care experience emphasizes preparation for the practice of integrated, whole-person, primary care. Residents learn ambulatory procedural skills such as flexible sigmoidoscopy, skin biopsies, and medical gynecology in order to prepare them for the delivery of comprehensive primary care.

Combined internal medicine and pediatrics

The combined medicine/pediatrics residency is a four-year program sponsored jointly by the departments of medicine and pediatrics at Loma Linda University Medical Center and Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. Its purpose is to provide broad, in-depth training for individuals interested in primary care of both children and adults.

This four-year program alternates four-month block rotations between medicine and pediatrics, and exposes the house officer to all the core general medicine and pediatric rotations as well as each of the subspecialties of both departments. A combined medicine-pediatrics continuity clinic is chiefed by medicine-pediatrics attending physicians and maintained throughout the entire training period. Residents interact successfully with house officers of both residencies on a continuing basis. Upon successful completion of this residency program, individuals become board eligible in both internal medicine and pediatrics. Successful graduates have chosen to either practice combined internal medicine and pediatrics as a highly qualified primary care physician, while others have pursued subspecialty fellowships in either internal medicine or pediatrics.

Application

All our applications are processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

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