The internal medicine curriculum at Maimonides fulfills the requirements of the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine (RCC-IM) of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Categorical Internal Medicine Residency Program is a three-year ACGME accredited program based around a 4+1 block system comprising 4 weeks of inpatient and subspecialty elective rotations alternating with 1 week of primary care ambulatory medicine. Our comprehensive curriculum is focused on engaging residents as adult learners with the aim of producing competent, curious and compassionate internists. The curriculum offers broad and balanced experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings, which prepare the graduate for a career in general internal medicine or further training in any of the medical subspecialties.

By the end of the three-year program, graduating residents leave as expert practitioners in the care and treatment of major acute and chronic diseases.

Preliminary Medicine

Our one-year Preliminary Medicine Program provides interns with a comprehensive exposure to internal medicine, providing them with a strong foundation for their future advanced training.  Preliminary interns work side-by-side with their Categorical intern colleagues, managing patients both on the medical floors and the intensive care unit.  These experiences are interspersed throughout the year with a generous number of elective weeks, allowing the Preliminary intern to customize their educational program to what will best suit their future endeavors.  Our Preliminary interns emerge from their year at Maimonides adept in the management of patients with a wide range of complex internal medicine diagnoses, ready to take on their advanced program training. 

The Residency Program incorporates training in many areas, including:

• Preventive medicine
• High quality, cost-effective patient care
• Cultural diversity
• Communication skills
• Biomedical ethics

Comprehensive Inpatient and Outpatient Experiences

We offer a 4+1 schedule, which separates inpatient and outpatient experiences, enhancing the education in both settings.

Inpatient rotations include the general medical floors, medical and coronary care units (ICU/CCU) and specialty divisions. Under the supervision of the full-time faculty, residents participate in daily rounds on each unit. Responsibilities include:

• Completing patient evaluations
• Developing treatment plans
• Performing procedures
• Writing patient orders
• Responsibility for the ongoing care and monitoring of patients in the 20-bed medical intensive care unit and the 10-bed cardiac intensive care unit
• Working with an interdisciplinary team including social services, case management, nursing, wound care, and nutritional support staff

Our Medicine wards are comprised of four large geographically based general medicine teams, each supervised by three attending physicians. This system ensures that our trainees receive an excellent educational experience while providing the highest level of patient safety and care. We also have a night medicine rotation under the supervision of in-house faculty physicians.  There, the overnight residents and interns practice the art of the initial assessment and management of newly presenting patients while helping with the ongoing care of established patients.

The inpatient rotation is enriched by the following academic activities:

• A weekly Intern Report allows PGY1s to learn the basic principles of patient management, proper history and physical examination skills, as well as honing their presentation and diagnostic skills.
• Morning and Noon Report focuses on case presentations. Led by the Chief Residents and guided by Program leadership and faculty physicians, this is an opportunity for residents to learn about differential diagnosis building and evidence-based patient management in a safe and structured environment.
• ABIM preparation is done during weekly Board Review sessions in the morning, where senior residents analyze information on the format and content of the certification exam, with the guidance of the Program leadership. Additionally, a 5-month Board Preparation course driven by subspecialists is conducted in the latter half of PGY-3 year to aid candidates prepare for their exam.
• Journal Club is a resident-driven discussion about published articles, supported by Program leadership and faculty physicians. This educational meeting provides a forum for a collective effort to keep up with the current literature.
• The program leadership, faculty physicians and guest speakers lead bi-monthly Grand Round presentations, providing residents a valuable discussion that can affect patient’s treatment and care planning.
• Monthly M&M lectures foster a climate of openness and discussion about medical errors while providing an interdisciplinary forum to teach curriculum on quality improvement and medico legal issues.

The outpatient curriculum offers ambulatory care experiences in the primary care clinic, private office practice settings, and specialty clinics.  Categorical Medicine residents spend a week every fifth week at their longitudinal continuity clinic, assigned to one of three primary care sites.  Residents act as primary providers for a panel of patients, with oversight by our outpatient faculty.

Additionally, the outpatient week has structured protected time, including:

• Wednesday Academic Day, consists on a one-hour morning report, a two-hour research support session, and an hour with our director of the mindfulness program where he trains residents in humanism and awareness techniques, followed by Journal Club. The remainder of the Academic Day is spent immersed in experiential learning in our state-of-the-art simulation lab, which boasts a virtual reality simulator, interactive ultrasound simulation and practice performing procedures on mannequins.
  
  
• Friday morning case-based primary care didactics, a resident-led teaching session that allows participants to gain experience in teaching each other evidence-based, high yield primary care topics.
  
  
• Friday Resident Wellness Half-Day, used by residents to catch up on academic work and/or self-care. 

All of the above experiences provide residents with an understanding of the full range of care and support services available to patients.  Our program prepares residents for the complexities of healthcare delivery in today’s world, while attending to their well-being.

The Humanism Project

The Humanism Project focuses on developing communication skills, recognizing unconscious bias, and understanding medical ethics. This innovative project helps residents navigate the unique but interdependent needs of patients, colleagues, families, and themselves, by developing self-awareness and a sensitivity to interpersonal dynamics and complex topics that are not always addressed by a formal curriculum.  Its goal is to develop physicians who are patient-centric, professional, empathetic, and emotionally fulfilled in their medical careers. These sessions combine standardized patient scenarios, small group discussions, experiential learning, reflection sessions, and trips to the community.