Curriculum

Schedule

Our program strives to give our residents a balanced exposure to inpatient and primary care. It is our goal to provide meaningful education as they work on both sides. This ensures that no matter where their career paths take them, our residents are always equipped to deliver exceptional care to patients. The schedule is flexible- we welcome feedback from residents and try to tailor their schedules to reflect personal and professional goals.

PGY1 (Total Blocks 13/ 52 weeks)

Floor Team – 12 weeks
Admit Team – 4 weeks
Night Float – 4 weeks
ICU – 4 weeks
Clinic Weeks – 7 weeks
Cardiology – 3 weeks
Hematology/Oncology – 3 weeks
Infectious Diseases – 3 weeks
Nephrology – 3 weeks
Pulmonology – 3 weeks
Women’s Health – 3 weeks
Elective – 3 weeks

PGY2

Floor Team – 2 weeks
Floors – 10 weeks
Admit Team – 4 weeks
Night Float – 4 weeks
ICU – 4 weeks
Clinic Weeks – 9 weeks
Endocrinology – 3 weeks
Gastroenterology – 3 weeks
Infectious Diseases – 1 week
Neurology – 3 weeks
EM – 3 weeks
QI/ Research – 3 weeks
Elective – 3 weeks

PGY3

Floor Team – 6 weeks
Floors – 2 weeks
Admit Team – 2 weeks
Night Float – 4 weeks
ICU – 8 weeks
Clinic Weeks – 10 weeks
Rheumatology – 3 weeks
Geriatrics – 2 weeks
Hospice/Palliative Care – 2 weeks
QI/ Research – 3 weeks
Elective – 10 weeks

Ambulatory Care

Residents work in the outpatient setting at our Internal Medicine clinic located in downtown Jackson. The clinic is committed to engaging and serving our community, and residents are usually the first point of contact for medical care in Jackson. Our Program follows a 3+1 schedule, where residents rotate in the clinic one week per month. This way they are able to maintain continuity of care and form rewarding relationships with their patients.

Electives

Residents have a total of three blocks of elective rotations available to them. Residents interested in getting more exposure to subspecialties for fellowships have the opportunity to go for away rotations at larger institutions.

Night Float

The hospital has a night float system usually consisting of a senior resident and an intern, who are responsible for taking overnight calls and admits. While your attending is always a phone call away, the goal is to hone your clinical skills and make you comfortable with practicing medicine independently. It also gives a well-deserved respite to the on-call day team.

Didactics

We have a daily morning report and noon conference, weekly half-day didactics on Wednesdays, and monthly Journal Clubs. Our program’s focus is to provide you with the skills to practice evidence-based medicine and prepare you for the next step in your career. Attendance at conferences and lectures is mandatory. Academic time is protected, where residents can focus their attention exclusively on learning.

Simulations

Megacode and Rapid Response simulations happen twice every month in our recently inaugurated state-of-art sim lab. This ensures that the residents are well prepared to tackle emergencies and high-stress scenarios. We are currently introducing POC ultrasound training into our curriculum with SonoSim training modules every Friday. Our faculty is trained in using POC ultrasound and the residents also have the option of a two-week rotation dedicated to ultrasounds in the ER.

Evaluations

Timely feedback is critical during residency. Residents receive performance evaluations from attendings at the end of each block. During inpatient blocks, the resident teams meet with the attending for ‘Feedback Friday’ every week. The aim is to develop an open environment for giving and receiving valuable feedback. Residents also fill out confidential peer-to-peer evaluations and resident evaluations of the attending. These assessments are standardized- based on patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning/improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal communication skills.

You can find a sample of the evaluation here.

Research and Scholarly Activities

Our leadership directs the residents to opportunities for research and quality improvement. Every resident is required to complete a quality improvement project before graduating, according to ACGME regulations. Our residents have had the chance to present their research projects at different regional and national conferences like the Annual American College of Physicians (ACP) Meetings, American Heart Association (AHA) meetings, and Henry Ford Research Symposia.

These are a few of the current research and QI projects underway:

• Appropriateness of oncology consults in hospitalized cancer patients
• Follow up echocardiograms in infective endocarditis
• Use of phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal seizures
• Inpatient risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection
• Minor surgeries in the outpatient clinic
• Appropriateness of PICC lines
• NSTEMI and diagnosis