department of medicine

Internal Medicine Residency Program

Conferences

The Department of Medicine maintains a full schedule of conferences open to faculty, house staff and students. The combination of diverse clinical experience, outstanding didactic conferences, and the innate talent of those who choose to do their residency here explains our superb performance on the Internal Medicine Board exams where Temple residents are invariably in the top quartile of examinees and the most recent groups have had a near-100% pass rate.

Our basic conference structure is shown below. By opening the links below, you will be able to see archives topics of each of the conference series.

Morning Conferences (7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesdays-Fridays)

Afternoon Conferences (12 noon – 1 p.m.)

Summer Conference Series (June to August)

Mandatory didactic sessions for interns in the months of June, July and August. (Upper years, please allow your interns to attend these educational conferences and carry their pagers while they are away.)

Location: Residents' library - 8th floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Morning Report - PICO Format

Evidence-based review of a clinically relevant question intended to enable residents to formulate clinical strategies based on available literature. The question should be posed first and the literature should be reviewed later (as opposed to basing the morning report on the latest article in the NEJM...) Remember: Question first, literature later!

1. Start early and discuss possible questions/topics with the Chiefs 2-3 weeks in advance. The topic must be approved by a current chief resident/
2. Plan for a 40 minute presentation (20 slides usually).
3. Address 2-3 teaching points, and work your presentation around them.
4. Choose a simple background color: Blue with yellow or white letters never fails.
5. State your PICO (Patient/Population/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) question clearly within the first two or three slides. E.g.: In a 50 year old cirrhotic male who has had a GI bleed (Patient), do prophylactic antibiotics (Intervention) improve mortality (Outcome) as compared to no antibiotics (Comparison)?
6. Discuss 1-3 good studies with take home points discussed only (Do not get bogged down with too many individual graphs and study protocols because this is not a Journal Club).
7. Make your own tables. They're easier to read and highlight only what you want to emphasize.
8. Talk off bullet points, and no more than 4-5 points per slide.
9. Repeat PICO question again and answer it
10. End with one slide on teaching points.
    

Morning Report - MCQ Format

Opportunity to review MKSAP or other database questions for the curriculum topic of the week. These are NOT supposed to be lectures on topics, just questions with associated teaching slides. .

Morning Report - Interpretive Skills Format

Residents prepare a 45 minute presentation based on interpretive skills. Previous topics have included EKGs, chest X-rays, urinalysis gram stains, peripheral smears, etc.  The resident will present relevant clinical scenarios for interactive interpretation by an expert fellow / faculty member (The type of image to bring will be mentioned on the Google Calendar).

Morning Report - Topic Review Format

Opportunity to review a current topic in the specialty of the week. Topics should cover not so commonly seen medical topics that are often on the boards. This is not a lit review, but rather a mechanism to help with board review for all our residents. The topics should be narrow enough to fit into a 45 minute time frame. It should emphasize 2 or 3 teaching points.

Morning Report - Whiteboard Case Format

This should be a case that will be in the classic "whiteboard format'.  The case should be pertinent to the specialty of the week and all the salient points should be covered in 45 minutes with time for questions/discussion at the end. The case can be a common presentation of an uncommon disease or an uncommon presentation of a common disease. The purpose of this format is to help residents hone their differential skills and aid with clinical reasoning.

Morning Report - Current Events Format

This morning report will encompass medical topics that are featured in the current world news. Topics can be either ethical or medical in nature and should take about 45 minutes, allowing for a ten minute discussion afterwards. There will be one to two presenters each session.

Ambulatory Conference (GIM Grand Rounds)

Presented by GIM attendings, third-year residents or by speakers invited to speak about topics relevant to outpatient primary care practice.

Location: Basement Conference Room - Rock Pavilion
Timing: 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. - Monday

Clinico-Pathological Conference (September to June)

Detailed academic analysis by seasoned clinicians of cases that have been prepared in advance for the purpose. Extremely educational in terms of learning how to prepare an exhaustive list of differentials for a clinical finding.

Location: Erny Auditorium - 1st floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - monthly (check calendar for exact dates)

Morbidity and Mortality Conference (September to June)

Review of cases in which morbidity or mortality has occurred, and analysis of the causes of the adverse outcomes and identification of the individual and systems issues that need to be addressed. Alternate M&Ms will be presented by Drs. Moyer or Gersh in front of the entire IM department, or by residents in a closed forum that will be attended only by other residents. Occasionally, there may also be a combined M&M for ED and IM residents and faculty.

Location: Erny Auditorium - 1st floor Parkinson Pavilion (for departmental M&M) or Residents' library - 8th floor Parkinson Pavilion (for resident M&M)
Timing: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - monthly (check calendar for exact dates)

Journal Club (September to June)

In depth review by 3rd year residents of a single scientific paper, with emphasis on methodology and statistics. Organized and coordinated by Dr. Bizath Taqui. Experts present include statisticians, consultants and epidemiologists.

Location: Residents' library - 8th floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. - Wednesdays (check calendar for exact dates)

Attending Report

Special presentations by attendings, which may involve discussions about recent guidelines and research, or discussions by grand rounds speakers of cases presented by resident.

Location: Residents' library - 8th floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. - alternate Wednesdays (check calendar for exact dates)

Grand Rounds (September to June)

One of the most important conferences in Internal Medicine. Grand Round speakers are invited from around the country to talk about medical conditions or issues within their field of expertise. These talks are attended by students, residents, fellows and attendings, and are a vital part of the intellectual atmosphere at Temple.

Location: Erny Auditorium - 1st floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Wednesday

Intern Report (September to June)

Mandatory conference for interns. Case based presentation focusing on differential diagnosis, workup, and management. Questions generated during the conference will be addressed by the presenting intern the following week.

Location: Residents' library - 8th floor Parkinson Pavilion
Timing: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. - Thursday