department of medicine

Internal Medicine Residency Program

Inpatient Curriculum

The core of the inpatient clinical and teaching activities at Temple University are rotations through the General Medical Service and the intensive care units. Each rotation is staffed by a second- or third-year resident, a first-year resident, and one to three medical students. We are dedicated to our 1:1:1 ratio of faculty to resident to intern because we believe that it delivers the most comprehensive and individualized education possible today.

The activities of each service are supervised by full-time teaching attending physicians who conduct daily teaching rounds. Residents may be assigned to subspecialty units in Congestive Heart Failure, Renal, Pulmonary and Cardiology which are supervised by their respective specialist.

In July of 2011, Temple successfully transitioned from a traditional overnight call system to one without any overnight call. Utilizing upper year night floats and nonteaching services, this new system has improved the education that our residents receive at Temple while maintaining outstanding patient care. In order to minimize patient handoffs and deliver a top-quality education, resident night floats round each morning with the team assuming care of the patients admitted that night. This ensures that all clinical information is communicated and that admitting interns receive education, feedback and teaching during the normal attending physician-led morning rounds.

        Note: The above chart may add up to over 52 weeks due to variability in schedules.

Direct and extensive responsibility for the care of patients, each with an acute and/or complex illness, characterizes the role of the medical house officer. Emphasis at all levels is on well-organized case study and therapeutic planning. This is documented by experience published in the medical literature rather than personal anecdote. An intellectually stimulating environment is fostered on the services by the close one-to-one relationships between the second/third-year resident and the first-year resident and unobtrusive supervision by clinically adept faculty.

Hospitalists are playing an increasing role in health care nationally, and this is true at Temple University Hospital as well. We have an expanding core of full-time hospitalists who specialize in managing complex inpatient cases. As a goal, about 1/2 of the inpatient teaching will be conducted by generalists with a strong interest and expertise in the management of seriously ill, hospitalized patients. This will not only be a good teaching opportunity for our residents and students, but it will also give considerable exposure so that prospective hospitalists can get a flavor of this new "specialty". However, it is important to emphasize that the other part of teaching currently being offered by specialists who are excellent clinicians will continue. That way residents can work closely with mentors who are able to translate their expertise in a subspecialty area into excellent care for sick hospitalized patients with a variety of medical diseases.

The program's philosophy is one of graduated responsibility and independence paralleling professional growth.

The physician who completes the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Temple University Hospital will have participated in a program that is at the forefront of contemporary medicine. It includes thoughtful, efficient and effective care of sick patients, stimulating teaching and productive clinical investigation. Emphasis is placed on the development of comprehensive skills in clinical problem-solving situations that the internist is likely to confront now and in the future.