Training Tracks

The categorical or "traditional" pathway is a three-year program leading to Board eligibility upon completion. This pathway prepares residents to assume diverse roles ranging from private practice in general internal medicine to further training as a clinical or research fellow.

The center of the categorical track is our core curriculum of inpatient and outpatient general internal medicine rotations. These core experiences are supported by electives in a variety of subspecialty disciplines. Residents with further interest in research are able to utilize elective time to undertake research projects under the mentorship of faculty. Current Department of Medicine research focus areas and major projects are described here.

Contact:

Program Director: Simerjot Jassal, MD

Program Administrator: Anne Bamrick-Rosenblatt

The Physician-Scientist Training Pathway (PSTP) is for applicants who already have an interest in either clinical sciences or basic science research. This pathway is best suited to graduates with an established interest in basic science research, and provides rigorous training in both clinical medicine and biological science. Often, residents opt to combine their research experience with subsequent clinical subspecialty fellowship training, satisfying both research residency requirements and requirements for subspecialty board certification. Alternatively, some may opt to perform subspecialty clinical training prior to beginning their postdoctoral research studies.

The clinical portion of the program consists of two years in the categorical medicine track. 

The research portion of the program consists of mentored research training for three or more years in a variety of premiere laboratories at either the University or affiliates in the biomedical community, including the Sanford-Burnham Institute, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology.  Current Department of Medicine research focus areas and major projects are described here.

During research training, candidates maintain a weekly half-day general medicine or subspecialty continuity clinic. In this pathway, residents are first eligible for certification in internal medicine during their PGY-4 year, and subspecialty examination during their PGY-6 or PGY-7 year, depending upon the subspecialty.  Refer to the American Board of Internal Medicine research pathway certification policies and requirements here.

For specific questions contact the program director, Gerry Boss, MD.

The primary care block is a rotation designed specifically for the residents in the UCSD Internal Medicine Primary Care Pathway.  Residents in the Pathway will spend three, 2-week rotations on this block annually.  Each block will consist of a mix of continuity clinics, subspecialty clinics, a primary care academic half-day, and unique clinical and educational opportunities.  Preferences for the rotation will be solicited prior to the creation of the schedules in order to customize the rotation based on each resident's interests and career goals.  Residents will have a second subspecialty continuity clinic that they will attend weekly while on primary care blocks throughout the year. The field is selected by the resident and the preceptor is hand-selected by the Pathway director.  Subspecialty clinics are selected with an emphasis on learning aspects of the specialty that are most useful for a future generalist.  Special events for primary care residents are scheduled during these blocks, including panels on research opportunities in general medicine, career panels, and individualized preparation for the job search process.

Each week of the rotation will include the following:

•  3-4 continuity clinics
• 1 subspecialty continuity clinic
• additional subspecialty clinic electives
• 1 primary care academic half-day
• Time for research, patient follow-up, and PDSAs
• Site visit to a unique model of primary care delivery
• Primary care morning report
  
• Participation in regular Friday-school didactics
  

Sample Weekly Schedule

The Preliminary Medicine pathway is a one-year internship designed for resident applicants who are interested in obtaining a basic understanding of internal medicine in preparation for further training in a non-internal medicine field. Trainees in the Preliminary Medicine pathway will have an experience identical to that of the other categorical or research interns with whom they will be working, with the exception that they will not be required to have a continuity clinic.

Contact:

Program Director: Simerjot Jassal, MD

Program Administrator: Anne Bamrick-Rosenblatt

UC San Diego is also excited to offer training in our Combined Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program. The goal of this residency program is to ensure comprehensive training in both internal medicine and pediatrics. Graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge to enter either clinical or academic careers in primary care or subspecialty training.

The program's strength lies in the long-established academic and clinical expertise of both parent departments, Medicine and Pediatrics. Our program offers an equally exciting and diverse academic training environment dedicated to combined medicine and pediatric training which is provided through multiple state-of-the-art training facilities including the freestanding Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego.

Combined training at UC San Diego includes a total of 48 months of rotationsequally divided between internal medicine and pediatrics. Residents rotate every three months between the two departments over their four years of training. There are a total of 16 residents in the Combined Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program; 4 residents per postgraduate year of training.

Contact:

Program Director:  Lori Wan, MD

Program Coordinator:  Heejin Kim

We are excited to be joining 6 UC San Diego Internal Medicine Preliminary Internship positions with the UC San Diego Anesthesiology training program. These positions will be linked directly in the NRMP for this year's match either as a joint Advanced/Preliminary program match choice or as a categorical anesthesiology program depending upon the timing of final ACGME approval. The remainder of our Internal Medicine Preliminary Internship positions will continue to be available to outstanding applicants pursuing training in a wide variety of residencies requiring preliminary internship training.

Teaching Skills

There will be opportunities to teach in multiple settings including: staffing with medical students at our student-run free clinics, teaching at the medical school (Problem Based Learning), teaching medical students rotating through inpatient wards, leading commonly held conferences (e.g. morning report), providing feedback (observing OSCEs), and more. Many of these activities will be under direct supervision by a faculty member or chief medical resident allowing for direct feedback. 

Required Activities

Efforts will be made to schedule track members on outpatient rotations concurrently throughout the year. This will allow us to protect five half-days throughout the year for residents to participate in didactics and workshops together. In additional, a 2-week clinician-educator rotation will be scheduled in the winter to further develop teaching skills and provide opportunities for practical application. 

Curriculum Development

In addition to building and honing teaching skills, we expect track residents to graduate with the ability to design and evaluate a curriculum. Didactics and workshops will be dedicated to this topic and there will be an opportunity to design a Friday School day with a Chief Medical Resident. 

Administrative/Leadership Skills

Positions as an academic clinician-educator naturally includes administrative tasks and leadership skills. Track residents will be encouraged to join a committee of their choosing offered at UCSD to gain insight into budget decisions and policy development and implementation. 

Scholarly Projects

We encourage pursuit of scholarly projects including case vignettes, case reports, case series, book chapters, review articles, and abstracts with the goal of presenting at regional and national meetings. 

Teaching Portfolio

Experiences, acquired skills, and accomplishments while in the pathway will generate a robust portfolio to be regularly updated and presented for review by faculty mentors and the Pathway Director. This will include:

1.      Teaching skills and presentations in various settings

2.      Curriculum development and evaluation

3.      Learner assessment and feedback

4.      Administrative and Leadership Roles

5.      Regional and National Conference participation

6.      Honors and awards

Mentorship

All residents accepted into The RACE Track will be paired with a faculty mentor based on shared professional and project interests. Track members will meet with their assigned mentor and Pathway Director, Dr. Supraja Thota, at least on a semi-annual basis to review their progress and portfolio.

If you have any questions regarding The RACE Track please contact Sanjeev Tyagi (styagi@ucsd.edu) or Supraja Thota (sthota@ucsd.edu).

Applications will be accepted beginning January 2018. More details will be posted at that time.