Director's Welcome
As one of the 21 programs accepted into the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Educational Innovations Project, the UC Department of Internal Medicine is at the forefront of graduate medical education innovation.
Our unique residency makes Cincinnati a special place to train. Let me introduce you to some of the highlights of our philosophy on healing, teaching, learning and leadership.
Patient Care and Educational Philosophy
When the department joined the Educational Innovations Project, our goal was to simultaneously improve residency education and patient care. This forced us to ask many important questions.
What kind of care and education do we deliver?
- How do we measure this?
- What are the ultimate outcomes for patients and learners?
- How are these linked?
- If the patient experience is poor, how can this be good for education?
All of this led to a heightened sense of shared accountability. We have embraced team-based, patient-centered care. We seek residents who are more 'we' than 'me,' and who have a passion for bringing value to the lives of those around them.
Healing
Have you ever witnessed a patient's concerns being ignored during rounds by teams who constantly rush around the hospital? Is this OK? We don't think so.
Our recent ward innovation refocuses the care system around the patient in an integrated and efficient way. By adopting patient-centered bedside rounds within high-functioning multidisciplinary teams our residents spend more time with patients doing physician work, rather than time away from patients doing busy work.
In the clinic, our award-winning Ambulatory Long Block and level III patient-centered medical home provides an authentic primary care experience and the kind of real-life continuity needed to manage patients with complex problems.
We see ourselves as teachers of the patients. What good is a pill or therapy if the patient doesn't take it?
As a resident, you will learn how to help patients leave the wards with a sense of self-efficacy. Do they know enough to go home? Can they take care of themselves? If, not, how can we assist them?
In the clinic, we close the loop of knowledge by providing clear written instructions from the electronic medical record and by having the patients “teach-back” the plan to us to ensure they understand it.
Your therapeutic relationship with your patients is your most important tool and our care systems support these relationships.
Teaching and Learning
When it comes to learning we are more interested in what you can do, than what you know. Knowing is important, but you must be able to translate that into action. Our new state-of-the-art Milestones Evaluation System measures your skills, not simply how we feel about you.
When you come to our conferences you will not see dark rooms and PowerPoint presentations. Instead, you will encounter small-group learning exercises and a dedicated set of faculty challenging you to use knowledge rather than just passively receive it.
From our popular Academic Half Day and morning reports, to our dedicated Advanced Ambulatory Practice curriculum, to our evidence-based medicine and board review courses, you will be actively engaged in your learning.
Recently, we have had tremendous academic success—our board pass rate is in the upper 10 percent of all residencies, and our residents have gone on to many fine practices and fellowships.
In addition, we also have a robust and well supported set of research programs that produce many excellent projects every year. We also offer three learning pathways for residents considering careers in medical education, vulnerable populations and research.
Leadership
Medicine is transforming from a hierarchy, with the physician in a command position, to a multidisciplinary team, with each person having separate and important knowledge, skills and perspectives. We train our residents to be leaders of these teams.
Our inpatient and ambulatory care systems are multidisciplinary and team-based, and residents are deeply involved with the performance of each team.
In both settings we meet weekly to review how we are doing. Residents use quality reports, patient satisfaction information, and practice management data to constantly improve care. When you graduate, you are prepared to lead any clinical microsystem.
Our residency is interactive, open minded, patient-centered and outcomes oriented. If you value these attributes, and want to train with like-minded people, then our program is for you.
I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Eric Warm, MD
Program Director, Internal Medicine
Professor of Internal Medicine