Overview of Educational Programs

The Training Programs offer a challenging and stimulating G1 year during which the fundamental skills of a general internist are initially acquired.  During the G2 and G3 years, the trainee further develops these competencies, with particular attention to management, teaching, and leadership skills in directing ward teams, running busy consultations services, and obtaining broad exposure to general internal medicine and the medical subspecialties in the ambulatory setting.

Over three years residents will spend approximately 60% of their time on inpatient rotations which include the general internal medicine units, the medical intensive care unit, cardiology units, and the medical consultation service.   A minimum of 40% of the residents’ time will be dedicated to ambulatory medicine experiences including block and longitudinal time in their general internal medicine continuity practices, emergency medicine rotations, and essential rotations in the medical subspecialties.  The remaining time is available for clinical electives and/or research experiences.

• Preliminary Track
• Categorical Track
• Primary Care Track

Preliminary Track

PGY1 positions in medicine are available for candidates who wish to have a year of training in internal medicine prior to starting training in non-medicine specialties.  During the preliminary year residents spend five or six months gaining experience with the diagnosis and management of conditions seen on the general medicine teaching service as well as one to two months on the inpatient cardiology or MICU services.  These rotations allow first year residents to develop data collecting skills, discover new medical knowledge, develop mature clinical judgment, and acquire other fundamental competencies of the general internist.  Ambulatory rotations comprise one third of the year and include 1 month of emergency medicine and three elective months. Ample elective time allows the residents to prepare for specialty training or to expand their knowledge in focused areas of internal medicine. Many preliminary year trainees remain at FAHC to complete their training in their chosen specialty.

Categorical Track

The traditional or categorical Internal Medicine Program is designed to assure that each resident obtains a strong internal medicine foundation via the core curriculum, a combination of well supervised inpatient rotations, and structured experiences in the general and subspecialty medicine ambulatory and consultation arenas.  The broad general medicine background allows for career options in both general and subspecialty medicine.  The program trains physicians with career interests in primary care, clinical subspecialty medicine, or academic medicine and research.  The traditional track structure and philosophy encourage individualization of the educational program for each resident.  Our residents are provided with faculty mentoring and career counseling.   

*Ambulatory Subspecialty Medicine Rotations
Dermatology
Infectious Disease
Rheumatology
Gastroenterology

Other Electives
Cardiology Consults
Clinical Pathology
Nephrology
Outpatient Hematology / Oncology
Pulmonary
Radiology
Sports Medicine

Primary Care Track

The Primary Care Track in Internal Medicine was established in 1978.  The program has established a reputation for superb clinical training in general internal medicine.  The ambulatory training for this program is based at the Given Health Care Centers (GHCC), founded in 1971 as a model internal medicine practice.  The goals of GHCC are twofold; first, to provide high quality, cost-effective medical care to patients from Chittenden County and northern New York State, and second, to develop a residency training program based on a system of problem oriented health care delivery.  Throughout their three years of training, our residents become increasingly thorough, reliable, efficient and cost-effective, and improve their problem solving skills.   They are provided with the important tools to manage their own quality practice and at the same time acquire the unique skills necessary to manage patients in an ambulatory internal medicine practice. 

The Primary Care program is designed for residents with a strong desire to establish careers in Primary Care Internal Medicine.   Primary Care residents share the same core curriculum with the traditional residents, but in addition, undertake a number of specially designed primary care rotations coupled with ambulatory general internal medicine blocks.

*Ambulatory Subspecialty Medicine Rotations
Dermatology
Infectious Disease
Rheumatology
Gastroenterology

Primary Care Electives
Woman's Health
Office Ophthalmology
Rural Medicine
Sports Medicine

Other Electives
Cardiology Consults
Clinical Pathology
Nephrology
Outpatient Hematology / Oncology
Pulmonary
Radiology