About Our Residency Program

The Department of Internal Medicine conducts several weekly and monthly conferences designed to critically evaluate the latest developments in the specialty of internal medicine, align the curriculum with the ACGME outcomes project and ensure a robust and invigorating educational program for all members of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Core Curriculum

The Internal Medicine core curriculum emphasizes the biological basis of disease including the physiology, pathophysiology and molecular biology of disease and the relevance of these core principles to clinical medicine.

Several important multi-disciplinary programs, emphasizing the ethical basis of medical practice and professionalism, are also incoorporated into the curriculum. These programs received support and subsequent acclaim by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Saint Louis University Center for Health Care Ethics as well as the Center for Health Care Law provide an added layer of support. These world renowned Centers of Excellence allow our residents to closely interact with individuals with expertise in the areas of ethics, health law, professionalism, and interpersonal communication. In addition, the School of Medicine's Clinical Skills Center permits residents an opportunity to hone their patient care skills using a variety of test simulators.

The Internal Medicine Journal Club

The Internal Medicine Journal Club meets monthly. Critical appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of 2-3 manuscripts are discussed, including the hypothesis, methodology, statistical analysis and conclusions. The Saint Louis University Center for Outcomes Research has been instrumental in the development of the Journal Club. This Center of Excellence has received national recognition as a leader in the field of outcomes research and, accordingly, provides expertise in the areas of clinical trial design and biostatistics.

Medicine Grand Rounds

Medicine grand rounds, the cornerstone of the Department of Internal Medicine educational programs, are held every Friday at 7:30 a.m in lieu of all other educational venues. These conferences:

Highlight recent advances in basic science which influence medical practice

Provide state-of-the-art reviews of important or emerging clinical topics

Morning Report

Morning report is held daily Monday-Thursday. During these sessions, the housestaff present a detailed case from a previous clinical encounter. The faculty and chief residents facilitate the case discussions. Supporting literature is provided with practical clinical concepts being the major emphasis of these educational encounters.

Quality Improvement Conference

The monthly quality improvement meeting analyzes patient care practices using a systematic methodology to facilitate practice-based improvement. Hospital, intensive care, emergency department and Department of Medicine Faculty are involved in these discussions. The integration of multiple stakeholders permits real-time changes with a goal to improve patient care and efficiency.

Clinical Pathologic Conference (CPC)

The monthly CPC gathers both the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pathology to discuss unique and stimulating cases that challenge faculty and residents alike.  Case presentation, differential diagnoses, laboratory evaluation, imaging and pathology are all discussed by appropriate experts with evidence based discussion.

Visiting Professors Program

Each year the department of medicine supports an active visiting professorship program to provide an additional perspective and allow residents to meet national and international experts in the field of general internal medicine and its sub-specialties.

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