Categorical Track

NRMP#305715

FIRST YEAR INTERNSHIP

The program offers 12 Categorical R-1 positions.
First year residents spend 9 months on inpatient medical services comprised of General Internal Medicine, subspecialty services divided between Hematology/Oncology, Neurology, and Nephrology.
On all services the intern is the patient's primary care physician. Night call is taken by the night flow team leaving only 3-4 night calls for interns per month. Cardiology and MICU interns are on call every 4th night. General Internal Medicine Services are on call as a team.
First year residents work up a maximum of five patients during a 24-hour on-call period.
"Scut work" is kept to a minimum by the superb support facilities of Pitt County Memorial Hospital including 24-hour phlebotomy and IV teams and computerized terminals each nursing station for access to laboratory data.
There is no night call during electives or the ambulatory care month.
First year residents begin establishing a continuity care practice one half-day each week in the School of Medicine Outpatient Center or one of our satellite practices where they work in teams supervised by Department of Internal Medicine faculty. Residents provide outpatient follow-up for the patients they discharge from the hospital.
Interns do not have clinic on post-call days. The one to four faculty ratio makes education a high priority.

SECOND AND THIRD YEARS

The second and third years are divided between electives in medicine and meaningful patient care responsibilities as defined by the American Board of Internal Medicine. The resident completes a total of 9 months as a supervising resident on inpatient services and one month on the General Medicine Consultation Service. Call during supervising months is every fourth to seventh night. Night Float residents perform consultations and admit subspecialty patients to the medical floors between 8PM and 8AM. There is no night call on elective services.

Electives

Electives are available in all medical subspecialties. The Department offers subspecialty experiences in cardiology, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology, nephrology, rheumatology, immunology, pulmonary, dermatology, neurology, endocrinology, infectious diseases and critical care medicine. Electives are also available in sports medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics.

Director Month

Second year residents participate in a one-month rotation dedicated to special skills in internal medicine scheduled each October. All R-2's are taken off clinical services so they can work together. The curriculum for Director's Month includes clinical epidemiology and medical decision making, critical assessment of the medical literature, interviewing skills, behavioral medicine, substance abuse, informatics, sports medicine, ambulatory procedures, and practice management. Residents are exposed to self-directed learning and acquire skills in teaching and team management. There is no night call during Director's Month.

Procedural Skills

A Cardiology Skills Month teaches ECG interpretation, stress testing, advanced cardiac physical examination and exposes residents to 2-D echocardiography. The program emphasizes the cognitive as well as the motor skills dimension of procedures in Internal Medicine.

Scholarship

A scholarly approach to patient care is emphasized throughout the three years of residency. Residents are introduced to critical assessment of the medical literature through twice a month evidence based medicine presentations and journal club. Computerized literature searches are available in the resident library. Research design is introduced through a series of conferences and readings. Each resident is expected to complete a scholarly project (research, literature review, case study, etc.) under the supervision of a faculty member. These projects are presented at the annual Department of Internal Medicine Research Day, or NC chapter ACP meeting. Residents are encouraged to participate and present at the state and national meetings of the American College of Physicians, where ECU has led all other North Carolina residents in the number of presentations. The Department of Internal Medicine supports active research programs in all subspecialty areas and general internal medicine.