Training Tracks

The goal of residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia is to guide each individual to develop to his or her maximum potential. Developing individual interests and experiences − whether domestic or international, clinical or research, established or new − is encouraged. To meet this goal, a variety of Training Tracks is incorporated into the training program.

"At UVA, we see a consistently broad array of cases. During my three years of residency, I took care of patients with everything from community acquired pneumonia to acute liver failure secondary to kava kava toxicity. As a resident at UVA, your education will consist of clinical and research experiences led by nationally-recognized physicians. Just as important, you will learn a dramatic amount of information from your colleagues, during real time situations on rounds and over coffee in the resident library. You will become a top educator, clinician, and researcher in your own right."

The Categorical training track is the traditional track at UVA and emphasizes training in general internal medicine with a focus on specialty and hospital-based practice.

Numerous outpatient opportunities in internal medicine are included in this track. In addition to providing a core base of rotations on general internal medicine clinics and wards, the program provides numerous consultative specialty rotations which expose the resident to both inpatient and outpatient problems for which referral is needed.

Distinctive Features include:

• Rotations through an inpatient Hematology-Oncology Service, Digestive Health Service, and Acute Cardiology Service (separate from the Coronary Care Unit) in addition to the General Medicine Services. This allows for inpatient exposure to both general internal medicine and the major subspecialities taught by subspecialists.
  
• Rotations through the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Coronary Care Unit with a "hands on" core curriculum stressing fundamentals of hemodynamics, mechanical ventilation and ample opportunity for bedside procedures
  
• Many opportunities for the intern and resident to perform procedures including central venous lines, Swan-Ganz catheter monitoring, arterial lines, thoracentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture, arthrocentesis, and ventilator management
  
• Faculty mentorship from the beginning of internship to help guide and support residents with their career choices
  
• The ability to tailor elective time to maximize exposure to a wide range of internationally recognized faculty in clinical and research venues
  
• An intensive course in clinical investigation during the second year of residency. This course teaches residents the essential skills needed for developing sound research proposals. (see Resident Research)

Graduates of the residency program consistently match at their top choices in fellowships at highly competitive programs throughout the country. This track prepares residents for a career in general internal medicine or for further subspecialty training, and is ideal preparation for a hospitalist career.

For further information about the Categorical Track, please write, call, or e-mail:

Gerald R. Donowitz, M.D.
Professor and Residency Program Director
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health
P.O. Box 801343, UVA Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908-1343
434-924-1918

The Primary Care track is designed for individuals seeking a career in general internal medicine in either academia or private practice. The UVA Primary Care track is one of the most established programs of its type in the country.

This track offers a comprehensive training experience that will prepare you to be as comfortable on a home visit as in the ICU. Throughout the three years of residency, increasing ambulatory experiences are included.

Distinctive Features include:

PGY-1 Intern Year

• 1 month community practice block at Northridge Internal Medicine, a model faculty practice in Charlottesville, takes the place of an inpatient rotation in general medicine. This allows for an intensive one-to-one learning experience with faculty mentors.
  
• 1 month rotation in office gynecology at our Student Health Department, mentored by one of UVA's most distinguished teachers
  
• 1 month geriatrics rotation, featuring primary care geriatrics, academic nursing home rounds, interdisciplinary care, and home visits

PGY-2 Year

• 2 month community practice block at our University Physicians-Orange practice in nearby Orange, Virginia, a rural sociodemographically diverse community. This practice is one of the longest running faculty practices in the nation and is staffed by 6 full-time UVA general internist clinician-educators.

PGY-3 Year

• 1 month community practice block at Central Virginia Community Health Center, a nationally recognized health center serving the rural poor of Buckingham County, Virginia
  
• 1 month block at one of several teaching practices in Charlottesville
  
• Opportunities to become competent in cardiac stress testing (leading to certification)
  
• A quarterly “Residency to Reality” evening seminar series for primary care track residents, focusing on career options, job searching, what to look for in a practice, contract negotiations, and the practical aspects of starting out in practice

For further information about the Primary Care Track, please write, call, or e-mail:

Andrew M. D. Wolf, M.D.
Associate Professor and Primary Care Training Track Coordinator
Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics
P.O. Box 800744, UVA Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0744
434-982-3458

The Preliminary Track is designed to allow individuals to gain a broad experience in Internal Medicine before continuing their careers in other medical disciplines. The year includes inpatient rotations on the general medicine services, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit, Hematology-Oncology, and Digestive Health. Although preliminary year interns do not have a continuity clinic of their own, they spend one ambulatory rotation as triage physician in the continuity clinic allowing for exposure to community medical practice in the ambulatory setting. No other distinction is made between preliminary year interns and those in the Categorical and Primary Care tracks.

For further information about the Preliminary Track, please write, call, or e-mail:

Gerald R. Donowitz, M.D.
Professor and Residency Program Director
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health
P.O. Box 801343, UVA Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908-1343
434-924-1918

For Housestaff who have extensive research interests and academic subspecialty career goals, we offer an ABIM Research Pathway or "Fast Track". This pathway consists of two years of Internal Medicine training in the Categorical track, followed by one or more years of clinical training in a subspecialty, and at least three years of research training. Ongoing Continuity Clinic experience is required during the research years.

Specific requirements may vary among the subspecialities (see more information at our Medicine Fellowships site). We offer the the ABIM Research Pathway in the following subspecialities: Cardiovascular Disease; Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism; Gastroenterology & Hepatology; Infectious Diseases; and Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine. This pathway is appropriate for residents with a strong research background (usually with a Master's Degree or Ph.D.) who want to pursue their research interests more quickly than those in the traditional residency program.

In addition to and simultaneously with the ERAS residency application, applicants should submit a letter of interest for the particular subspecialty area to Luther Bartelt, Chief Resident, at LAB2ZA@virginia.edu. Applicants will be notified by the fellowship program if they are invited to interview for the ABIM Research Pathway. An additional interview day is required and provides an opportunity to meet with the faculty in the chosen subspecialty.

Trainees in the Subspecialty Research Pathway program are guaranteed support for their clinical training years and three years of research training. During their research years, trainees are encouraged to seek outside funding to facilitate their transition to independent researchers.

For further information about the ABIM Research Pathway, please visit the ABIM website.

If you need additional information, please contact the Internal Medicine Residency Recruitment Office at 434-924-5725, or at the following address:

Internal Medicine Residency Program
Internal Medicine Residency Recruitment Office
P.O. Box 800696
University of Virginia Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908

As mentioned elsewhere on this site, applications for the International Health and Clinical Investigator Tracks become available during the PGY-1 year for residents involved in the categorical program. Descriptions of these tracks can be found in the International Health and Clinical Investigation sections.