Residency Programs in Internal Medicine

Primary Care Residency

Primary care providers are health care's front line, and must provide compassionate, patient-centered, rational, high-quality, cost-effective care. Fulfilling this mission requires a new generation of primary care academic leaders who:

• are well-rounded outpatient clinicians and effective inpatient clinicians, capable of providing provide excellent evidence-based clinical care in all primary care settings
• are educators skilled as teachers of both patients and fellow professionals
• advocate for improving health care from the patient to the population level
• understand primary care research, including research in health services, evidence-based medicine, ethics, medical education and other areas
• possess leadership skills fostered throughout training with opportunities for responsibilities in major curricular arenas

The Mount Sinai Department of Medicine Primary Care (MSPC) Residency Program is a three-year program designed to train outstanding internists for careers in academic primary care/general internal medicine. Fully integrated within the Internal Medicine residency program at The Mount Sinai Hospital, the MSPC program trains residents to be outstanding clinicians in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, but offers enhanced opportunities in primary care including clinical expertise, teaching, leadership, advocacy and research.

As participants in the curriculum of the categorical residency, trainees in the MSPC will receive ample exposure to inpatient medicine. Therefore, the major focus in the MSPC is on outpatient medicine.

Our faculty include many of the most respected teachers in the Department of Medicine and reflect the breadth of primary care investigation here at Mount Sinai, including health policy, vulnerable populations, and evidence-based medicine. In addition, our faculty include respected clinicians and investigators from our partner departments of Health Policy and Geriatrics and Adult Development.

All internal medicine residents maintain a weekly outpatient continuity clinic throughout their three years of training. This base is expanded and built upon in each year of training for residents in the MSPC program.

All program participants are also expected to complete several small projects and one major longitudinal mentored research project in their area of interest (education, advocacy/policy, primary care clinical research, etc). These projects are incorporated in the curriculum throughout the three years of the program.

Intern year

The intern year in the MSPC includes an extra outpatient block in the 2nd half of the year during which residents work on a quality project in the outpatient setting and receive increased exposure to outpatient primary care with a focus on geriatrics and principles of screening. The major research project is initiated in the intern year with meetings with the Director and Associate Director of the MSPC to determine area of focus and begin planning.

PGY-II year

In the PGY-II year there are a total of four outpatient blocks, two for all the categorical residents plus two additional blocks. During these blocks, residents have the opportunity to experience specialty clinics including diabetes and renal, and have the opportunity to do a portion of their continuity clinic through the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program.

Early in the year residents meet with the Director of the MSPC to select their research mentor and begin work on their major research project. Study of epidemiology, biostatics advocacy, teaching, communication and leadership skills are foci of the PGY-II curriculum.

During PGY-II residents begin their involvement with community outreach and will select a hospital committee in which to participate throughout PGY-II and PGY-III. During both PGY-II and PGY-III, MSPC residents attend regional and national meetings of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

PGY-III year

The PGY-III year focuses on completion of the longitudinal project and presentation at General Internal Medicine Grand Rounds and at regional and national Society of General Internal Medicine meetings.

PGY-III residents have a total of five blocks of outpatient medicine, including two blocks along with their categorical counterparts. During their extra outpatient blocks, MSPC residents have the opportunity to repeat any of our specialty clinics and have protected time to complete their major research project.

Residents also have expanded teaching responsibility at this time. In addition, they experience curricula in health policy and public health, palliative care and billing and practice management.

Director

Deborah Korenstein, M.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1087
New York, NY 10029
E-mail: deborah.korenstein@mssm.edu

Associate Director

Lauren Peccoralo, M.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1087
New York, NY 10029
lauren.peccoralo@mssm.edu