Mission

We transform lives through our commitment to outstanding education, innovative research, community partnerships, and exemplary clinical care.

Vision

We amplify diversity and belonging as we advance health in Ohio’s communities and beyond.

Aims

Innovating the Classroom, Inspiring the Growth Mindset, Empowering Physicians, Support the Mission.

The Wright State University Internal Medicine curriculum prepares residents to pass the Internal Medicine board exam and to practice as general internists or pursue subspecialty fellowships. The curriculum is designed to master the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) core objectives. Each month focuses on a certain organ system. Residents attend a “morning report” 30-minute lecture to learn about a fundamental concept. This is followed by a “noon conference” one hour session where residents work in small groups to solve real world cases using information introduced during morning report. Content experts guide the sessions and ensure high yield information is emphasized. Spaced repetition of key high-yield pearls throughout the block is used to further improve material retention. Taken together, this system of introducing material in morning report, applying material in noon conference and reviewing material throughout the block ensures that residents master topics necessary for practicing internal medicine and passing the IM board exam.

The didactic curriculum is augmented by a robust procedural simulation curriculum. Residents use three state-of-the-art simulation centers on a monthly basis to learn point of care ultrasound (POCUS) and advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS). They also have the opportunity to practice basic procedures (joint injection, arterial line, central line, intubation) and advanced procedures (lumbar punctures).

Each resident has three weeks of vacation per year, 10 variety days, and additional sick leave.

• Allergy/Immunology
• Anesthesiology
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Hematology/Oncology
• Infectious Diseases
• Medicine Intensive Care Unit
• Nephrology
• Otolaryngology
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Radiology
• Resident as Teacher
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Surgery and Trauma Intensive Care Unit
• Ultrasound (Point-of-Care)

The program does not use any 24-hour call in any of its rotations. All rotations are organized on day/night shifts of 12 hours or less in length. In general, core medicine rotations (e.g. ward medicine, night float) consists of 12 days of duty and two scheduled days off per 2-week period. The medical ICU is usually six duty days on, one duty day off each week. Clinic weeks, elective, research, and most other rotations consist of five days of duty and two days off per week.

Led by a core Wright Patterson faculty member, our military unique curriculum takes place once a month. The goal is to expose our residents to what life is like as a physician in the Air Force, including different career tracks, deployments, and medical care considerations for active duty personnel.

All residents are required to maintain Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advance Life Support (ALS) certification throughout residency. The courses are available at WPMC and the Dayton VA Medical Center.

We have multiple SIM labs available for resident use at each of our clinical sites. At all three sites, we run mock ACLS megacode drills at least monthly with the inpatient teams. At WPMC, we host our POCUS curriculum, practicing our ultrasound skills on one another. At the Dayton VAMC, we have a procedural skills lab which offers opportunities to practice skills such as central venous catheter insertion, arterial lines, ultrasound-guided PIVs, thoracenteses, paracenteses, lumbar punctures, etc.

A semi-annual retreat for R1s and annual retreat for R2/R3s is scheduled within our didactic schedule to develop leadership skills and promote intracohort bonding. It offers a time for reflection on what it means to be a leader as a training physician and how best to develop that over time.

Our supportive faculty and diverse patient population create an environment for research endeavors that run the spectrum from case reports to clinical research investigations. Each resident is required to complete at least one scholarly project during their residency. Every year, our residents are invited to present their projects at regional, national, and even international symposia highlighting the quality of their research activities. Over 100 case reports, QI projects, and clinical research projects are presented or published by residents each academic year. Residents may also apply for the Research Scholar Pathway which allows for additional dedicated research time.

In recent years, residents have presented their scholarly work at numerous conferences including:

• American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE)
• American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)
• Digestive Diseases Week (DDW)
• American College of Cardiology (ACC)
• American Heart Association (AHA)
• American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST)
• American Thoracic Society (ATS)
• American Geriatrics Society (AGS)
• Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
• Dayton Area Graduate Medical Education Community (DAGMEC)
• North American Young Rheumatology Investigators Forum
• Ohio Association of Rheumatology
• Ohio Gastroenterology Society
• Society of General Internal Medicine
• American College of Physicians (ACP)
  • Ohio ACP
  • Army/Air Force ACP

Opportunities to get involved in QI projects abound at all three sites. Residents are encouraged to get involved in quality improvement early on, and there are a plethora of faculty research mentors to choose from. In the clinic setting at both WPMC and Five Rivers Health Center, QI projects really shine. It is not uncommon to have multiple QI projects going at the same time, with many being initiated by the residents themselves. This affords residents the opportunity to present their research at the regional and national level. As part of the chief curriculum, the chief residents initiate and accomplish at least one QI project per year that is then submitted to ACP and published at a GME journal.

A faculty development curriculum is run by our program director and is available to all senior residents, faculty, and chiefs. Topics include creating a positive learning environment, how to promote your average residents to excellence, how to give exceptional feedback, etc. Chief residents also have a separate curriculum that they attend monthly.

• Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center
• Five Rivers Health Center
• Miami Valley Hospital
• Wright-Patterson Medical Center

Our program offers rotations to fourth year medical students interested in applying to internal medicine. Rotations are typically four weeks long (can be split into two-week blocks) and can be requested in a variety of clinical environments (see table below). During the busiest times of the year (June through October), we may ask students to split a four-week rotation between two clinical learning environments (e.g. ward medicine and a subspecialty) in order to accommodate as many learners as possible.

• Cardiology Consult Service/Clinic
• Endocrinology Consult Service/Clinic
• Gastroenterology Consult Service/ Clinic
• Hematology/Oncology Consult Service/Clinic
• Infectious Diseases Consult Service /Clinic
• Nephrology Consult Service/Clinic
• Pulmonary Consult Service/Clinic
• Rheumatology Consult Service/Clinic
• Ward Medicine

Students interested in arranging a rotation should start by reviewing our Medical Student Guidance. Rotation requests may be submitted within nine months of the intended rotation month. 

Interviews are offered from June through September annually. Interested applicants can schedule an interview virtually or in person by contacting the Internal Medicine Program, dha.wright-patt.wright-patt-88th-mdg.list.wpafb-im@health.mil.

Program graduates take the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certifying Examination. This exam is offered annually in August. All Internal Medicine physicians who have met the standards for Board Certification in general internal medicine are considered Board Eligible for a period of seven years. During this period of board eligibility, the candidate may apply for the certifying examination in internal medicine. To be eligible to take this exam, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Internal Medicine by August 31st.  

Teaching is considered a core competency for trainees in our program. Trainees have opportunities to practice and hone their skills as educators from the outset of training in both formal and informal settings. Some examples of teaching opportunities available to all trainees in our program include:

• Interns and residents teach third- and fourth-year medical students on ward, intensive care unit (ICU) and elective rotations throughout the academic year.
• Residents participate in teaching interns in both the inpatient and ambulatory setting throughout the academic year.
• Residents have the opportunity to design and deliver multiple morning reports throughout the year at each of the 3 core clinical sites, where they give a 15–20-minute presentation on a high-yield ABIM topic to a group of 20-25 peers and faculty.
• Residents are often tasked to participate in journal club to review peer-reviewed articles in both a small group setting, as well as in a large, residency-wide setting.
• Residents who feel comfortable as “content experts” of a certain topic are encouraged to lead discussions during our noon conferences of team-based learning.
• Any trainee may sign up to earn a Certificate in Health Professions Education from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

We have divisions in Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, General Internal Medicine, Hematology & Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Nuclear Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care, Palliative Care, Geriatrics, and Rheumatology. These are composed of three core sites, each with their own unique faculty.

Residents in the Wright-Patterson Internal Medicine Program are assigned a faculty advisor by the program. The program attempts to match an advisor based on the resident’s service affiliation and specialty interest. Separately, we have three core clinical sites with three sets of faculty that residents are free to choose from for mentorship of their own. Assigned faculty mentors meet with their resident advisees twice per year. The goals of this program are to help the advisee address their personal, military, and professional (clinical) goals.

Our program takes resident well-being and work-life balance seriously. Our schedule is structured to balance the provision of robust clinical training with reasonable time away from the workplace. Residents receive one day off in every seven days on ICU rotations, two days off in every fourteen days on ward rotations, and two days off in seven on outpatient and elective rotations. All trainees are authorized 31 days away from training per year. All trainees are authorized 12 weeks of parental leave in accordance with DOD policy should they wish to utilize it during training (birth parents get an additional six weeks of convalescent leave after delivery).

The program maintains a back-up call system that provides coverage in the event a trainee is ill, has a personal emergency, or other issue that prevents them from reporting for duty on any given day.

The program and institution have a rich array of resources available for trainees to help support their health and wellness including a peer support program, behavioral health resources, financial planning resources, chaplain services, and military and family life counseling.

Finally, our program has a series of events designed to promote camaraderie among our team. For example, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4 p.m., residents on ambulatory or elective rotations partake in a 5K run. Residents maintain a social/wellness committee that is very active in planning year-round activities outside of the workplace that help build the sense of family that our program is known for. Our program hosts an annual fitness competition, Kudos Committee to recognize good deeds and small acts of kindness, an annual intern welcome picnic, holiday party, and end-of-year banquet all to serve to bring us together to celebrate our successes, our friendships, and each other.