Internal Medicine

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the length of the program?

The length of the program is three years, identical to that of the categorical track.  At the end of three years, primary care residents are board eligible to become certified in Internal Medicine.

What if I decide to pursue a fellowship after primary care residency?

The goal of the primary care track is to train residents predominantly in an outpatient setting.  Any resident may pursue a fellowship following completion of their training.

If you choose to be in the Primary Care Track, you are not obligated to practice Primary Care.

What is the fellowship match rate for the primary care tract?

We presently have a match rate of >98% over the past 5 years.  Further, residents have pursued fellowships in the following divisions:

Allergy and Immunology
Hematology/Oncology
Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine
Nephrology
Cardiology
Gastroenterology
Rheumatology
Sports Medicine
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Infectious Disease
Endocrine

What if I decide to pursue hospitalist medicine?

In three years of training, a primary care resident will have exposure to the same level of acuity during their inpatient months as the categorical residents.   Many residents in the past have pursued a hospitalist career.

How much time will I spend in ambulatory care?

First Year - Ambulatory Care (AC) month is a complete emersion into the continuity clinic experience.  While on AC  you will have 8 continuity clinics per week.  Two half days are allotted for program tasks (PBLI, Hopkins Modules, etc.)

Second Year - AC month consists of 4 continuity clinics and 4 subspecialty clinics with each month rotating among all the medicine subspecialties. 

Third Year - This year consists of 6 1/2 days of continuity clinic and 2 1/2 days of non-medicine specialties (Sports Medicine, ENT, Psychiatry, Derm, Allergy).  The majority of this year (5 1/2 months) is spent in outpatient Ambulatory Clinic.

How is the continuity clinic structured?

A resident will be paired with 2 Internal Medicine attendings in a FIRM group over the course of the training.  Every third month the resident will be working with an assigned FIRM group practicing solely outpatient Ambulatory Care.  If a resident is interested in women's health or a medicine subspecialty (GI, Endo, Cardiology, etc.), then they will be assigned at least one attending in their field of interest.  

What is the insurance percentage of the patient population at the UK Clinics?

85% of the patients seen at UK clinics are privately insured. Only 15% rely on Medicaid or are uninsured.

What is the board pass rate of Primary Care Track residents?

Overall, the PC residents have a board pass rate of greater than 95% over the past 10 years.