Didactics
Morning Report
Morning reports are held every morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. An assigned resident presents a case and discusses the topic related to the case with a focus on evidence based medicine, in the presence of a supervising attending physician who provides expert opinion and practical insight to the case. The chief medical resident serves as the moderator and helps engage the audience. Unscripted morning reports are special sessions in which an assigned resident presents a case impromptu and the chief medical resident and the attending physician moderate the discussion in an interactive way with the goal of bolstering the audience's critical thinking skills Other morning report sessions are designated to include MKSAP/UWorld Internal Medicine board examination questions to supplement the Academic Enrichment Program and to help third year residents with their board preparation.
Academic Half Day
Academic half-day sessions occur on Mondays of the ambulatory block. During these sessions, a topic from PEAC (Physician Education and Assessment Center), a structured outpatient curriculum developed by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is presented by a resident under the supervision of either the outpatient associate program director or a core faculty member. These sessions are conducted in a flipped• classroom approach with all members of the audience completing a pre-test prior to the session to promote active learning and participation.
"Hands-on" and Ultrasound Curriculum
During the academic half-days, on Monday mornings of the ambulatory block, we also hold various hands-on trainings with residents. These can be mock Code-Blue sessions, ventilator trainings, or ultrasound trainings that are supervised by physicians from other departments including cardiology, vascular medicine, critical care medicine and emergency medicine.
Noon Conference
Noon conferences are held daily. The majority are lectures that are delivered by faculty members. Lecture topics are planned by the chief medical residents and focus on core topics that are heavily represented on the American Board of Internal Medicine examination. Additional days are dedicated for other activities such as Jeopardy, Health and Wellness, Morbidity and Mortality Conferences, Harm-Free Care Rounds, etc. as detailed below. We also highlight the importance of diversity and include educational sessions on LGBTQ care during noon conferences.
Jeopardy
Jeopardy competitions are held monthly. The Jeopardy session encompasses questions related to the topics from subspecialties that were discussed during morning reports and noon conferences that month. The residents divide into two to four teams and engage in a friendly and lively competition to see which team scores the highest.
Morbidity and Mortality Conferences
Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences are an ACGME-mandated educational series that occur monthly and are presented by the chief medical residents. The purpose of M&M is to enhance the residents' education and to identify opportunities for improvement in individual practice to optimize clinical care.
Health and Wellness Conferences
Health and Wellness Conferences (H&W) are noon conferences that occur monthly. Fatigue and burnout are common amongst all residents nationwide, and we provide a protected time for our residents and interns to engage in fun and wellness-centered activities at the workplace, such as international potluck, yoga/weight management classes, jeopardy, and charades amongst others. The activities are planned by the Wellness Committee members composed of representatives from each resident class. The committee also plans group activities that occur after work, such as running club, city outings, visiting museums and many others.
Resident Town Hall Meetings
Resident Town Hall Meetings occur monthly with all the residents and the program leadership. These meetings are opportunities to address any issue raised by the Residency Committee (see Committees) and discuss ongoing improvements in an open forum. Many positive changes to the program have been implemented as a result of the residents' feedback. Lunch is provided during these meetings and we celebrate monthly birthdays and resident achievements.
Intern Report
Intern Reports are held every Monday at noon. These sessions are exclusively for the interns with the goal to learn how to formulate and approach a clinical question and explain the process of how the clinical answer was obtained using an evidence-based approach. This is also a protected time and place to share thoughts and experiences with other interns and with the chief medical residents.
Fallon Rounds
Fallon Rounds are held every Tuesday in the afternoon. These are conferences dedicated for the interns with the aim of learning how to present a clinical case, formulate a differential diagnosis, and use critical thinking that will lead to the most probable diagnosis. These are led by Dr. Paul Fallon, a core faculty and a member of the Clinical Competency Committee with the help of the chief medical residents.
Journal Club
Journal Club is an academic activity designed for residents to learn how to analyze a journal article. Each second-year resident is assigned a faculty mentor and a study design (RCT, meta-analysis, diagnostic, cohort, or case control study). Residents meet with their mentors prior to their presentation to obtain guidance in article selection, result analysis and study appraisal. Residents present the Journal Club to the rest of the residents and lead discussion of validity of the study and impact on clinical practice.
ICU M&M
These are noon conferences dedicated to discussing ICU cases. The second and third-year residents are engaged in reviewing select cases to assess the presence of any medical and/or non-medical error(s) and identify opportunities for improvement while using supporting evidence from current literature. These are supervised by the fellows and attending physicians in the department of pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Board Review
Dedicated Internal Medicine Board review sessions are held for third year residents every Monday at noon and two other days of the week in the evenings. During this protected time, the senior residents engage in review sessions with the Associate Program Director. In addition to the Academic Enrichment Program (see below), the program purchases MKSAP review books with question banks for residents during their second year to aid in board preparation.
Academic Enrichment Program
We have established a strong and well-structured Academic Enrichment Program for all residents to strengthen their medical knowledge and to prepare for the ABIM board exam, using renowned study aids such as the New England Journal of Medicine's Knowledge Plus platform.
Career Talks
During these sessions, attendings and/or former graduates who matched into competitive fellowships are invited to discuss their experiences in their respective fields. These talks are designed to help the residents form their career interests with a better understanding of the field of interest.
Mini-CRX (Clinical Reasoning Exercise) Cases
Core faculty and the chief medical residents conduct one-on-one sessions with each resident using a simulated patient case to assess their history taking skills, and their clinical approach to the case using critical thinking skills. Once the history is obtained, physical exam findings are provided, and lab and imaging data are provided as needed. The resident then presents the assessment and plan based on the information provided. The goal of these sessions is to provide extensive and individualized feedback on history taking, data collection and interpretation, presentation skills, and management skills using critical thinking. The ultimate goal is to establish lifelong learning habits through evidence-based medicine and critical thinking.
Medical Grand Rounds
Medical grand rounds are hosted every Wednesday by the department of Medicine. Speakers from various institutions are invited to discuss and educate on topics of latest clinical and academic nuances. The final session of grand rounds of the academic year is reserved for house-staff research presentations.