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Internal Medicine Residency

Electives and Research Opportunities

Clinical Electives

Residents choose from a wide variety of traditional electives in the medical subspecialties where they have inpatient and outpatient responsibilities. Our entire competency-based curriculum is web-based and can be accessed at Core Written Curriculum. Residents may elect a variety of traditional electives, such as:

Residents are encouraged to create their own electives that meet their educational needs - whether at Maryland or other sites around the country and the globe. Other innovative electives that are available include:

Women's Health
Under the supervision of general internists and gynecologists, residents learn skills in office gynecology, evaluation and management of breast abnormalities, endocrinologic problems and identification of spouse abuse and domestic violence.

Geriatric Medicine
Under the supervision of the geriatrics faculty, residents participate in a multidisciplinary clinic evaluation of the elderly, engage in inpatient consultations, and care for patients in the geriatrics inpatient unit and nursing home. At the Baltimore Rehabilitation Education Clinical Center (BRECC), residents work with the elderly in a nursing home and require chronic medical care. Outpatient clinics provide residents with training on the management of frail elderly, osteoporosis and older patients with multiple comorbidities. Residents may also participate in the Division of Gerontology's active research in exercise physiology, obesity, menopause, metabolism and cardiovascular disease prevention.

HIV Service, Transplant Infectious Diseases and International Health
In addition to standard electives in Infectious Diseases, residents may spend time with the Transplant ID service and manage patients undergoing organ transplantation. On the HIV service, residents perform inpatient consultations and care for patients in a series of very active outpatient clinics. Lastly, by designing an elective in International Health through the Division of Geographic Medicine, residents may travel to the Division's research stations in Central and South America to engage in clinical and research activities. Recently, residents have done rotations in Trinidad, Malawi, Nepal and Swaziland.

Transplant Nephrology
As the academic medical center with one of the largest number of renal transplants performed annually in the US, residents have the opportunity for a vast clinical experience on this elective. Residents learn the basics of transplant biology, the evaluation of patients for transplantation, and the prevention and management of post-transplant complications. Residents work on an interdisciplinary team along with transplant nephrologists, infectious disease experts and surgeons.

Occupational Medicine
Under the supervision of specialists in Occupational Medicine, residents may elect a wide variety of activities including evaluation of patients with job related illnesses, working with physicians at health facilities at industrial plants in Baltimore and participating in ongoing research.

Research Electives

Residents are encouraged to engage in clinical or basic science research during their training. Several residents have presented abstracts at scientific meetings, published their work or even patented their discoveries. Residents receive close supervision by their preceptor throughout all phases of the research project. All residents are encouraged to present their research and clinical vignettes at the spring meeting of the Maryland chapter of the American College of Physicians. Approximately 25 residents each year present posters or deliver oral reports at this meeting. Our residents consistently win prizes at the regional meeting and have also been sponsored to attend the national ACP meeting to present their work.

Research Pathway

With the approval of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), residents may train in the clinical sciences and clinical or biomedical research through the Research Pathway. This leads to certification in internal medicine after 2 years of clinical training plus at least 2 years of research in the setting of a subspecialty fellowship. Special requirements apply to each of the subspecialties. See the ABIM Requirements for this pathway for more information.

Ph.D. Program for Clinicians

The PhD Program for Clinicians provides a rigorous, accelerated curriculum to train medical scientists for careers in basic or translational research in association with the research component of existing accredited residency and fellowship programs. PhD's are awarded through the Graduate Program in Life Sciences. These programs include: Biochemistry, Molecular Medicine, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitative Science, Epidemiology, Gerontology and Toxicology. See the Ph.D. Program for Clinicians for more information.

Updated July 2007


This page was last updated on: May 30, 2008.