Internal Medicine Career Tracks

Track Director(s): Venkatrao Medarametla, MD and Muhammad Umar, MD

Track Description: Hospital medicine is a specialty that requires expertise in providing medical care for complex patients and advanced knowledge of health care systems. The Internal Medicine Residency Hospital Medicine Track will provide residents interested hospital medicine with a greater understanding of hospital medicine and competencies in healthcare systems to provide outstanding care for hospitalized patients. This track will also be a great opportunity to provide residents with insights to the vast opportunities outside of clinical practice that a career in hospital medicine can provide, such as leadership, quality improvement, medical education, and research.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the track learners will be able to:

1. Discuss and learn at a higher level the SHM core competencies
2. Identify the core areas of impact hospitalists provide to the healthcare system: evidence based care, quality improvement, interprofessional teamwork, clinical reasoning,  documentation
3. Obtain a greater understanding of management practice, organizational structure, and payment structure
4. Identify career paths for hospitalists in addition to clinical care

Requirements for Completion:

Mandatory

1. Attend track meetings
2. Complete independent learning on Healthcare systems
3. Participate in AHD team leadership program (if applicable)
4. Complete IHI Open school and obtain certificate in Basic Quality Improvement
5. Hospital Medicine Elective
6. Participate in at least one hospital quality / safety committee

1. Attend SHM national meeting
2. Join local SHM chapter
3. Participate in PURCH Resident Education Program to enhance medical education skills
4. Clinical experience at a Baystate Health Community Hospital

Track Director(s): Christine Bryson, DO and Katie Jobbins, DO, MS

Track Description: The goal of the Humanities track is to introduce, gain deeper knowledge, and explore skills through a variety of activities that fall under the “humanities” umbrella in hopes to tap into physician fulfillment for our medicine and medicine/pediatric residents.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the track learners will be able to:

1. Describe and perform a variety of activities that explore Humanities in medicine
2. Participate in a wide variety of activities related to Humanities opportunities
3. Cultivate a learning environment which supports the residents creating a publishable piece of work related to Humanities that can be distributed to the entire health systems.
4. Encourage each individual resident to submit a humanities scholarly project—essay, poem, photograph, etc. to a national publication.
5. Create a resource guide—where to publish, guidelines, and references

Requirements for Completion:

Mandatory

1. Participate in formal didactics at track meetings focused on topics ranging from analysis of on Op-Ed, narrative writing work-shop, application of Humanities to patient care, and how to write and prepare a humanities submission.
2. Participate in the group project of creating and publishing a Baystate Humanities Journal.
3. Provide regular ongoing updates on how residents are making use of Humanities topics at work and in their personal life.
4. Senior residents will then become editors of the Humanities Journal and open submissions to other outside our track.

Optional

• Participate in BERST Museum rounds or Graphic Medicine rounds
• Participate in REC day with a “Release Party” and possible presenting of works created

Monthly Meeting Topics:(subjects may change) Tuesday 4-5 pm

July 23, 2019:Introduction, set expectations, Give out materials for year, Survey – Discuss print vs blog

August 20, 2019: Narrative writing work-shop with prompt (Jobbins absent)

September 17, 2019: Op-Ed/ Blog discussion

October 22, 2019: Visual Art—Resiliency and Building back up exercise (Ute Schmidt guest)

November 12, 2019: Narrative writing Work-shop

December 10, 2019: Photography – finding beautify in the winter

January 21, 2020: Intro Story Slam/Med Moth—Guest Speaker Angela, Andrew Solomon Moth, Physician Mom – Boston story slam

February 18, 2020: Story Slam—Make a resident Pod Cast

March 17, 2020: Graphic medicine

April 14, 2020: Narrative writing workshop to work on Journal/Blog

May 12, 2020:  Finalize publication/ Post-survey

Faculty:

• Christine Bryson, DO
• Katie Jobbins, DO, MS
• Beth Eagleson, MD
• Rohini Harvey, MD
• Satoko Igarashi, MD
• Angela Sweeney, MEd, MA

Track Director(s): Raquel Belforti, DO, MS and Eric Churchill, MD

Track Description: The goal of the Medical Education Track is to provide a scaffolding of opportunities, knowledge, skills and attitudes to assist our medicine and medicine/pediatric residents to grow as medical educators.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the track learners will be able to:

1. Describe and perform a variety of core medical education skills
2. Participate in a wide variety of medical education opportunities
3. Complete a scholarly project in medical education

Requirements for Completion:

Mandatory

1. Participate in the PURCH Resident/Fellow Educators Program (PREP)
   • Attend monthly core medical education topic meetings
   • Participate in at least 2 PREP sessions with students
2. Provide MSIII Internal Medicine Lectures
   • Provide at least 1 lecture per year and receive feedback
3. Participate in the PGY-2 Ultrasound Curriculum Training (if applicable)
4. Participate in the Academic Half Day Resident Leaders Program
5. Meet regularly with a medical education mentor
6. Complete a medical education scholarly project such as:
   • Design a new lecture
   • Design a new initiative
   • Write a review article
   • Design and implement a medical education project
   • Attend a national meeting and share what was learned
7. Two-week Medical Education Elective (if applicable)

Optional

• Participate in BERST- Trainee Track
• Participate in a BCEPT Session
• Attend NEGEA annual meeting

Monthly Meeting Topics: (subjects may change)

July 23, 2019: Introduction, set expectations

August 20, 2019: Teaching is not filling a bucket (Kevin Hinchey)

September 17, 2019: Teaching and reflection (Rebecca Blanchard)

October 22, 2019: Curriculum Development Cycle (Raquel Belforti)

November 12, 2019: TBD (Eric Churchill)

December 10, 2019: Innovations in Teaching (Angela Sweeney)

January 21, 2020: Teaching Clinical Reasoning (Harry Hoar)

February 18, 2020: Chalk Talks (Raquel Belforti)

March 17, 2020: TBD (Eric Churchill)

April 14, 2020: Bedside Teaching (Chris Lachance)

May 12, 2020: Mentorship (Raquel Belforti)

Track Director(s): Ryan Quarles, MD

Track Description: The Quality Improvement Track in Internal medicine is an opportunity for residents to learn more about improvement science and to participate in institutional and residency projects to improve the care delivered to our patients.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the track learners will be able to: 

1. Understand and use the terminology of quality improvement in everyday clinical scenarios.
2. Design a quality improvement project including the aim, measures, plan and data tracking and analysis.
3. Share their awareness and experience with select institutional QI initiatives with the residency and be stewards of these QI efforts in their clinical practice.

Requirements for Completion:

Mandatory

1. Completion of the IHI (Institute of Healthcare Improvement) Modules on Quality Improvement, Patient Safety and Leadership.
2. Attendance at 50% of track meetings with meaningful contribution to the group project.
3. Successful group project completion, presentation and publication.

Optional

• Completion of the IHI modules on Leadership, Graduate Medical Education and/or triple aim.
• Participation in institutional QI projects

Monthly Meeting Topics: Meeting topic (work to be completed between meetings)

July 23, 2019: Introduction and Project Selection (QI 101, QI104, IHI-WB: Family of Measures, voting on topic and AIM statement proposals)

August 20, 2019: AIM statement and Measures for Project (IHI-WB: Run Charts (Part 1 and 2), IHI-WB: Static Vs. Dynamic Data, IHI-WB: Flowcharts (Part 1 and 2), IHI-WB: Control Charts (Part 1 and 2), Cause & Effect Diagrams, IRB Proposal Written and Submitted)

September 17, 2019: Process Mapping (QI 102, QI103 approach stakeholders for support)

October 22, 2019: Creating a plan: Brainstorming and Selection of First PDSA Cycle (QI105, QI201, first test data collection)

November 12, 2019: Disseminating Change (QI202, PS101, PS102, PS103, implementation of first PDSA cycle)

December 10, 2019: Waste Walk: Identifying waste and the importance of Why (PS104, PS105, PS201, Collect data for PDSA Cycle 1)

January 21, 2020: What happens to an SRS report? and Discussion of data collected and next steps (PS202, PS203, PS204, PDSA Cycle 2 Design)

February 18, 2020: Patient experience and our QI project – Dr. Elizabeth Brady (Reading - Value Based Healthcare, Reading - bundled payments, Reading – The Cost Conundrum, PDSA Cycle 2 implementation and data collection)

March 17, 2020: Value in healthcare and Our ACO – Arron Stupple, MD and discussion of data collected and next steps (IHI Leadership, Development of publication)

April 14, 2020: Physicians as Leaders – Doug Salvador, MD (Complete missing modules, Reflection on the year survey)

May 12, 2020: Sustaining Change: Planning for the next steps (Election of Officers for next year and project selection/continuation)

Track Director(s): Mihaela Stefan, MD and Tara Lagu, MD

Track Description: The Research Track is a special program for residents who wish to pursue a rigorous research program during residency. The overall goal of the research track is to encourage participation by anyone interested in learning and/or honing existing research skills and to foster their development throughout residency with skilled mentorship. The research track has allowed many of our residents to present their work at national meetings, to author peer-reviewed original research articles, and to compete for subspecialty fellowship slots.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the track learners will be able to:

1. Design and conduct group research projects, culminating in presentation at a national meeting, followed by publication.
2. Discuss advanced didactic instruction on epidemiology, biostatistics and research design.
3. Receive mentorship in research and scholarship.

Requirements for Completion:

Mandatory

1. Participate in formal didactics at track meetings focused on topics ranging from the human subjects protection to specific research methods, as well as how to write an abstract and prepare a manuscript
2. Participate in a research project
3. Provide regular ongoing updates on protocols and completed studies to allow for feedback from mentors and track member peers
4. Senior research track members will mentor junior members

Optional

• Participate in a research elective

Monthly Meeting Topics: (subjects may change)

July 23, 2019:

August 20, 2019:

September 17, 2019:

October 22, 2019:

November 12, 2019:

December 10, 2019:

January 21, 2020:

February 18, 2020:

March 17, 2020:

April 14, 2020:

May 12, 2020