Curriculum

Our program believes in the importance of truly protected learning time. Clinical duties are suspended for ALL residents every Wednesday afternoon for Academic Half-Day (AHD). No pagers allowed. AHD content balances board-centric, core internal medicine content plus classroom elements necessary for success as well-rounded internal medicine physician including (but not limited to) med-economics, DEI talks, QI and POCUS workshops and Code-Blue simulations. Residents also enjoy trying to stump their attendings during a twice weekly, interactive, case-based conference. Regularly scheduled high-yield, highly curated Grand Rounds and Morbidity and Mortality talks pepper the conference schedule throughout the year. In addition to the class-wide curriculum, clinic residents experience a robust, protected outpatient curriculum. Residents attend Pre-Clinic Conference on the morning of their continuity clinic and have protected time Wednesday mornings while on their Ambulatory rotation for the Ambulatory Medicine Experiential (AMEx) Curriculum–experiential learning sessions on core outpatient topics like diabetes medication management and supplies, outpatient paracentesis and joint injection training, IUD/Nexplanon insertion and removal, and medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Residents also have recurring sessions during AMEx for Panel Management, and clinic-based QI.

Serving our community in Everett in the clinic is enhanced by getting to know the community and improving access to care outside our clinic walls. Throughout the year, residents will have the opportunity to participate in community service events with local service partners. They will also have the opportunity to practice medicine in non-traditional settings with our partners who reach people who cannot easily access our clinics. This currently includes working with a mobile free clinic serving people who are ineligible for insurance and medical outreach to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. 

As part of our program’s mission to train physicians ready to improve equity in our state’s rural and underserved communities, we incorporate health equity and advocacy training into all three years. Our residents learn skills to be agents of change in the exam room, in their health system, or in their wider community. Topics we cover include cultural humility, trauma-informed care, quality improvement for health equity, legislative advocacy, and community organizing.

Many learners come into residency wanting to improve their teaching skills or pursue careers that involve teaching trainees. The WSU Everett IM Residency Medical Education rotation is a month-long elective that blends adult learning theory, interactive workshops, and real-world practice with directly observed teaching. Residents get experience teaching in multiple settings such as small groups, large groups, chalk talks, slide-based, wards, clinic, at the bedside, as well as teaching clinical reasoning, and giving feedback. Additionally, residents on this elective have protected time to work on a mentored medical education project.

Point Of Care Ultrasound

It’s not often that technology advancements bring us back to the bedside, rather than away from it. Primarily used in emergency medicine and intensive care, Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) has now transitioned to the medicine world at a rapid pace. The development of new ultrasound technologies, combined with artificial intelligence software implementation and mounting research showing POCUS is within the scope of practice of internists, has made POCUS an important skillset to master for future inpatient and outpatient internal medicine providers.

“Point of Care Ultrasound empowers the clinician that knows the patient best to efficiently and reliably get clinical information at the bedside, aiding in clinical decision while also improving patient-physician relationship.”

Federico Fenton Portillo, MD
POCUS Director

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

As systems become more complex, pressure to address efficiency issues throughout our healthcare environment is increasing. As frontline healthcare professionals, residents have unique opportunities to contribute to quality improvement and patient safety initiatives at the clinical sites where they rotate. Through formal didactics, group projects and QI and PS committees, WSU internal medicine residents have many ways to contribute to the evolving quality landscape at Providence Medical Center and WSU.

“Understanding the system you are working within is essential to maximizing your performance as a physician and to helping your patient’s navigate an increasingly complex care environment”

Alexander Katz, MD
Director of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Inpatient