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Curriculum

PGY-1   PGY-2   PGY-3   Outpatient   Didactics   POCUS

Each year of residency consists of 26 two-week blocks. All residents will have four weeks of vacation taken annually in two blocks. Below is a general outline of the schedule of intern and senior residents.

PGY-2 Residents​​​

  • Approximately 20 weeks of inpatient service (general medicine floors, medical ICU, cardiac ICU, night float, malignant hematology service) per year
  • 12-18 weeks of inpatient consults
  • 2 weeks of the observation unit
  • 2 weeks of general/stroke neurology consults
  • 12 weeks of outpatient medicine
    • Split between primary care and subspecialty clinics
  • 4 weeks of vacation
  • Electives: subspecialty consult services and subspecialty clinics, including an HIV consults rotation at Stroger
  • Dedicated block time for research, global/community health, quality improvement, or medical education projects

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Outpatient experiences

All categorical interns have a primary care continuity clinic that occurs during their outpatient (OP) block. Residents have the option of choosing between the following primary care clinics:

The remainder of our residents’ outpatient blocks consist of clinics in the Internal Medicine subspecialties, including cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonary, hematology, oncology, and nephrology clinics. Other outpatient electives include sports medicine, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

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Didactics

Intern Didactics: A dedicated curriculum for the interns, intern didactics consists of a mix of both case based and lecture style reports, developed over years to introduce interns to important foundational topics in medicine in an informal environment.  

Resident Report: RUSH believes in a “residents as teachers” model in which our residents deliver presentations on Mondays and Tuesdays. Residents work with the Chief Residents in advance to become the best teachers they can be. The talks themselves are moderated by a Chief Resident and an Attending Physician.

Noon Conference: This conference takes place on Thursdays and Fridays and is led by an Attending Physician or Fellow Physician, covering both interesting topics in medicine as well as issues that are often under-represented in medicine, such as health inequity, resident finances, artificial intelligence, and more.

Internal Medicine Grand Rounds: Hosted every Wednesday, presented by RUSH faculty or invited guest speakers. Topics range from specialized and innovating procedures to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Internal Medicine Board Review: Hosted throughout the second half of the academic year as part of the noon conference lecture series

Outpatient Didactics: During their outpatient blocks, residents receive outpatient-focused didactics during an academic half day. These small-group discussions include talks from primary care physicians, subspecialists, and non-physician experts to give residents a well-rounded outpatient educational experience.

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Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Experiences

For residents who are new to POCUS, we offer a longitudinal POCUS curriculum that provides a comprehensive overview of the major organ systems and bedside uses for POCUS. This curriculum, taught by faculty in the pulmonary and critical care division, includes the following:

  • Lectures and hands-on teaching sessions for:
    • Cardiac ultrasound/echocardiography
    • Lung ultrasound
    • Vascular ultrasound
    • Abdominal ultrasound     
  • Practice sessions with standardized patients
  • A final exam with standardized patients

For residents who have completed the basics course, we also offer an elective for senior residents in advanced ultrasonography, which includes the following:

  • Hands-on experiences in the ICU and general medical floors ultrasounding patients
  • Sessions with echocardiography technicians to learn advanced maneuvers/techniques
  • Training with advanced practice nurses experienced in placing peripherally inserted central catheters
  • Asynchronous teaching sessions on advanced ultrasound techniques and principles
  • Opportunities for educational and clinical research on ultrasonography

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