Curriculum
First Year Rotations
First Year Rotations
(BOLD Print = Intern Call Free Months) |
| Critical Care Unit | 2 months |
| Family Medicine Service | 4 months |
| Maternal Child Health | 3 months |
Emergency Medicine
(Includes 1 week of Anesthesiology) | 1 month |
| Family Centered Pediatrics | 1 month |
| Surgery | 1 month |
| | 12 months |
Critical Care Unit (ICU)
In the ICU, you will learn to manage critically ill patients by working closely with our three pulmonary/critical care attendings. In addition to performing procedures such as intubations, central line placement, ABGs and others, you will also gain experience in managing ventilated patients, performing ACLS, and dealing with end of life care.
Family Medicine Service (FMS)
During your months on FMS, you will closely manage patients who present with an array of medical problems, from chest pain to newly diagnosed malignancy. Daily rounds with the residents and attendings, in addition to weekly grand rounds, dermatology rounds, and tumor board provide multiple educational opportunities.
Maternal Child Health (MCH)
As an intern on the MCH service, your primary responsibility during the day is to manage the pediatric and newborn nursery patients, and round with the pediatric attendings. When you are on call, you will manage laboring patients, postpartums, and the triage, with the help of the MCH fellow and attending, as well as admit any pediatric patients.
Emergency Medicine
During your month in the ER, you will learn the first line management of acutely ill patients. You will have opportunities to suture, intubate, and participate in CPR, while reading EKGs, x-rays, and ABGs. During this month, you spend one week with the anesthesiologists practicing intubations in the operating room.
Family Centered Pediatrics (FCP)
During this month, you will spend most of your time at seeing pediatric patients. Under the guidance of our pediatric attendings, you will gain skill in the diagnosis and management of commonly encountered pediatric outpatient illnesses. Additionally, you will participate in MCH case management where our OB patients are reviewed and discussed to assess their level of risk and needs for management of a healthy pregnancy.
Surgery
During the intern year, the focus of surgery is on the inpatient management of surgical patients. Working with one of our two surgical groups, you will see patients in the hospital and spend time in the OR assisting in surgeries, with a focus on hands-on technical skills. You will also see patients in the outpatient surgery clinic.
Second Year Rotations
Second Year Rotations
A one-week ICU night float assignment during an elective or BOLD printed rotation. |
| Behavioral Medicine | 1 month |
| Critical Care (Senior) | 1 month |
| Family Medicine Service (Senior) | 2 months |
| Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Triage (LDRT) | 1-1/2 months |
| Pediatric ED | 1 month |
| Surgery | 1 month |
| Selectives and/or Electives | 4-1/2 months |
| | 12 months |
Behavioral Science
In this rotation, you will spend mornings rounding at a community inpatient psychiatric unit with a child and adolescent psychiatrist. This includes daily work rounds, family and multidisciplinary meetings with social workers. You will also have the opportunity to see patients with an adult psychiatrist on a weekly basis. You will become competent in evaluation and treatment of depression, ADHD, anxiety and other mood disorders.
Critical Care (Senior)
The West Suburban ICU is a 25-bed unit, in which we care for a wide range of medical diagnoses. By the time you graduate, you will be well-trained in the management of common cardiac emergencies (AMI, CHF, arrythmias), pulmonary emergencies (ARDS, Respiratory Failure, COPD, Asthma) and common medical/surgical diagnoses (DKA, Sepsis, Acute Abdomen). This is a truly unique experience for the family medicine residents. The residency provides full coverage of the ICU six months of the year. As the critical care senior, you are responsible for overseeing the interns on their daily work. There are ample opportunities for procedures (central lines, endotracheal intubations, thoracentesis, etc.) under the guidance of the critical care specialists. Daily work rounds with the critical care attending and cardiologist are arranged by you. You will also complete two one-week night float assignments in your second and third year. As a second year you will spend a month on service in the ICU.
Family Medicine Service (Senior)
The Family Medicine Service (FMS) is a comprehensive and diverse, high-volume general medical/surgical service. West Suburban Hospital provides a unique mix of urban, underserved patients as well as suburban patients. As the FMS senior, you are responsible for delegating daily work tasks for the interns, coordinating daily teaching rounds, and providing enhanced learning opportunities for the interns. As a second year, you will spend two months as an FMS senior.
Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Triage
This is a 6-week rotation in which you will be the primary resident responsible for active labor management. You will manage patients as they are admitted to the labor floor, gain bountiful experience in normal vaginal deliveries, assist with neonatal resuscitation, and assist with repairing birth-related lacerations. In addition, you will be the primary resident who will see pregnant patients in our 6-bed triage area. With the support of a comprehensive team of family medicine attendings and fellows, there is also ample opportunity to manage high-risk obstetrical patients as well.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
This month you will spend at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Here you will gain valuable experience seeing young patients in the ED and also in Urgent Care. Here you will see common childhood illnesses such as respiratory illnesses, gastroenteritis, dehydration, fractures, and trauma. You will also attend the pediatric resident lectures on a weekly basis. Scheduling of this month entails 8-10 hour shifts that are organized by Lurie Children’s. This is a call-free month in your second year.
Selectives and/or Electives
Third Year Rotations
Third Year Rotations
A one-week ICU night float assignment during an elective or BOLD printed rotation. |
| Family Medicine Service (Senior) | 1 month |
| Critical Care (Senior) | 1/2 month |
| Post Partum/Newborn Care (PPN) | 1-1/2 months |
| Geriatrics | 1 month |
| Selectives and/or Electives | 8 months |
| | 12 months |
Family Medicine Service (Senior)
The Family Medicine Service (FMS) is a comprehensive and diverse, high-volume general medical/surgical service. West Suburban Hospital provides a unique mix of urban, underserved patients as well as suburban patients. As the FMS senior, you are responsible for delegating daily work tasks for the interns, coordinating daily teaching rounds, and providing enhanced learning opportunities for the interns. As a third year, you will spend one month as an FMS senior.
Critical Care (Senior)
The West Suburban ICU is a 25-bed unit, in which we care for a wide range of medical diagnoses. By the time you graduate, you will be well-trained in the management of common cardiac emergencies (AMI, CHF, arrhythmias), pulmonary emergencies (ARDS, Respiratory Failure, COPD, Asthma) and common medical/surgical diagnoses (DKA, Sepsis, Acute Abdomen). This is a truly unique experience for the family medicine residents. The residency provides full coverage of the ICU six months of the year. As the critical care senior, you are responsible for overseeing the interns on their daily work. There are ample opportunities for procedures (central lines, endotracheal intubations, thoracentesis, etc.) under the guidance of the critical care specialists. Daily work rounds with the critical care attending and cardiologist are arranged by you. You will also complete one-week night float assignments in third year. As a third year you will spend a half-month on service in the ICU.
Post-Partum/Newborn
In your third year, you will spend 6 weeks focusing on normal newborn and post-partum care. In this rotation, you will gain competency in post-partum management including post-partum fever, hemorrhage, lactation. You will also have the chance to do many elective circumcisions, evaluate and treat common newborn ailments. This may include poor feeding, rashes, jaundice and sepsis. As part of the day team, you will also be expected to be flexible and assist in daily work in triage, active labor management and the special care nursery, depending on the particular needs for the day.
Geriatrics
You will spend a month in various parts of the community to get a full spectrum experience in elder care. In addition to spending time with a community family medicine practice that has particular focus on geriatrics, you will also spend time in adult day care services, hospice, home health, speech/hearing, physical therapy, an Alzheimer's unit at Rush Presbyterian hospital, social services for the aging and nursing homes. As a second and third year resident you will also be assigned to one to two nursing home patients for whom you will be expected to see on a monthly basis throughout the two years.
Selectives and/or Electives
Selective Rotations
You must choose from these required rotations, to be taken during the second or third year of your residency.
Selectives
(A one-week ICU night float assignment during an elective or BOLD printed rotation.) |
| Ophthalmology | 1/2 month |
| Urology | 1/2 month |
| Community Medicine/Occupational Health (COH) | 1 month |
| Dermatology | 1 month |
| Gynecology | 1 month |
| Orthopedics/Rheumatology | 1 month |
| Sports Medicine | 1 month |
| Neurology | 1 month |
| Practice Management | 1 month |
| | 8 months |
Community Medicine/Occupational Health
During this month, you will spend one day a week at Proviso East High School seeing students in their student health clinic. You will also work one morning a week at Interfaith House, a respite care home for the homeless in Chicago. As part of the occupational health curriculum, you will spend multiple sessions at occupational health services at Loyola University where you will become well-versed in FMLA, work-place injury evaluation and management, stress testing, spirometry and overuse injuries as well as hand and eye-related injuries.
Dermatology
Primary goals of this rotation include learning to diagnose and treat common outpatient dermatologic diseases in newborns, children and adults. You will learn how to detect skin cancer, when it is important to refer. Observe and learn to perform skin biopsies. You also have the chance to attend a skin cancer clinic at Rush Presbyterian Hospital.
Gynecology
In this month you will spend afternoons in a busy OB-GYN practice, seeing both high risk and normal pregnancies and a wide range of gynecologic issues. In addition you will spend time with a gynecologic oncologist at Loyola University, spend time in an infertility clinic, and also in a midwives practice.
Orthopedics/Rheumatology
During this month you will work closely with multiple specialty groups. You will spend time in an outpatient setting, gaining competency in joint exams, reading plain films, and performing joint injections. You will also have the chance to hone in on your rheumatology history and physical exam skills.
Sports Medicine
In this rotation you will work closely with one of our experienced physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians. Your focus will be on outpatient evaluation and treatment of knee, shoulder, back and neck injuries. There is ample hands-on teaching, with special emphasis placed on the physical exam. You will also learn the indications for imaging in back pain.
Neurology
In this month you will be the primary resident to evaluate inpatient consultations. Frequent diagnoses include cerebrovascular accident, multiple sclerosis, altered mental status, seizures and transient ischemic attacks. You will also spend time with our neurologist in their outpatient clinic.
Practice Management
The goals of this rotation include understanding health management organizations, billing, and general office management. You will spend multiple enlightening sessions with an experienced office manager at a busy private family practice. You will also complete a CV to prepare yourself for job applications.
Electives (not an all-inclusive list)
You must take 4 ½ months of elective rotations, which should be taken in one-month blocks. Residents may combine two electives into a one-month block with the permission of the Program Director.
- Allergy/Immunology
- Cardiology
- Diabetes/Nutrition
- EKG/Stress Testing
- ENT
- Emergency Medicine or Urgent Care
- Endocrinology
- Medical Ethics
- Gastroenterology
- HIV/AIDS
- Infectious Disease
- Independent Study Project
- Integrative Medicine (Complementary/Alternative Medicine)
- Internal Medicine
- International Medicine
- Maternal Child Health
- Pathology
- Out Patient Pediatrics
- Out Patient Procedures
- Pediatric Urgent Care
- Plastic Surgery
- Podiatry
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Radiology
- Rheumatology
- Sports Medicine
- Surgical Procedures (outpatient)
- Urgent Care at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Lurie Children’s)
Other Information
Vacations
May be taken during Selectives in BOLD or during Elective Rotations.
Conferences
Three hours of didactic teaching are provided during weekly Tuesday afternoon conferences. The 3-year curriculum encompasses an 18-month rotation of topics. This allows topics to be presented twice during a resident's 3-year program.
In addition, residents are expected to attend MCH conferences, Dermatology Rounds, Grand Rounds, Tumor Board, and other conferences when their schedules permit.
Continuity Clinic Assignments
| First Year Residents | One-to-two half-days per week |
| Second Year Residents | Three half-days per week** |
| Third Year Residents | Four half-days per week** |
** Second & Third year residents will be assigned to one less half-day of continuity clinic per week while on service rotations (ICU, FMS, MCH).
Questions about our Family Medicine Residency? E-mail us: Program Administration