TTUHSC School of Medicine at Amarillo
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Internal Medicine

Resident Course Description TOC

Introduction

This manual comprises a description of the courses available to internal medicine residents on the Amarillo campus at Texas Tech. Under each course you will find all the necessary information for that particular rotation. The descriptions include required as well as elective rotations, courses that are directed by full time members of the department of internal medicine as well as those directed by clinical (usually volunteer) faculty members.

The descriptions are organized according to the "Six Core Competencies", which serve as the framework for all residencies (internal medicine and otherwise) supervised by the residency review committees of the ACGME. These core competencies comprise the areas which the faculty members of our department expect its residents to master. Each rotation emphasizes certain elements. Some rotations, such as the general internal medicine wards, involve all the competencies; others, such as radiology, which involve limited direct patient care, will focus on medical knowledge more than other areas such as interpersonal relations. The prospective resident can review each description to understand how his/her competence in medicine will be developed.

How to use this document

Each one month rotation is listed alphabetically on the table of contents. The resident should click on the site that related to his/her area of interest before starting that particular rotation. Details of the content, goals, and expectations of each rotation will then be displayed. The resident should discuss any questions with the course director or attending on the first few days of the rotation. Expectations and methods of evaluation are clearly listed for each month. Our department strives to obtain extensive feedback on the resident's performance, not only from the attending (each of whom fills out an evaluation form) but also from the nurses and support personnel. The resident should familiarize himself/herself with the expectations and methods of evaluation at the beginning of each course.

The department of internal medicine at Texas Tech (Amarillo)

Our goal as a department is to produce residents who are knowledgeable, dedicated, caring, and competent general internists. The faculty is general medicine oriented but subspecialty experience is available in almost every subspecialty of internal medicine. Our residents should be trained to function in private practice, as hospitalists, or as subspecialty fellows after completing our three year residency. Our one year (preliminary) residents will not be fully trained internists but will be well versed in the common problems encountered by the general internist or hospitalist. These preliminary residents are as valued by our faculty as our three-year candidates, but they will not be able to assume supervisory or independent roles during or after the first year.

We strive to produce residents who excel at all of the core competencies. A knowledgeable but uncaring resident won't meet our expectations any more than will a kind but procedurally inept resident. A resident who does well on the boards but who has not developed life long learning habits that will enable him/her to replace old knowledge with new is not meeting our expectations. We are very proud of our recent graduates and their well-rounded education.

The department of internal medicine at Tech in Amarillo is a very "hands-on" department. Many of our faculty members attend on the wards four to six months every year. We know our residents well, strive to support them in a humane and caring manner, and expect excellence from all our trainees

Table of Contents

Core Rotations

Electives