PGY-1 Residents
- 20 weeks General Medical Wards
- 10 weeks Ambulatory / Night Float
- 4 weeks MICU
- 4 weeks Neurology
- 4 weeks Nephrology
- 4 weeks Infectious Disease
PGY-2 Residents
- 12 weeks General Medical Wards
- 8-10 weeks MICU
- 6 weeks Ambulatory / Night Float
- 2 weeks ED
- 16 weeks Electives
PGY-3 Residents
- 10 weeks General Medical Wards
- 6 weeks MICU
- 4 weeks Ambulatory / Night Float
- 4 weeks Geriatrics and Hospice
- 18 weeks Electives
Each resident has an assigned continuity clinic, one half-day per week.
General Medical Wards
Huntsville Hospital is a tertiary referral center and the only teaching hospital in North Alabama. Along with the UAB Huntsville Regional Medical Campus, it provides a golden opportunity to train young physicians to learn the scientific and scholarly basis of internal medicine.
We care for a complete array of common community illnesses and variety of diseases due to the large referral base in North Alabama and adjoining areas of Tennessee. Huntsville Hospital's Corporate University, adjacent to the hospital, offers innovative training and continuing education opportunities for physicians. It is the home of North Alabama's largest certified American Heart Association Training Center.
Ward Call Schedule - The "Golden Weekends"
The call schedule is compiled several months in advance and reviewed to ensure that Program values and ACGME parameters are met. Our call schedule is designed to allow every other weekend off duty and out of the hospital, a modified "drip" admission system, night float system and most weekly work hour totals in the 50 - 60 range.
Intensive Care
Under the guidance of Board-certified in-house intensivists, you will become competent in the comprehensive care of critically ill patients admitted to our MICU service at Huntsville Hospital. You will master basic concepts including ventilator management, hemodynamic monitoring, treatment of pain, use of sedation, and nutrition of the critically ill patient. There will be ample opportunity to become proficient in critical care procedures such as arterial lines, central venous lines, chest tube insertions, lumbar punctures, thoracentesis, paracentesis and POCUS. More importantly, you will learn to compassionately address end of life issues with patients and family members.
Outpatient Medicine
Continuity and Ambulatory Clinics
The UAB Huntsville Internal Medicine Clinic currently enjoys a top reputation in the area and provides an opportunity to train residents to provide excellent care to a diverse population.
Residents have one half-day per week for their continuity clinic and have ambulatory rotation dedicated to learning outpatient medicine and growing as a physician and a patient advocate.
Giving Back to the Community
The Huntsville Community Free Clinic was established to provide free medical care to those in our community without access to health care benefits. The Community Free Clinic is located one block northeast of the primary teaching facility.
Electives
Residents may elect to spend a block of time with a medical subspecialist who is a member of the voluntary faculty. They will acquire knowledge and insight into the unique aspects in the field, including the inpatient consultations and outpatient clinic visits, and imaging or test interpretations. Electives include but not limited to:
- Cardiology
- Pulmonology
- Geriatrics
- Neurology
- Infectious disease
- Nephrology
- Gastroenterology
- Hematology/Oncology
- Anesthesia
- Dermatology
- Rheumatology
- Emergency Medicine
- Hospice/Palliative Medicine
- Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
- Pulmonary
- POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound)
Medical Conferences
Morning Report
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, clinical rounds are augmented by faculty-led Morning Report, where instructive clinical cases are presented and discussed in a didactic setting.
Didactic sessions
The program schedules a dedicated half-day per week on Wednesdays for didactic presentation series attended by all residents not on MICU, long-call or night float, regardless of their rotation assignment. The curriculum includes journal club, where residents present clinical trials of high importance for critical appraisal and dissecting the literature.
Our didactic curriculum includes general IM and primary care, subspecialty topics conferences in the areas of cardiology, pulmonology, hematology/oncology, nephrology, infectious disease, and various other specialties topics such as psychiatry, dermatology, medical ophthalmology, office gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, non-operative orthopedics, rehabilitation medicine, and radiology.
Grand Rounds
Our faculty, staff, residents and medical students attend grand rounds each Tuesday for multidisciplinary topics and discussions.
Morbidity & Mortality Conference
As part of the ACGME requirements to have their residents demonstrate competency in presentations, our M&M conference is held once a month during grand rounds and required by PGY-3s to present a case with faculty mentorship.
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Education
As part of the ACGME requirements to prepare residents and provide clinical care with focus on patient safety, we empower our residents to discuss patient safety events and improve our patient care during morning reports and discuss adverse events during didactic sessions.
We promote incorporation of a "real world" QI curriculum across all aspects of the residency. Residents will spend time with faculty mentors to help guide them through the planning and implementation of a QI project. Residents participate in hospital-based QI activities, and depending on the residents’ schedule will participate on hospital committees.
Scholarly Activity
Our program provides residents with the opportunities to participate in Scholarly Activity. We support residents who present their published papers and accepted abstracts at national meetings are supported for registration, travel, and hotel for their role as the primary presenter.
We send a medical jeopardy team to the Alabama/Mississippi ACP and the Southern Society of General Internal Medicine meetings each year.