Our program uses a 3+1 schedule structure for all residents, allowing for a separation between inpatient and outpatient experiences such that residents can fully immerse themselves in patient care and education. Wards and ICU rotations are almost exclusively 3-weeks in duration, while other rotations in the X-block can vary in length. Residents always have the weekend off prior to starting their +1 week.

Averages for core PGY-1 and PGY-2/3 rotations are showing the table below:

Sample Rotation Schedules

• Sample PGY-1 Schedule
• Sample PGY-2 Schedule
• Sample PGY-3 Schedule

OHSU Wards

There are six general medicine teams on the Uni wards. Teams are comprised of one senior resident (PGY-2/3), one intern, and staffed by a hospitalist or general medicine faculty. Teams will often have medical students on their core or sub-internship rotations in addition to a physician assistant student. The admission cycle is a drip model with a team cap of 10 patients. A night float team is available six nights of the week, with the remaining night covered by a resident from one of the day teams (12h overnight shift).

PVAMC Wards

There are four general medicine teams on the VA wards. Teams are comprised of one senior resident (PGY-2/3), 2 interns, and staffed by a hospitalist. Teams will often have one medical student. The admission cycle is a drop model with a team cap of 14 patients. A night float team is available six nights of the week, with the remaining night covered by a resident from one of the day teams (~24h shift).

Cardiology Wards (11K)

All residents rotation on inpatient cardiology wards during PGY-2 and/or PGY-3. In Academic Year (AY) 2026-27, the team will be comprised of two residents during daytime hours only. Starting AY 2027-28, this will expand to a five-resident team and include nighttime coverage.

OHSU MICU

The MICU is a 16-bed closed unit with occasional off-unit boarders. There are four residents and four interns on service at any given time split between MICU A (primary rounding team), the Critical Care Activation Team (triage, codes, procedures), and nights. PCCM faculty and PCCM/CCM fellows are present in the hospital 24/7 for support.

PVAMC ICU

The VA ICU is a closed unit that services medical, cardiac, and surgical patients. There are four residents and three interns on service at any given time. Night coverage is provided by one resident and one intern, who rotate in blocks of 5-6 nights with a two-day transition back to the day schedule. A PCCM or CCM fellow is available until 10:00pm and will remain if needed, or can be called in overnight for urgent issues.

Work Hours

We are fully committed and adherent to the ACGME clinical and education work hour standards. We are continually seeking to improve, and residents have a strong voice in helping us design and implement necessary changes.

Ambulatory education is a foundational part of internal medicine training. We strive to foster an outpatient experience that is rich in learning and satisfying for the professional development of all our residents, regardless of their intended specialty.

Each year consists of thirteen +1 weeks. Residents are divided into four firms based on the timing of their +1 week. This supports residents developing close relationships with a subset of their peers. It also facilitates a team-based interprofessional practice model and allows patients to have consistent care from the same group of residents. 

Each +1 week includes time in primary care continuity clinic, specialty clinics, and educational seminars, with protected administrative time for in-basket management. Senior residents also select a second longitudinal continuity clinic.

Primary Continuity Clinics
Residents can choose from one of three sites for their primary continuity clinic:

• OHSU Internal Medicine Clinic
• VA General Medicine Clinic
• Central City Old Town Clinic

Second Continuity Clinics
Starting during PGY-2, residents choose a second continuity clinic based on their career goals. Residents remain in this clinic for 12 months, then can select a new clinic in PGY-3, or repeat the same one. Select examples:

• Subspecialty: Hepatology, Electrophysiology, Hematology, HIV, etc.
• Primary Care: Virginia Garcia, Multnomah County, etc.
• Niche: Sports Medicine, Pre-op, Dermatology, Pain, etc.

Social Medicine

The Social Medicine block is a core three-week rotation during intern year that blends clinical and non-clinical experiences focused on the care of vulnerable populations. The rotation is designed to expand residents' sociocultural awareness and understanding of how social and structural determinants of health shape health outcomes, and to recognize their capacity to make a meaningful impact. It also offers an opportunity to step "off the hill" and engage directly with the Portland community.

During the rotation, interns spend time at Central City Concern, Hooper Detox Center, and the student-run Bridges Clinic, and participate in home-based primary care visits through the VA, as well as community-based volunteer experiences. The rotation includes mentored time to develop a community-based advocacy project, along with asynchronous learning modules covering addiction management and buprenorphine training, implicit bias and systemic racism, and reflective practice on the health impacts of poverty.

• 2026-27 Social Medicine Block Sample Schedule

Subspecialty Consults

Between OHSU and Portland VAMC, we offer consult rotations in all of the IM subspecialties. Over the course of 3 years, residents will rotate on almost all of them, with assignments based on resident preferences. Consult rotations take place during the X-block, so residents do not have concurrent continuity clinic. Rotations are one to three weeks in duration. When scheduled for two or more weeks, you may be asked to work one weekend.

Neurology

A two-week inpatient rotation at OHSU during PGY-1. Typically consists of one-week on the stroke service and one-week on the consult service working alongside neurology residents and with supervision by neurology faculty.

Geriatrics

In addition to geriatrics clinics in the +1 week during PGY-1, interns also have a two-week geriatrics rotation at OHSU, which includes time spent at one of two local skilled nursing/long-term care facilities. Interns learn principles of geriatric medicine and common geriatric syndromes, models of geriatric care including rehabilitation and nursing home structures, transitions of care, and interprofessional team care.

Miscellaneous Rotations

• VA Addiction Medicine (PGY-1)
• VA Pre-Anesthesia Testing clinic (PGY-1)
• VA Ambulatory Subspecialty clinics (PGY-2 and/or PGY-3)

Our comprehensive curriculum is designed not only to prepare graduates for independent practice, but also to confidently pass the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certifying Examination. Graduates of our program have been highly successful at passing boards on their first attempt. Our most recent three-year rolling pass rate is 94%. We attribute this success in large part to the quality of our residents, who are exceptionally bright and intellectually curious, but also credit the strength of their training experience. Our curriculum is intentionally designed using a purposeful, data-driven approach to deliver high-quality instruction and comprehensively target all content areas tested on the ABIM examination. All residents receive individualized feedback based on annual In-Training Exam results. Curricular oversight is provided by a Residency Curriculum Committee (RCC), which continually modifies the curriculum in response to ITE performance and other metrics.

Inpatient Conferences

Residents on inpatient rotations attend the following didactics:

• All wards: Noon report, Intern report, Noon conference
• OHSU wards: Radiology rounds, SPARK (QI) rounds, POCUS rounds
• VA wards: ECG rounds, Mock codes
• MICU: ICU wellness rounds

Noon Report / Intern Report
Noon report is a resident-presented, chief-facilitated conference held on Mondays and Fridays for one hour, with an emphasis on clinical reasoning, problem solving, and evidence-based medicine. Generalist and subspecialty faculty regularly participate. On Fridays, we also have a separate Intern Report, where PGY-1s can work on developing core competencies and clinical reasoning skills in a low-stakes environment.

Noon Conferences
Noon conferences serve as the primary forum for our core internal medicine curriculum, which follows an 18-month repeating cycle. Conferences are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Key core concepts are reinforced during the first two months of each academic year. Additional content areas include fellowship advising sessions and Fireside Chats with program leadership.

Educational Seminars

During the +1 week, all residents attend half-day educational seminars on Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. Interns have an additional half-day seminar on Wednesday mornings. Didactics consist of the following:

• Ambulatory Report
• Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
• Evidence-Based Medicine
• Practice Based Learning & Improvement
• Primary Care Ambulatory Topics
• Advocacy (interns only)
• Teaching Improvement Science (interns only)

Primary Care Ambulatory Topics (PCAT)
A three-year curriculum on high-yield outpatient general internal medicine topics taught through innovative and engaging methods. 

Practice Based Learning & Improvement (PBLI)
Designed to help residents develop mastery in the management of a portfolio of important chronic illnesses in primary care. Faculty facilitators provide up-to-date guideline recommendations and review relevant clinic resources.

Ambulatory Report
An informational conference where residents share cases that have piqued their curiosity, taught them new clinical skills, led to exciting outcomes, or remain puzzling.

Ambulatory Editorial Board - Resident Steering Committee
Residents participate as active members in ambulatory curricular development and continuous process improvement.

Advocacy Curriculum
We believe that to truly promote health in our communities, we must address the root causes of illness. Many of our residents are drawn to medicine because of their commitments to human welfare and social justice. The consequences of social determinants like systemic racism, housing insecurity, hunger, and poor access to healthcare are all around us. Advocacy can offer solutions where clinical medicine falls short. To read more about our novel advocacy curriculum, click here. 

Teaching Improvement Science (TIS) Curriculum
The TIS curriculum provides innovative instruction in Health Systems Science for our residents. Developed at OHSU, this curriculum is now sponsored by the American Medical Association and disseminated nationally as a model for comprehensive and forward-thinking education in Health Systems Science. TIS covers the full spectrum of Health Systems Science, grounded in the principle that improving our systems promotes well-being. Interns develop a deeper understanding of how health systems affect both patient care and the professional experience of clinicians, fostering the development of engaged, fulfilled physicians who are equipped to serve as agents of change in creating a safer, more equitable health care system. To read more about our TIS curriculum, click here.