Clinical Experiences
Med-Peds Continuity Clinics
We are very proud of our outpatient resident clinic sites, all of which are staffed by Med-Peds-trained faculty. Located close to the hospitals, the local populations represent all walks of life. The community-based clinics offer state-of-the-art facilities. The clinics offer a true balance of adult and pediatric patients.
Over the course of four years, residents develop their own patient panels and many doctor-patient relationships. The resident serves as the primary care physician, and is often able to continue following with familiar patients from the inpatient services.
Our residents attend outpatient clinic one or two half-days per week, depending on the rotation. Med-Peds residents are exposed to a great variety of preventive care, acute sick visits and outpatient procedures. We have a focused Med-Peds ambulatory curriculum taught through clinic conferences.The Med-Peds attendings are experienced, involved and supportive of resident autonomy. In addition, they serve as great academic role models for developing physicians.
Ambulatory Experiences
We have developed a Med-Peds ambulatory curriculum consisting of rotations to complement the ambulatory experiences offered in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Through collaboration with sites outside of UMHS, we are able to offer a number of opportunities to work with underserved populations and the community, including experiences with school-based clinics and migrant farm workers. Residents on ambulatory rotations are provided with additional learning opportunities through a dedicated ambulatory morning report. Our curriculum design is flexible such that our residents are able to tailor ambulatory experiences to meet longer-term career goals. For example, we offer combined elective experiences in Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, Sports Medicine, and Allergy/Immunology.
International/Individual Experiences
Residents also have the opportunity to develop or participate in individual away electives. Over the years, residents in our program have spent a month at NASA to learn about aerospace medicine; worked in Alaska and New Mexico for the Indian Health Service; and gained international experiences in Brazil, Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras, Peru and Kenya, just to name a few!
Simulation Center
As part of our residents’ education and training, we have access to a state of the art clinical simulation center where our residents may receive instruction how to perform and practice procedural skills including aseptic technique; venous cannulation (peripheral and central); and intubation. In addition, we use these resources for individual and team-based training to re-enforce concepts presented in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) to ensure the best delivery of healthcare to our patients under any circumstances.
Patient Safety
The University of Michigan is a nationally recognized leader in its efforts to provide outstanding and safe patient care. Given the complexities of our patients and health care environment, we feel it is essential that our residents are involved in the process to provide the highest quality of care. During their training, residents participate in a robust patient safety seminar series that is reinforced through monthly resident-based patient safety and quality improvement conferences. Experience is gained through participation in team-based patient safety improvement projects during the 2nd year of training.
Dr. David Wallace in the Simulation Center
