Electives

About Ambulatory Electives

An extensive array of both inpatient and outpatient electives are available during the Internal Medicine Residency training curriculum to meet individual educational needs and career interests. Categorical residents have electives paired with practice weeks, while Primary Care Track residents have most electives incorporated into their ambulatory long blocks. Some subspecialty fields, including neurology and quality improvement (QI) are required for all residents, while others are required for Primary Care Track residents. In addition to the opportunities listed below, mixed electives (outpatient and inpatient) are available in all of the medical subspecialties.

Mandatory for All Medical Residents

Geriatrics

A diverse experience in working with older patients in a variety of settings: BIDMC geriatrics clinic, hospitalized patients, local skilled nursing facilities, elder housing, rehabilitation services and home care. Primary Care Track residents rotate in Geriatrics during Long Block of their senior year.

Neurology

Sessions in outpatient and inpatient neurology focusing on general neurology, behavioral neurology, epilepsy, and sleep medicine. Located at BIDMC or Jamaica Plain VA.

Quality Improvement

BIDMC has been a national leader in medical resident QI training. The Stoneman Center elective introduces residents to key concepts in QI and allows them the opportunity to participate in an ongoing QI project within the hospital firms or clinic. Primary Care Track residents have this experience incorporated into an ambulatory long block rotation, and they also serve on the HCA QI Committee during the senior year.

Mandatory for Primary Care Track and HIV Primary Care Track Residents

Junior Year

Dermatology

General dermatology sessions at BIDMC with experienced teaching faculty.

Advanced Diabetes Clinic

Clinic sessions at the Joslin Diabetes Center, a multidisciplinary diabetes care center with teams made up of endocrinologists, other subspecialists, certified diabetes educators, nutritionists and exercise physiologists.

Musculoskeletal Medicine

Includes orthopedics, rheumatology, and physical and occupational therapy.

Addiction Medicine

Residents participate in HCA’s Office-Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) clinic, which provides multidisciplinary care to patients with opioid and alcohol use disorders.

Hypertension Clinic

Residents rotate in the BIDMC Hypertension Center at HCA, which offers state-of-the-art clinical care and research for hypertension care and treatment. The multidisciplinary team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical assistants, and clinical social workers, and specializes in all aspects of the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. In September 2020, the BIDMC Hypertension Center at HCA was recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) for achieving certification as a Comprehensive Hypertension Center. Our Center is one of only 14 such practices in the nation and the only hypertension center in New England to achieve this designation.

Obesity Medicine

Clinic sessions at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates’ Weight Management clinic with dedicated teaching faculty.

Senior Year

Palliative Care

Clinic sessions with BIDMC’s palliative care team, which provides holistic care that addresses the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and their families.

Urgent Care

Residents participate in providing clinical care at BIDMC’s Urgent Care Center in Chestnut Hill, which provides care for non-life threatening conditions that require immediate care.

Ambulatory Electives

Rotations include cardiology, gastroenterology, benign hematology, oncology, allergy, rheumatology, endocrinology, infectious diseases, pulmonology, nephrology, orthopedics, ENT, OB-GYN, podiatry, integrative health, women’s health and urology.

Primary Care Track FAQs

Is it possible to do research as a Primary Care Track resident?

Yes. Many residents participate in research projects during their area of concentration time. Content areas have included health services research, clinical epidemiology, medical education, and clinical research. Areas of research interest within the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care include chronic disease management, delirium, geriatrics, health policy, HIV, and obesity.

I am interested in underserved populations. What opportunities exist?

Historically, Beth Israel Hospital was founded in order to provide care to underserved populations in Boston. Healthcare Associates (HCA), our hospital-based practice, cares for a diverse patient population. Several of our faculty are interested in health justice, and make fantastic mentors to the primary care residents. Residents can also choose to a community health center as their second continuity site. Finally, we offer immersive experience in underserved care both nationally with the Indian Health Service and our unique Outer Cape elective, and globally within our Botswana Global Health Program.

I am interested in women's health. What opportunities exist?

The Women's Health practice within HCA opened in 2004 and is a model teaching practice. As an added service, consultations focused on female sexual dysfunction, long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) management, obesity, and disabled women are available within the practice. We also offer elective experiences in general gynecology, urogynecology, bone and mineral metabolism, and breast diseases.

I am interested in Latinx health. What opportunities exist?

Some residents choose to have an enriched Latinx panel at Healthcare Associates with a Spanish-speaking preceptor. Others choose to go offsite to one of our Community Health Centers where there are robust Spanish-speaking communities, including the Dimock Health Center in Roxbury, the Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester, and the Charles River Health Center in Allston.

I am interested in international health. What opportunities exist?

Many of our residents work in international settings, and BIDMC has established an affiliation with a teaching hospital in Botswana (Global Health Program). Other residents have worked in India, Nepal, Taiwan, and Vietnam in recent years. Several faculty have major commitments to international health.

Is it possible to learn how to teach as a Primary Care Track resident?

Yes. Many Primary Care Track residents participate in a course on medical education as part of their ambulatory Long Block rotation. Residents have the opportunity to teach other primary care residents in small group settings and receive feedback on their teaching skills from clinician educator faculty. Primary care residents also teach and precept medical students in the HCA student-faculty clinic approximately once per month. All housestaff are given the opportunity to serve as a teaching resident during senior elective time. In this role, residents lead case-based discussions and didactic sessions for other residents and students, work as apprentice preceptors alongside our faculty in practice, and observe interns in practice.