Internal Medicine Residency

BIDMC Residency in Internal Medicine

Thank you for your interest in the Internal Medicine Residency program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). At BIDMC, we are committed to helping you not just survive residency, but truly thrive.

We have designed a program that allows you to thrive as a future academic internist or specialist, and excel as a clinician, educator, researcher, and/or academic scholar. We tailor our training program to the needs and career goals of each trainee so that you are poised to become a leader in your chosen area.

As a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, you will hold an academic appointment at HMS and will play a major role in teaching our medical students.

We are known for our excellence in medical education and because of that we have the best educators and clinical teachers leading the residency, and teaching you on the wards, in clinic, and at conferences. We provide rigorous clinical training, simulation and procedural training and thoughtful, evidenced-based education in a supportive environment, dedicated to wellness, and dedicated to you.

We invite you to visit us to meet with our exceptional residents and fellows, and to discover for yourself the world-class training opportunities that we offer.

About Our Residency Program

Over 25 years ago, BIDMC created a novel teaching, learning and patient care environment in the form of our medical firm system. Each house officer is assigned to a firm for the duration of their training, and each firm is led by a Firm Chief, Associate Firm Chief, and Chief Medical Resident; this group organizes teaching on the Firm, social events, and provides mentorship and feedback. Each week, residents and interns go to Firm Conference, led by the Firm Chief and Associate Firm Chief. In this way, a smaller group of residents and housestaff get to know each other very well. On all other rotations (ambulatory, ICU, cardiology, oncology, electives, etc.), residents work with any other resident from the entire residency so residents get to know everyone in the program.

The goal of our program is to develop each resident's judgment and skills to provide the highest quality medical care. We provide the foundation for the practice of internal medicine or for subsequent clinical and research training in medical subspecialties. Residents are exposed to a wide array of patients in various inpatient and outpatient settings, including different units within BIDMC, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, West Roxbury Veterans Affairs Medical Center and numerous continuity practice sites.

During the Internship Year, interns gain experience in the management of patients with a broad range of medical diseases in general inpatient medicine, intensive care medicine, oncology, cardiology, liver/kidney service, emergency medicine and ambulatory medicine. Junior and Senior Years solidifies residents clinical and teaching skills by having juniors and seniors lead medical teams and supervise interns on general medical services and in the medical and cardiac intensive care units. Additionally, junior and senior residents have more elective time to sample subspecialty training in areas of interest. Learn more about Internal Medicine Residency rotations.

Choosing BIDMC

"Training here has given me far more than just a top-notch education - the residents and faculty have become close friends and mentors, people who I will be in touch with for the rest of my career." - Current Resident

We offer a unique experience at one of the most innovative, forward-thinking, and rigorous educational programs in the country. While some choose BIDMC for our outstanding clinical training, others for our educational, quality improvement and research opportunities, everyone appreciates the supportive, collegial environment that exists between residents and faculty. Committed, curious, and creative, these students come together each year to create an extraordinary class.

Our program truly prepares residents for fellowship after residency and offers career meetings, CV and personal statement editing, mock interviews, post interview meetings and fellowship match guidance. Our team is available to you to help you reach your goals and become a future leader in medicine. View Internal Medicine Fellowship Matches.

Who We Are

Renowned for excellence in patient care, biomedical research, teaching, and community service and located in the heart of Boston's Longwood Medical area, BIDMC hosts nearly three quarters of a million patient visits annually in and around Boston.

Education is one of the most important missions of the medical center and the Department of Medicine. The Internal Medicine Residency Program is one of the top few programs in the country, attracting medical students from over 50 medical schools to fill its 158 positions. Our residents work alongside renowned faculty members who are international leaders in their respective fields. We are proud to annually win more teaching awards than any other department at HMS, and we are proud that our world-famous faculty spend time teaching and mentoring Housestaff.

Residency Leadership

Our program leadership, under the direction of our Chief of Medicine, Dr. Mark Zeidel, and our program director, Dr. Christopher Smith, emphasizes mechanism-based learning while providing compassionate and comprehensive patient care, thereby enhancing opportunities for personal and career growth for our Chief Medical Residents, current residents, graduates-future clinicians, clinician-educators, and clinician-scientists alike. We expect our graduates to follow in their predecessors' footsteps and become leaders in internal medicine.

What Sets Us Apart

The program directors, faculty advisors, and chief medical residents work to create a flexible educational environment, one that can cater to individual intellectual curiosity and enable each resident to carve out a personal clinical, educational and research path.

BIDMC's unique program in medical resident training merited its selection as one of an initial group of 17 internal medicine residency programs nationwide to be enrolled in the Education Innovations Project, sponsored by the ACGME/Residency Review Committee in Internal Medicine. In addition to our mission of graduating residents to be outstanding clinicians, exemplary educators, and premier researchers, we have created an innovative educational infrastructure to ensure that our residents attain the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes, and hands-on experience to serve as expert health system leaders wherever their future practice may take them.

Tracks and Pathways

In traditional residency education, most learners participate in a uniform program dictated by their residency. Such a uniform program can provide a core educational curriculum, but does not provide residents an opportunity to identify and participate in advanced educational and career development that can help residents accelerate their career trajectory along one of many diversifying career paths of internal medicine.

We have created a series of learner-centered tracks, pathways and supplemental educational experiences that complement our core educational curriculum, allowing learners to identify and participate in advanced educational and career development programs. We offer interns the opportunity to apply to one of four formal tracks:

In addition, comprehensive supplemental pathways in Research and Patient Safety and Quality Improvement exist for all residents. As well as the Digital Education Track and Social Justice Pathway.

Katherine Swan Ginsburg Humanism in Medicine Program

Katherine Swan Ginsburg, MD, MPH was a house officer at Beth Israel Hospital who died of cancer at age 34, shortly after completing her training. Katherine was widely admired for her outstanding communication skills, clinical competence, compassion and selfless dedication to caring for her patients. To honor her legacy, Katherine's family and loved ones provided a gift to BIDMC to help foster these values in future physicians training in the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

The Katherine Swan Ginsburg Program offers an annual fellowship to support a resident's scholarly project relating to humanism in medicine. Under the combined mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Crocker and a BIDMC faculty member, projects are presented on the Resident Research Day, as well as during the KSG Celebration of Humanism in Medicine events each spring.

Resident Life and Groups

There are various resident community groups available for residents throughout their time at BIDMC. These groups provide peer support, mentorship and resources to promote resident wellness, and foster community building and professional development. Available resident community groups include:

Beth Israel Deaconess Innovation Group (BIG)
Resident Information Services Committee (RISC)
House Officer Council (HOC)
Katherine Swan Ginsburg Writing Group
LGBTQ Housestaff
House Officer Quality Improvement Council (HSQIC)
Peer Support Group
Harvard Medical School’s Mentorship Program
Resident Recruitment Advisory Committee (RRAC)
BIDMC GME Trainee Wellness Committee

Alumni

Internal Medicine Residency Program graduates can visit our Alumni page to keep in touch with other graduates, connect on social media, sign up for our Alumni Newsletter, and request verification of training or malpractice documents.

Benefits & Compensation

The annual stipend is paid in weekly installments. For 2021-2022, stipends are:

Interns $68,034.00
Junior residents $71,400.00
Senior residents $74,460.00

Other benefits include:
Three weeks of vacation for interns and residents (the former have an additional 5 days of vacation between the end of internship and beginning of residency); residents also receive a total of 5 flex-days off that can be utilized for personal or professional special events. In addition, interns receive their first choice of holiday time off (choose between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years).

Subsidized on-site parking
Health insurance (at group rates) with optional dependent coverage
Family leave policy
Malpractice insurance for all activities within the scope of training

How To Apply

Applicants to the Internal Medicine residency program must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All internship positions will be offered through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). International medical graduates must apply through the ECFMG; the ERAS application kit for international medical graduates is available on the ECFMG website. Learn more about the application process.