Program Overview & Curriculum

Program Structure

Primary Care Track residents spend extended periods of time in ambulatory practice while still receiving rigorous training in inpatient medicine. They are responsible for providing primary care for their outpatients in collaboration with other team members. Primary Care Track residents also receive a supplementary curriculum, in addition to the standard internal medicine ambulatory curriculum, focusing on special issues unique to the field of primary care.

Year 1

• Two-week orientation to ambulatory care during the Intern Orientation Program
• Three 2-week ambulatory blocks spread throughout the rest of year
• Once weekly continuity clinic at HCA or another site
• Career planning and advising meetings with primary care leadership
• Connection to mentorship in areas of academic interest

Year 2

• Six-month ambulatory long block (see below for sample schedule)
• Weekly continuity clinic at HCA or another site during non-call block rotations
• Second continuity clinic at an additional site during non-call block rotations
• Ambulatory and primary care curriculum
• Primary care innovation project development
• Participation in Social Justice Pathway
• Healthcare leadership training with the Linde Fellowship for Primary Care

Year 3

• Six-month ambulatory long block (see below for sample schedule)
• Weekly continuity clinic at HCA or another site during non-call block rotations
• Second continuity clinic at an additional site during non-call block rotations
• Ambulatory and primary care curriculum
• Primary care innovation project implementation
• Social justice advocacy project implementation
• Participation in HCA Quality Improvement Committee
• Participation in Social Justice Pathway

Other Distinguishing Features

• Quarterly primary care interest group/social events
• Society of General Internal Medicine regional and annual meeting participation
• Mentorship and career counseling
• Opportunity for protected research time and development of a scholarly project
• Additional training opportunities in medical education, health care leadership, and sexual and gender minority health

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.