Internal Medicine Residency

Internal Medicine Residency

Welcome

The Internal Medicine Residency Program is a joint effort between Mercer University School of Medicine and the Medical Center Navicent Health.

Mercer University School of Medicine is one of the premier primary care medical schools in the United States. Its undergraduate school with over 5000 students is also highly ranked. As a Mercer resident, you will receive a teaching appointment to Mercer University School of Medicine. This not only looks great on your CV, but it also allows you access to the Mercer campus and its beautiful 35 million dollar state of the art student center with indoor pool, track, and exercise facility.

We have an excellent Internal Medicine program that will allow you to become a competent, confident Internist who will feel comfortable in the ambulatory clinic or the ICU. Our graduates have an excellent track record of obtaining fellowships if desired at places such as UAB, Emory, MCG, University of Missouri, Case Western, and Duke. Other graduates choose primary care or hospitalist medicine. I have had calls from group administrators thanking me for the excellently trained residents that they have hired.

Because we are located near the main campus of Mercer, there are ample opportunities and support for clinical research. Our residents have presented and won at state and national meetings and have had numerous articles published.

Our main strengths are our residents, faculty, and staff. We are a small program where you will be a NAME and not a number. We want to get to know you and your family and we consider ourselves a family. I have been in graduate medical education for over 20 years and I believe that the key to a good program is to involve the residents. Our program is constantly evolving due to the input provided by our residents.

The Medical Center Navicent Health a is the 2nd largest hospital in Georgia with over 700 beds and has grown larger with the completion of the new 8 story Heart Institute.

Finally, Macon is a great place to live. It has big city amenities without the big city problems and traffic. The cost of living is low, the downtown historic district is beautiful, and a very nice riverfront is being developed. Atlanta is only an hour away with the north Georgia mountains and the Georgia coast both less that 3 hours away.

Click here to watch our program video and learn more

Curriculum

The Department of Internal Medicine at The Medical Center Navicent Health takes resident education very seriously. After all, what you learn during your residency is what you take with you to your practice. We are proud of our graduates and strive to enable them to be the best they can be. The faculty works closely with residents and medical students to make their training a positive experience. The Internal Medicine residency is the primary focus of the faculty.

Educational conferences are scheduled throughout the year on a on-going basis. These include:

• daily morning report and patient management rounds;
• monthly morbidity and mortality conferences;
• thrice weekly core curriculum conferences; (CXR & EKG conferences are held periodically)
• monthly journal club meetings;
• weekly board review,
• monthly tumor board conferences.

Involvement in a university teaching program located in a community hospital provides a wide variety of learning experiences. There are few fellowships allowing resident physicians to gain consultative experience and perform numerous procedures often performed only by fellows at other institutions. The ancillary services available at The Medical Center Navicent Health allow residents to concentrate on patient care without worrying about drawing blood, starting intravenous lines or taking patients to the x-ray department.

In addition, the Internal Medicine Department and Mercer University School of Medicine provide research opportunities for residents. The faculty members have many on-going projects and are always willing to provide research guidance. As a result, residents from the Internal Medicine program have been accepted to prestigious fellowship programs including dermatology, endocrinology, nephrology, cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, rheumatology and pulmonology/critical care.

During the first year, each resident physician is involved in seven blocks of primary inpatient care, one block of infectious disease, one bock of critical care, two blocks of ambulatory medicine and one block of neurology. The ambulatory medicine months allow the first year resident to experience different subspecialty clinics and to work-up new patients in an "outpatient" setting. The resident also spends one afternoon each week in their own continuity care clinic. Generally, this amounts to 5 days off per block for interns on ward services, and 8 days off on non-ward blocks.

Second-year residents are involved in three blocks of primary inpatient care, two blocks of ambulatory medicine, one block of emergency medicine, one block of cardiology, one block of critical care, one block Hospice/Palliative Care/Geriatrics and three blocks of electives. One half day is spent in their continuity of care clinic, and they participate in one subspecialty clinic per week. There is a night float system in place. Many elective rotations consisting of inpatient, outpatient and away experiences are available.

Third year residents have ample opportunity to devote time to areas of interest. They are responsible for ward teams about two blocks out of a year, two blocks of critical care leaving several elective blocks.

There are 13 four-week long block rotations in each resident year. The following is a listing of the rotations each year:

It should be noted during the six ambulatory medicine months, residents may spend time in specialty clinics of their choosing. It can also be arranged to have residents spend time in private attending offices if advance notice is given.

Salary & Benefits

Relocation Stipend and Amenities

A transition fund in the amount of $2,000 will be given to you during the first week of orientation.

Vacation

3 weeks (15 working days) per year for PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3.
1 week off either during Christmas or New Year's week in addition to 3 weeks vacation during the year. This is in addition to weekends off when not on call.

Additional Time Off

Educational Travel (CME) 5 working days (PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3)

Sick Leave (Including Maternity/Paternity Leave)

Each resident given time off either during Christmas or New Year's

Meals

A meal allowance of $2,100 annually is added to the bi-weekly salary check in the amount of $80.77.

Parking

Free covered parking conveniently accessible to the hospital.

Insurance Coverage

• Professional Liability
• Health Insurance (Dependents Included)
• Dental Insurance (Dependents Included)
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance