Tracks within the Program

Motivated U of R medicine residents can become involved in several different, exciting areas of emphasis within the residency program. Each of these tracks allows residents to take a “deeper dive” in these areas, which can help form a career direction. Completion of the requirements of the track will result in a graduation certificate that acknowledges distinction in the area of emphasis (e.g., “Distinction in Research”).

Clinician Educator Track

Director: Kit Gracey, M.D.

We began offering an optional Clinician Educator Track in the 2013-2014 academic year for residents who envision teaching as a major component of their future careers.

The University of Rochester Internal Medicine Residency Program has a long tradition of emphasizing a resident’s role as teacher. Layered on top of this tradition, the Clinician Educator Track helps participating residents build an even stronger foundation in educational theory and practice to serve as a springboard for a career as leaders in internal medicine education. Residents completing the requirements of this track graduate with a “Distinction in Medical Education.”

Read more about the track

Research Track

Director: John Grable, MD

The Research Track provides an opportunity for interested residents to receive their residency diploma with “Distinction in Research.” The resident should begin planning a research project during their PGY1 year and should have a proposal ready for review no later than the beginning of PGY2 year. If the project is approved, the resident may use up to four weeks of elective time in both the PGY2 and PGY3 years for focused work on their project. Alternatively, the resident can use ambulatory sessions within the block model to protect time for mentored research.

Completion of the Research Track requires:

• Presentation of the completed project at a noon conference in the spring of the PGY3 year. The presentation will be attended and critiqued by a panel of faculty experts.
• Preparation of a manuscript suitable for submission for publication.
• Here is the summary of Research Track residents' presentations of their work in previous years:
• 2024 
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021

Procedure Track

Director: Aaron Roy, MD

Residents with a particular interest in bedside procedures may graduate with “Distinction in Procedural Skills” if they complete the requirements of the track. Requirements include:

• Completing a substantial number (i.e., well beyond the minimum number needed for credentialing) of bedside procedures, including paracentesis, thoracentesis, central line placement, lumbar puncture, and ultrasound-guided peripheral IV placement
• Supervising a sufficient number of other trainees doing bedside procedures
• Helping to oversee resident procedural opportunities and educational activities

Community Advocacy (CARE) Track

Director: Andrew Aligne, MD, MPH

The Community Health & Advocacy Resident Education (CARE) Track is an elective longitudinal experience starting in the second year of residency in which residents build a community-based intervention in partnership with a community-based advocacy organization. Our CARE Track is built on the foundations created by our pediatrics residency in partnership with the U of R Hoekelman Center, which has become a national model for training residents in community-based advocacy work.

The track starts with a “mini-MPH” block covering the essentials of community-based advocacy, evidence-based public health, cross cultural communication, leadership and other relevant areas using Rochester-specific examples in the teaching. Participating residents will also use one of their longitudinal ambulatory elective half days in the PGY2 and the PGY3 year for longitudinal work on a project of their design (in collaboration with an existing community-based advocacy organization).  Residents completing the requirements of this track will receive “Distinction in Community Advocacy” at graduation. More information and example projects can be found on our Med-Peds and pediatrics residency websites.

Global Health Track

Director: Amina Alio, PhD

Our Global Health Track (GHT) is designed to provide a broad based didactic curriculum along with up to eight weeks of time over the course of the residency to pursue involvement in Global Health activities. Maximum flexibility is afforded to allow for the development of individual interests.

A project is required to complete participation in the GHT, culminating in a poster, abstract, presentation, or manuscript. The project may be educational in nature, community-based, or research oriented. Examples of recent projects include: a research study evaluating knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among HIV-infected adolescents in South Africa; an evaluation of patterns of alcohol consumption among migrant farm workers in Western New York; teaching neonatal resuscitation at a small hospital in Ghana; conducting a comparison of government supported geriatric care between Japan and the United States. Mentorship will be provided to help design projects, identify overseas opportunities, choose among opportunities, and steer GHT activities towards individual career goals.

The GHT track includes a two-week course in community health followed by Global Health presentations/seminars spread throughout the academic year. Every effort will be made to coordinate didactic activities with clinical schedules. GHT residents will be encouraged to participate in Global Health activities that are sponsored by other departments and schools at the University of Rochester. With successful completion of this track, residents receive "Distinction in Global Health" upon graduation.

POCUS (Point-of-Care Ultrasound) Track

Director: William Novak, MD

We believe that core point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skills are integral to our residents’ future careers and therefore provide foundational POCUS training to all of our residents through a wide variety of experiences across residency training.  

For residents seeking further refinement of POCUS skills and graduation with “Distinction in Point-of-Care Ultrasound,” we also offer a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Track. Components include a deeper dive into more advanced skillsets, participation in a array of ultrasound teaching activities, skills assessment, and opportunities to conduct ultrasound related academic projects.

Medicine in Psychiatry Track

Directors: Telva Olivares, MD and Kirk Harris, MD

The University of Rochester has a long and distinguished history of creative collaboration between the Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine aimed at improving the care of patients. For example, the Biopsychosocial Model was originally described by George Engel, a U of R internist and psychiatrist, in 1977.

University Rochester Internal Medicine residents who complete additional meaningful training and scholarship work in the Department of Psychiatry will be eligible for the “Distinction in Psychiatry, Mental Health and Wellness” at graduation. Residents can choose elective experiences in state-of-the-art integrated medicine-behavioral health units dedicated to treating medical patients with active comorbid psychiatric disease, medical clinics for patients with active psychiatric and/or substance use disorders, and emergency services for patients with active psychiatric illnesses. Residents in this track will also participate in a longitudinal curriculum that complements their medicine residency training, and they can select QI and/or research projects involving the intersections between medicine and psychiatry.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Track

Director: Meghan Train, DO

The internal medicine residency program at the University of Rochester is committed to engaging residents in quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) improvement projects.  Residents are on the front lines at the bedside and are fundamental in finding ways for improvement in patient safety concerns.  All IM residents at the University of Rochester participate in a robust QI/PS curriculum and are involved in population health care improvement efforts and multidisciplinary QI teams supported by the medical center in clinical areas of their interest.

For residents with interest in pursuing additional QI/PS training, we provide an optional Track that will lead to Distinction in QI/PS. The Track provides opportunities for deeper exploration of QI/PS topics, engagement in URMC QI/PS leadership activities and committee meetings (e.g., Root Cause Analysis, Complication Integration Committee, Rapid Response Team Reviews, etc.), faculty mentorship from leaders of URMC’s QI efforts, support for travel to QI conferences, and mentoring and dissemination opportunities for QI scholarship.

Learn more about the Quality Improvement Track

Digital Health and Innovation Track

Director: Heather Reyes, MD, M.Eng.

This track is designed for residents with a background in areas such as computer science, engineering, data science, or information technology. Residents will complete a mentored project and participate in activities with the UR Health Lab, a multidisciplinary collaboration between the medical center and College of Arts, Science, and Engineering, to learn about how technology and data drive the way healthcare is delivered. Topics include telehealth, medical devices, mobile and web applications, electronic health records, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.