Education & Training

Part of our mission is to prepare the next generation of clinicians to excel in an evolving and increasingly complex health care system. We achieve this through our work in the following programs.

Internal Medicine Residency Program

General Medicine faculty and Strong Internal Medicine are instrumental in the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, through clinical training in primary care and ambulatory medicine, residency program leadership, curriculum development, and classroom education.

Clinical Training in Primary Care & Ambulatory Medicine

As part of Strong Internal Medicine’s multi-disciplinary, team-based care model, Internal Medicine residents build their competencies in providing continuing primary care to their own panel of patients. Over their three years in the program, residents spend four half days in clinic when on their Ambulatory block. General Medicine faculty provide clinical oversight, precepting, education, and mentoring as resident team leaders. In addition, we have an integrated Psychology faculty member who coaches residents on their patient communication skills through direct observation, assessment, and feedback.

Through this overall experience, residents are prepared to excel in an increasingly complex and evolving healthcare environment. They also come to appreciate the impact that high quality, team-based, population health-driven primary care has on patients, especially the underserved and vulnerable in our community. 

Read more about ambulatory rotations in the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Residency Program Leadership

Our General Medicine faculty member, Dr. Catherine Gracey, serves as Associate Residency Program Director for Ambulatory Education and directs the Primary Care Program. She chairs the residency program’s Clinical Competency Committee and directs the Medical Educator Pathway. In addition, she develops curriculum for the Ambulatory Block Education Thursdays.

Classroom Education & Curriculum Development 

Our General Medicine faculty develop and lead the four-hour resident education sessions that are held weekly on a wide variety of outpatient topics, like evidence-based medicine, ambulatory morning report, case-based discussion of outpatient problems and training in motivational interviewing, agenda setting and conflict resolution. 

In addition, our faculty members are instrumental in developing key curriculums for the program. For example:

• Evidence Based Medicine. Developed and led by Dr. Melissa Mroz, the EBM curriculum teaches residents to critically review medical literature to stay current with the latest in medical science, and choose which innovations to incorporate into daily care of patients.
• Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Curriculum. Developed and led by Dr. Mahala Schlagman, the curriculum helps residents to understand, identify, and address SDH.
• Quality Improvement & Patient Safety. Led by Dr. Mary DeSain, the QI curriculum teaches all of our residents basic and advanced QI and patient safety knowledge and skills. In addition, senior residents all participate in ongoing multidisciplinary QI teams working on real-world QI projects in areas of their choosing. 

The General Medicine faculty were also instrumental in the development of the block model of resident scheduling and the Primary Care Program of the residency program.

Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 

Strong Internal Medicine is a host site for the UR Medicine Department of Psychiatry’s Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship in Integrated Care. Through this, we help prepare psychologists for clinical and academic roles in integrated primary care. Our Psychologist, Dr. Andrea Garroway, precepts and mentors our fellow who, as a key member of SIM’s health care team, helps achieve optimal behavioral health outcomes for our patients. Our fellow also contributes to Internal Medicine resident education via traditional didactic teaching and novel application of skills through clinical communication coaching.

Clinical Pharmacy Residency Program

Strong Internal Medicine is a host site for UR Medicine’s PGY1 Community Pharmacy Residency Program. Our Clinical Pharmacist, Amber Crowley, precepts PGY1 Community Pharmacy residents who, as a key member of SIM’s health care team, help achieve optimal drug therapy outcomes for our patients through the implementation of comprehensive medication management.

Advanced Practice Provider Student Rotations

Strong Internal Medicine is a host site for advanced practice provider (NP/PA) student clinical rotations. Through this experience, APP students have the opportunity to be precepted by our experienced team of APPs who care for patients with complicated health and social circumstances oftentimes not seen in the average primary care office.