Career Development - Internal Medicine | Tulane School of Medicine

What Does Training Look Like?

Internal Medicine training lasts three years. There are several combined residencies, like internal medicine-peds (med-peds), med-neuro, med-psych, which last four or five years. From any of these, there are numerous options to specialize which will require additional fellowship training. This usually means two to three years' training after residency.

Subspecialties

Sub-specialties include adolescent medicine, advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, allergy and immunology, cardiovascular disease, clinical cardiac electrophysiology, critical care medicine, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, hematology, hospice and palliative medicine, hospital medicine, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, nephrology, oncology, pulmonary disease, rheumatology, sleep medicine, sports medicine, and transplant hepatology.

What Does a Typical Workday Look Like?

This varies widely. Clinic-based physicians generally work 8:00-6:00, with some coverage by phone on the weekends. Hospital-based physicians typically work a set schedule, like one week "on" in the hospital, followed by one week "off."

Important Qualities and Traits

Qualities recognized as important to internal medicine include:

Communication, communication, communication!
Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills
Critical thinking and problem solving

Shadowing Opportunities

All Tulane medical students will get some exposure to shadowing Internal Medicine faculty and residents in their Year 2 Clinical Diagnosis course. Additional shadowing can be discussed by contacting Dr. Kristin Bateman.

Research Opportunities

We have over 100 faculty in the department of medicine, and there are research opportunities available in most areas. One way to find out about research in the department and to make some contacts is to attend our research conference. These are held the 3rd Monday of the month at noon in the 7th floor library (room 7001) of the School of Medicine building.

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask.

Specialty Interest Group

The C. Thorpe Ray Society is dedicated to promoting the ideals and interests of the field of Internal Medicine through both social and academic functions. Participation in this organization provides students with additional opportunities to pursue an interest and increase knowledge in the field of Internal Medicine. Group functions also provide students with the opportunity to interact with the Internal Medicine faculty on an informal basis. The Society’s monthly academic meetings cover a broad range of topics that allow for learning and discussion of issues important to Internal Medicine. Through participation, students become more prepared for their clinical experiences in the field of Internal Medicine. The old tradition of the rorning report has taken on new form as part of the Society’s yearlong series of luncheons, round-table discussions, and increasingly, interactive problem solving sessions. Social events hosted by the C. Thorpe Ray Society include the Annual Wine & Cheese party and a Residency Match Panel. The Society also has the honor of presenting the Medicine Clerkship Award to the most outstanding student of each third year Medicine rotation.

Who are the Specialty Academic/Career Advisors for this Specialty?

Dr. Kristin Bateman---specialty advisor

Recommended T3 & T4 Coursework

There are no IM elective opportunities available for T3's, while they complete the core internal medicine clerkship. Within the clerkship, students will do two weeks of a subspecialty and will get to choose between cardiology, renal, gastroenterology, infectious disease, and hematology-oncology. As a T4 who is interested in applying to IM residency, an acting internship (AI) rotation in IM is strongly encouraged. Aside from this rotation, there are over 50 elective choices for internal medicine; choose any that appeal to you. Aside from the AI, elective choice will not affect residency application.

Specialty Statistics

Summary Statistics (from "Charting Outcomes in the Match 2022")

Matched

Measure (n=2,962)

1. Mean number of contiguous ranks	14.2
2. Mean number of distinct specialties ranked	1.0
3. Mean USMLE Step 1 score	237
4. Mean USMLE Step 2 score	249
5. Mean number of research experiences	3.6
6. Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications	6.9
7. Mean number of work experiences	3.3
8. Mean number of volunteer experiences	7.7
9. Percentage who are AOA members	16.0
10. Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding	31.4
11. Percentage who have Ph.D. degree	4.7
12. Percentage who have another graduate degree	18.6

Note: Only U.S. MD seniors who gave consent to use their information in research are included.

Sources. NRMP Data Warehouse; Top 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding in measure 10 is from the NIH website (http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm).

Special Considerations When Applying for Residency

There are no special considerations when applying to this residency.

Important Advice

Applying to Internal Medicine is generally not competitive, provided you apply to a range of programs.

Try to develop a working relationship with one or more IM faculty who can give you feedback on various parts of your ERAS application, including your personal statement and places to apply.

Where Past Tulane Students Have Matched

Alameda Health Sys-Highland Hosp-CA	OAKLAND	CA	2021
B I Deaconess Med Ctr-MA	BOSTON	MA	2020, 2021
Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO	ST LOUIS	MO	2019
Baylor Coll Med‐Houston‐TX	HOUSTON	TX	2020
Boston Univ Med Ctr-MA	BOSTON	MA	2020, 2021, 2023
Brown Univ/Rhode Island Hosp	PROVIDENCE	RI	2021
CA Pacific Med Center	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	2021
Cambridge Health Alliance‐MA	CAMBRIDGE	MA	2020
Cedars‐Sinai Med Ctr‐CA	LOS ANGELES	CA	2020
Cleveland Clinic Fdn‐OH	CLEVELAND	OH	2020
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Med Ctr-NH	LEBANON	NH	2021
Duke Univ Med Ctr-NC	DURHAM	NC	2021; 2022
Emory Univ SOM-GA	ATLANTA	GA	2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
George Washington Univ-DC	WASHINGTON	DC	2022; 2023
Harbor-UCLA Med Ctr-CA	TORRANCE	CA	2023
Henry Ford Hospital‐MI	DETROIT	MI	2020
Hosp of the Univ of PA	PHILADELPHIA	PA	2021
Icahn SOM at Mount Sinai‐NY	NEW YORK	NY	2020
Indiana University SOM	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	2022
ISMMS Mount Sinai Hospital-NY	NEW YORK	NY	2022, 2023
Jackson Memorial Hosp-FL	MIAMI	FL	2019
Johns Hopkins Hosp-MD	BALTIMORE	MD	2022
Johns Hopkins/Bayview‐MD	BALTIMORE	MD	2020
Kaiser Permanente-Oakland-CA	OAKLAND	CA	2021
Kaiser Permanente-SF-CA	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	2019
Kirk Kerkorian SOM at UNLV-NV	LAS VEGAS	NV	2023
Loyola Univ Med Ctr-IL	MAYWOOD	IL	2019
LSU SOM-Baton Rouge-LA	BATON ROUGE	LA	2020, 2022
LSUHSC University Hosps & Clinics-LA	LAFAYETTE	LA	2021, 2023
Massachusetts Gen Hosp	BOSTON	MA	2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Mayo Clinic School of Grad Med Educ‐FL	JACKSONVILLE	FL	2020
MedStar Georgetown Univ Hosp-DC	WASHINGTON	DC	2021
MedStar Union Memorial Hosp-MD	BALTIMORE	MD	2022
Montefiore Med Ctr/Einstein-NY	BRONX	NY	2020, 2022, 2023
Montefiore‐New Rochelle/Einstein‐NY	NEW ROCHELLE	NY	2020
Naval Medical Center	SAN DIEGO	CA	2019
Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA‐IL	CHICAGO	IL	2020
NYP Hosp-Columbia Univ Med Ctr-NY	NEW YORK	NY	2021
NYP Hosp-Weill Cornell Med Ctr-NY	NEW YORK	NY	2019; 2020
NYU Grossman School Of Medicine-NY	NEW YORK	NY	2020; 2021; 2022; 2023
Ochsner Clinic Foundation-LA	NEW ORLEANS	LA	2020; 2022
Ohio State University Med Ctr	COLUMBUS	OH	2021
Olive View-UCLA Med Ctr-CA	SYLMAR	CA	2019; 2020
Oregon Health & Science Univ	PORTLAND	OR	2019
Penn State Hershey Med Ctr-PA	HERSHEY	PA	2021; 2022
Rhode Island Hosp/Brown Univ	PROVIDENCE	RI	2020
Rush University Med Ctr-IL	CHICAGO	IL	2022; 2023
SAUSHEC	SAN ANTONIO	CA	2020
Scripps Clinic/Green Hospital-CA	LA JOLLA	CA	2021
St Louis Univ SOM-MO	ST LOUIS	MO	2019; 2020
St Lukes Hosp-Bethlehem-PA	BETHLEHEM	PA	2022
Temple Univ Hosp-PA	PHILADELPHIA	PA	2019; 2020
Tufts Medical Center‐MA	BOSTON	MA	2020
Tulane Univ SOM-LA	NEW ORLEANS	LA	2019; 2020; 2021; 2022; 2023
U Arizona COM at Tucson	TUCSON	AZ	2019
U Arizona COM-Phoenix	PHOENIX	AZ	2022
U Arizona COM-Tucson	TUCSON	AZ	2022
U Colorado SOM-Denver	AURORA	CO	2019; 2022; 2023
U Maryland Med Ctr	BALTIMORE	MD	2020
U Maryland Mercy Med Ctr	BALTIMORE	MD	2022
U Miami/Jackson Health System-FL	MIAMI	FL	2021; 2023
U Minnesota Med School	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	2020
U New Mexico SOM	ALBUQUERQUE	NM	2022
U North Carolina Hospitals	CHAPEL HILL	NC	2021
U Rochester/Strong Memorial-NY	ROCHESTER	NY	2022
U South Alabama Hospitals	MOBILE	AL	2021; 2022
U Southern California	LOS ANGELES	CA	2020; 2022
U Tennessee Health Sci Ctr-Memphis	MEMPHIS	TN	2022; 2023
U Texas at Austin Dell Medical School	AUSTIN	TX	2022
U Texas Med Branch‐Galveston	GALVESTON	TX	2020
U Texas Med Sch-Houston	HOUSTON	TX	2020; 2022
U Texas Southwestern Med Sch‐Dallas	DALLAS	TX	2020
U Washington Affil Hosps	SEATTLE	WA	2019; 2021
UC Davis Med Ctr-CA	SACRAMENTO	CA	2020; 2023
UC Irvine Med Ctr-CA	ORANGE	CA	2021
UC San Diego Med Ctr-CA	SAN DIEGO	CA	2019; 2021; 2022; 2023
UC San Francisco-CA	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	2019; 2020
UCLA Med Ctr-CA	LOS ANGELES	CA	2019; 2020; 2021; 2022; 2023
UMass Chan - Baystate-MA	SPRINGFIELD	MA	2023
Unity Health			2021
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr-IL	CHICAGO	IL	2021
University of Utah Health	SALT LAKE CITY	UT	2021
University of Virginia	CHARLOTTESVILLE	VA	2019
UT Ascension St Thomas-TN	NASHVILLE	TN	2021
UT St Thomas Hospitals-TN	NASHVILLE	TN	2019
Vanderbilt Univ Med Ctr-TN	NASHVILLE	TN	2021; 2022
Wake Forest Baptist Med Ctr-NC	WINSTON-SALEM	NC	2020; 2023
Yale-New Haven Hosp-CT	NEW HAVEN	CT	2022
Zucker SOM-Northwell NS/LIJ-NY	GREAT NECK	NY	2021