About 80% of patients seen at Mayo Clinic are from Minnesota or one of the adjoining states, and approximately 50% of our internal medicine patients are on a government-assisted health care plan. Rochester has one of the most diverse immigrant populations in the nation, with large concentrations of people from Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Mayo Clinic residents develop expertise in bread-and-butter internal medicine by serving the local community through their continuity clinic and in the hospital setting. Additionally, there are renowned experts in almost every disease at Mayo, which makes this a destination for patients who have previously posed diagnostic or management challenges; however, these patients make up a small percentage of a resident's practice.

The primary purpose of the Internal Medicine Residency is education, and the focus of learning is embedded in the care of patients. Interns and Residents are the primary physicians for their patients. There are no private patients or private attendings at Mayo Clinic.

In the hospital, residents are the primary physicians for their patients and work in teams to develop graduated autonomy. Interns coordinate all aspects of patient care, including managing admissions and discharges, developing and implementing care plans, collaborating with consulting services, and partnering with patients and families in clinical decision-making. The senior medical resident and consultant (the Mayo Clinic term for attending) provide supervision, mentorship, and teaching. During their PGY2 year, residents rotate through a broad range of subspecialty services with increased independence, often working directly with a consultant. PGY2 residents also begin to oversee interns on selected services. By the PGY3 year, residents function as senior residents and sub-consultants, leading the team, supervising junior residents, and serving as educators. Through a model of graduated autonomy, residents develop distinct skills at each stage of training: PGY-1 residents master patient care coordination and systems-based practice, PGY-2 residents build advanced clinical skills and independence, and PGY-3 residents refine their leadership, supervisory, and teaching abilities as they prepare for the transition to independent practice

In the continuity clinic, interns and residents have their own individual panel of patients. As the primary physicians for their patients, interns and residents are responsible for providing longitudinal, comprehensive care for their patients in the outpatient setting. Continuity clinics are organized in "firms" that function as a group practice composed of other residents and a group of dedicated faculty. Our residents feel that they have the ideal balance of autonomy and supervision.

Teaching is a fundamental part of our residency experience. Our comprehensive three-year educator development curriculum combines adult learning theory with progressive teaching, feedback, and supervisory skills, preparing residents to serve as educators in a variety of clinical and educational settings.

PGY-1 residents serve as a primary guide for medical students on the wards, providing day-to-day teaching, bedside instruction, and real-time feedback. PGY-2 residents take on increasing responsibility for supervising interns and helping manage the clinical team. By PGY-3, residents serve as team leaders, overseeing interns and medical students, leading rounds, and guiding clinical decision-making and team workflow. Senior residents also lead morning report with faculty mentorship, refining their abilities to teach, facilitate discussion, and guide clinical reasoning in a supportive learning environment. Residents further develop teaching skills through our longitudinal ultrasound curriculum, where PGY-3 residents lead small-group sessions and provide hands-on instruction to interns. Additional opportunities include dedicated medical education electives, participation in the medical student core curriculum, and community-based teaching.

Some residents choose to rotate outside of Rochester. Some of our most popular away elective rotations are the ABC News elective in New York, the HIV elective in Maricopa County, Arizona, and the IHS elective in Winslow County, Arizona, where residents gain experience working with Native American populations in the Navajo Nation. Residents can also rotate in Hennepin County Medical Center, a safety-net hospital in Minneapolis.

Many of our residents rotate outside the U.S., usually under the auspices of the Mayo International Health Program. This program helps residents bring their talents to underserved areas of the world and learn more about practicing medicine in a resource-limited setting. Scholarships are provided to cover transportation and lodging. Residents have rotated to a large number of regions worldwide.

Other popular elective sites are our Mayo campuses in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jacksonville, Florida, where a variety of rotations are available. Transportation, lodging, and licensure are provided. For those looking to explore community practices, a variety of rotational experiences also are available in smaller communities throughout the Midwest region within Mayo Clinic Health System.