Over the three years of categorical residency, more than 800 didactic lectures are presented to internal medicine residents. The didactic portion of Mayo Clinic's Internal Medicine Residency includes:

• Core curriculum conferences
• Morbidity & Mortality conferences
• Primary care conferences
• Internal Medicine Grand Rounds
• Clinical Decision-Making Journal Club
• Systems-based practice and quality improvement conferences
• Morning report (inpatient and outpatient)
• Evidence-based medicine didactic conferences
• Social Determinants of Health core curriculum

A comprehensive three-year didactic core curriculum addresses both inpatient and outpatient medicine. General core lectures over noon are supplemented by a lecture series while on each subspecialty service. Food is provided every day, and conferences are telecast to multiple locations throughout the medical center so you can attend regardless of rotation or assignment.

In addition, more than 150 institutional clinical and research conferences are held each week.

Enhancing Learning in Medicine (ELM) rotation

One of the visions of the Internal Medicine Residency is to set a national standard of excellence for faculty development in clinical teaching in line with the mission to provide the best clinical training for our residents in the Mayo Model of Care. Over our three-year teaching curriculum, you will be mentored in developing skills in clinical teaching during the Enhancing Learning in Medicine (ELM) rotation.

The goals of this faculty development curriculum are to:

• Enhance versatility in clinical teaching
• Provide education frameworks to analyze clinical teaching in the context of adult learning theory
• Provide a forum for collegial exchange

Advisers and mentors

The program features a three-tiered mentorship network:

• Associate program directors serve as your longitudinal career adviser, providing career guidance and personal support during your training.
• An assigned core faculty within your primary care clinic provides formative feedback and skill building advice for your longitudinal clinical performance.
• Interns are paired with senior residents who serve as peer mentors to help transition to residency.

Clinician Investigator Training Program

The Clinician Investigator Training Program is an integrated, comprehensive educational experience for trainees interested in pursuing a research-based career within a robust clinical practice. It includes two years of funded research with a Mayo Clinic mentor in a lab of your choosing.

There are three clinician investigator positions available for each incoming internal medicine class of 52 residents. These individuals match into the Internal Medicine Categorical Clinical Investigator (CI) Residency (1328140C1). They are appointed to the Internal Medicine Residency and then are able to select the internal medicine subspecialty fellowship of choice.

Two additional Clinician Investigator Training Program positions are selected during the PGY-2 year.

We encourage those who are interviewing for the CI program to inform the Internal Medicine Residency of their subspecialties of interest; this notification will allow us to make arrangements to meet with the appropriate fellowship program director and potential future research mentors on the second day of interviews.

Clinical and translational research training

Mayo Clinic provides a variety of services to all Mayo investigators and study teams. Learn more about opportunities in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS).

Board reviews

To prepare for the American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination, all categorical residents receive a complimentary copy of the Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP) and access to an extensive collection of online resources. Webcasts for noon-conferences are available via the residency webpage. As evidenced by our three-year pass rate of 99%, our residents feel well-prepared when taking their ABIM examination.

Resident scholarship program

All residents participate in at least one scholarly project during the Internal Medicine Residency, ranging from basic science research to more clinically oriented studies, including case reports, health services research, quality improvement, or medical education research.

Mayo residents typically complete several scholarly projects during their training, resulting in publications and national presentations (5.2 average manuscripts per trainee at graduation).

Some of the unique opportunities for scholarship include Mayo Clinic's unified medical record system — available to residents for project assistance — and the Department of Health Sciences Research, which oversees the Rochester Epidemiology Project. The Rochester Epidemiology Project uses a computer program to retrieve patient records according to diagnoses. This is the longest continuously funded NIH study.

You’re encouraged to submit papers and abstracts to scientific societies. Mayo provides travel, time off, and expense reimbursement for presentations and abstracts accepted at regional and national meetings. Travel, per diem costs, and registration are provided to most meetings where residents have their work accepted, and coverage is arranged so that vacation days need not be used.

More residents from Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester have received first-place awards at the American College of Physicians National Abstracts Competition each year than have residents from any other training program.