Over the three years of categorical residency, more than 800 didactic lectures are presented to internal medicine residents. A strong mentorship network allows residents of all levels to lead many of these teachings, including interesting case presentations, morning reports, journal clubs, quality improvement efforts, and morbidity and mortality conferences. 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. Core lectures at noon conferences are supplemented by specialty-focused lecture series while on each subspecialty service. Conferences are recorded and available asynchronously for residents wishing to review key content from experts. Food is provided at every conference, and sessions are broadcast to various locations throughout the medical center, allowing residents to attend regardless of their rotation or clinical assignment. 

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

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.
• Using surveys from orientation, associate program directors and program coordinators identify specialty-specific research mentors who are the best fit for residents.

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 preparation

To prepare for the American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination, all categorical residents receive a complimentary online copy of the Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP) with practice questions and access to our Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Board Review material. Residents also enjoy an extensive collection of internal online resources including noon conference recordings and subspecialty-specific content prepared by Mayo Clinic experts to support asynchronous learning and targeted exam preparation. As evidenced by our three-year pass rate of 98%, 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 (original research/case reports). 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, within policy, where residents have their work accepted, and coverage is arranged so that vacation days need not be used.