Program Description
Why our program?
At UTRGV-Knapp Internal Medicine Residency program, we provide a friendly and nurturing environment where our residents learn competent and compassionate medical care. Our mission is to train physicians of diverse experiences and talents to become agents of change and enabling our graduates to transform their communities by providing compassionate, comprehensive, evidence-based care for patients of all needs and backgrounds in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.
Our program goals are to strike the ideal individualized balance of clinical autonomy and structured learning for each resident, promote the development of academic medicine within the community, nurture residents to become lifelong learners, and to become actively engaged with the community that we serve.
We are proud to say that we guide and nurture our residents to pursue their passion and interests. Our first graduating class of 2022 went on to pursue fellowships in cardiology, pulmonary critical care, nephrology, geriatrics, and rheumatology. Some graduates went on to pursue careers in primary care and hospital medicine.
Core Rotations
Residents have core rotation experiences in the following: neurology, infectious disease, endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, rheumatology, hematology/oncology, cardiology, hospital medicine. For electives, experiences include but are not limited to: orthopedic sports medicine, dermatology, radiology, procedures, POCUS, research, and office ophthalmology.
Rotation Schedule
Rotations are scheduled in blocks of 2-4 weeks, with half days per week for outpatient clinic.
Sample PGY-1 Resident Block Schedule:
| July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wards A | ICU | GI / Night Float | Wards B | ICU | Cardiology / Nephrology |
| Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June |
| Wards A | Nephrology / Admissions | Night float / Wards A | ICU | Wards B | Admissions / Float night |
Inpatient Medicine
Residents rotate in the telemetry or medical/surgical floor several months during their training. During this time, residents will evaluate and treat adults hospitalized with acute medical conditions. Residents will participate in the evaluation of a diversity of patients as part of a team of residents and medical students under the supervision of an internal medicine faculty member.
Critical Care
During critical care rotation, residents take care of patients admitted or transferred to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) service. Residents work as a team along with pulmonary critical care attending, medical students, and nurses to care for patients afflicted with respiratory failure, cardiogenic shock, septic shock, stroke, and other typical ICU medical problems. They also become familiar with management of ventilators and hemodynamic monitoring and gain experience in some invasive procedures such as insertion of central lines, arterial lines, and intubations.
Outpatient Medicine/Community Medicine
We provide outpatient experience in several rotations including a clinic half-day every week. During clinic half-day, residents experience continuity care of patients they will treat during the three years of their training. In addition to their clinic half-day, residents experience a full month of outpatient rotation where they see patients at the UTRGV IM clinic as well as the AHEC clinic. AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) is a program committed to reducing the significant shortage of primary health care providers in rural and medically underserved communities in the Rio Grande Valley. Our residents really enjoy serving our community and gain valuable knowledge and experience during this rotation.
Quality Improvement/Patient Safety
Every year residents are introduced to QI/PS during their intern bootcamp in July, where we dedicate an entire week to QI/PS lectures and workshop. Faculty work with residents and help them develop a QI project with their clinic cohort. They work on this project during the academic year and are expected to present it at local, regional, or national conferences. In addition, UTRGV GME offers a patient safety workshop during resident orientation.
Research
Residents will develop a project for scholarly activity. They will meet with faculty to discuss their research goals for residency. For some, this rotation will be used to form the basis of a longitudinal research endeavor that spans their residency while other residents with a primarily clinical focus may choose a more limited project such as presenting a case report at a conference. Rotations are available each year.
POCUS
With the evolution of modern medicine and the point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) becoming a key element in daily medical assessment and evaluation, our program has taken initiatives to make POCUS more accessible to our residents. We provide POCUS training to our residents as well as give residents access to butterfly ultrasound that they can carry and use throughout the hospital if necessary.
Airway training
We not only focus on enhancing our residents’ medical knowledge, but we also strive to teach and enhance their procedural skills. As part of our comprehensive training, we provide airway training classes presented by our anesthesiology team at Knapp medical center. Residents also have the opportunity to round in the operating room with anesthesiologists and CRNAs.
Medical students
We believe that teaching is a lifelong journey for all physicians. Here at UTRGV-Knapp internal medicine residency program, our residents have the opportunity to work alongside and teach medical students.
UT Health Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic
The UT health internal medicine clinic is located right next to Knapp medical center. In our clinic, residents provide a variety of primary care services to our community. Having the advantage of proximity to Knapp medical center, our residents have the opportunity to follow up with their patients once they are discharged from hospital, hence promoting a culture of patient-oriented continuity of care. Also, they can refer any acutely ill patient who presents to the clinic to the emergency department directly if they require prompt inpatient care.
Community engagement
At UTRGV-Knapp Internal Medicine Residency program, we engage with our community beyond the inpatient and outpatient settings. Our residents and faculty participate in giving lectures to the community. Our residents have given community lectures at Weslaco Regional Rehabilitation hospital, Weslaco Rotary Club, and Weslaco First Responders/Paramedics. We cover topics that are of importance to our community including heart health, Kidney health, stroke, men’s health, and multiple lectures regarding COVID-19 and its health effects.