Program Curriculum

At CPMC, we train outstanding and compassionate clinicians, preparing them for successful careers in primary care, hospital medicine, and subspecialty fellowships. Our residents learn through serving the diverse and medically complex patients of San Francisco, California.

Categorical Interns and Residents follow an X+Y schedule. Residents will spend 4 weeks inpatient followed by 2 weeks of outpatient clinic or elective. Without continuity clinic duties, preliminary interns spend more time honing their clinical skills in the hospital and have more elective rotations to explore their varied interests.

See below for a schedule breakdown.

Resident Year 1 – Categorical

• Inpatient Medicine Wards – 12-14 weeks
• Cardiology – 2-4 weeks
• ICU – 4 weeks
• Night rotations – 6-8 weeks
• Outpatient Primary Care Medicine – 8 weeks
• Emergency Medicine – 4 weeks
• Elective – 6 weeks
• Geriatrics Selective – 2 weeks
• Palliative Care Selective – 2 weeks
• Vacation – 4 weeks
   

Resident Year 1 – Preliminary

• Inpatient Medicine Wards – 18-20 weeks
• ICU – 2-4 weeks (depending on specialty)
• Night rotations – 8-10 weeks
• Emergency Medicine – 4 weeks (anesthesia)
• Outpatient Primary Care – none
• Elective – 16-18 weeks
• Vacation – 4 weeks
   

Resident Year 2

• Inpatient Medicine Wards – 12 weeks
• Cardiology – 4 weeks
• ICU – 4 - 6 weeks
• Night Float – 2-4 weeks
• Outpatient Primary Care Medicine – 10 weeks
• Elective or other selective – 6 - 8 weeks
• Stroke/Neurology Selective – 2 weeks
• Nephrology Selective – 2 weeks
• Swing Rotation – 4 weeks
• Hospitalist Rotation – 2-4 weeks
• Vacation – 1 month (two 2-week blocks)
   

Resident Year 3

• Inpatient Medicine Wards –  4 - 8 weeks
• Cardiology – 2 - 4 weeks
• ICU – 4 - 8 weeks
• Night Float – 4 - 8 weeks
• Outpatient Primary Care Medicine – 10 weeks
• Elective or other selective – 6 - 10 weeks
• Geriatrics Selective – 2 weeks
• Swing Rotation – 4 weeks  
• Hospitalist Rotation – 2-4 weeks  
• Vacation – 1 month (two 2-week blocks)

Ambulatory Primary Care curriculum

We offer an outpatient curriculum where categorical residents follow their own patient panel from day 1 of internship. Our clinic is located in the heart of the Pacific Heights neighborhood in San Francisco. It serves a diverse patient population covered through Medicare, Medi-Cal, Private insurers, and North East Medical Services (NEMS) (a local non-profit insurance providing insurance to underserved populations of the Bay Area).

The Ambulatory Primary Care rotation provides a good balance between clinical medicine and didactics. Here is an example of a resident's schedule:

Didactics on Ambulatory Primary Care:

• Tuesday “Core Curriculum” – 2-hour didactic sessions on core ambulatory topics including addiction medicine, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, pre-op management, type 2 diabetes, vaccinations, etc.
• Wednesday “Ambulatory Morning Report” – Resident-led presentations related to interesting outpatient clinical cases.
• Thursday “Communications” – A time to reflect and debrief about difficult situations/patient cases in small groups.
• Friday “Evidence-Based Medicine” – A small group session to discuss how to analyze journal articles, review biostatistics, and critique study design.
• Daily "Pre-Clinic Talk" from 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm on core ambulatory topics based on the Yale Outpatient Curriculum.