---
title: "Curriculum at CPMC Internal Medicine Residency at Sutter Health"
description: "CPMC Internal Medicine Residency Curriculum offers hands-on training and emphasizes patient safety."
url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/curriculum"
---
1. [Home](https://www.sutterhealth.org/) /
2. [Education](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education) /
3. [Graduate Medical Education](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme) /
4. [Residencies](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies) /
5. [Internal Medicine, San Francisco](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine) /
6. Curriculum
# Program Curriculum
**Section menu**
- [Internal Medicine, San Francisco](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine "Internal Medicine, San Francisco")
- [About the Program](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/about "About the Program")
- [Curriculum](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/curriculum "Curriculum")
- [Didactics](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/didactic-activities "Didactics")
- [Faculty](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/faculty "Faculty")
- [FAQs](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/faqs "FAQs")
- [Graduates](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/alumni "Graduates")
- [How to Apply](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/how-to-apply "How to Apply")
- [Message From our Program Director](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/message-from-program-director "Message From our Program Director")
- [Research and Scholarly Activities](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/research-opportunities "Research and Scholarly Activities")
- [Residents](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/meet-our-residents "Residents")
- [Testimonials](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/resident-testimonials "Testimonials")
- [Internal Medicine, San Francisco](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine "Internal Medicine, San Francisco")
- [About the Program](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/about "About the Program")
- [Curriculum](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/curriculum "Curriculum")
- [Didactics](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/didactic-activities "Didactics")
- [Faculty](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/faculty "Faculty")
- [FAQs](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/faqs "FAQs")
- [Graduates](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/alumni "Graduates")
- [How to Apply](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/how-to-apply "How to Apply")
- [Message From our Program Director](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/message-from-program-director "Message From our Program Director")
- [Research and Scholarly Activities](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/research-opportunities "Research and Scholarly Activities")
- [Residents](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/meet-our-residents "Residents")
- [Testimonials](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/residencies/cpmc-internal-medicine/resident-testimonials "Testimonials")
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 weeks
- **Cardiology** – 2 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** – 12 - 16 weeks
- **ICU (depending on specialty)** – 4 weeks
- **Night rotations** – 8 - 10 weeks
- **Cardiology** – 2 weeks
- **Emergency Medicine (anesthesia)** – 4 weeks
- **Outpatient Primary Care** – none
- **Elective** – 16 weeks
- **Vacation** – 4 weeks
## Resident Year 2
- **Inpatient Medicine Wards** – 8 - 12 weeks
- **Cardiology** – 4 weeks
- **ICU** – 4 - 6 weeks
- **Night Float** – 4 weeks
- **Outpatient Primary Care** – 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 - 6 weeks
- **Cardiology** – 2 - 4 weeks
- **ICU** – 4 - 6 weeks
- **Night Float** – 4 - 6 weeks
- **Outpatient Primary Care** – 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:
| **Time** | **MONDAY** | **TUESDAY** | **WEDNESDAY** | **THURSDAY** | **FRIDAY** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **AM** | HIV Medicine | 8:00 -10:00 am: Core Curriculum
ADMIN TIME | 8:30-9:30 am: Ambulatory Morning Report
Continuity Clinic | Continuity Clinic | 8:00 - 10:00 am: Evidence-Based Medicine
Continuity Clinic |
| **PM** | Cardiology Clinic | Continuity Clinic | Continuity Clinic | 1:00 - 2:00 pm: Communication
SF Free Clinic | ADMIN TIME |
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.
### Selectives and Electives
**What are Selectives?**
Selectives are rotations that we require our categorical residents to complete prior to graduating and include Geriatrics, Inpatient and Outpatient Palliative Care, Stroke Neurology, and Outpatient Hepatology.
Non-required, but highly recommended Selectives our residents rotate through include Inpatient Nephrology, Outpatient Endocrinology, and Inpatient Infectious Disease.
**What Electives do we offer at CPMC**
- Ambulatory Medicine Electives including primary care electives at Sutter ambulatory clinics (SPMF), Palo Alto Medical Foundation clinics (PAMF), HIV Medicine, San Francisco Free Clinic, and Clinic by the Bay,
- Allergy Medicine outpatient clinic
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology (inpatient consult or outpatient clinic) or subspecialty including
- Electrophysiology, Advanced Heart Failure, Echocardiogram
- Dermatology outpatient clinic
- Endocrinology (inpatient consult or outpatient)
- Evidence Based Medicine Elective
- Gastroenterology (inpatient consult or outpatient including motility if of interest)
- Gynecology outpatient clinic
- Hematology/Oncology (inpatient consult or outpatient clinic)
- Hepatology (inpatient consult or outpatient clinic)
- Hospitalist Elective
- Infectious Disease Consult service
- Medical BioEthics
- Medical Informatics
- Neurology (inpatient consult or outpatient clinic) including stroke, neurocritical care, and neuromuscular
- Ophthalmology outpatient clinic
- Palliative Care consult service
- Pathology
- Procedure Elective
- Pulmonary Medicine (inpatient consult or outpatient clinic)
- Quality Improvement Elective
- Radiology
- Research Elective
- Rheumatology clinic Elective
- Sports Medicine or Orthopedics clinic
**Global Health Elective: Uganda**
Through the generosity of Dr. Charles Morris (a cardiologist at CPMC) and Dr. Scott Kellerman, we are excited to offer the opportunity for a 2-3 week global health elective at the Bwindi Community Hospital near the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the southwestern corner of Uganda (near Buhoma, Uganda).
The goals and the particulars of the elective are flexible to the resident’s interests as there are opportunities to participate in inpatient medicine, a busy internal medicine clinic (with a variety of health issues include tropical medicine, HIV, etc), participate in community outreach, and surgeries, in addition to participating in teaching at the nursing hospital, to the medical staff and to their health trainees.
The Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) is a private, not-for-profit hospital that was founded by U.S missionaries Dr. Scott and his wife Carol Kellerman in 2003 that began as an outreach clinic for the Batwa pygmies. The clinic became a 155-bed hospital, in addition to the Uganda Nursing School and Uganda College of Health Sciences Bwindi to help boost a depleted healthcare workforce.
BCH is currently staffed by a team of approximately 121 people. This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, other health workers and support staff. Roughly 70% of the employees are from within the catchment area and 30% are from other parts of Uganda. Bwindi Community Hospital cares for more than 120,000 people living in the southwestern corner of Uganda. They offer a wide number of services that include both outpatient and inpatient care, maternal care, pediatrics, mental health, dental care, eye care, and emergency services.
If you choose to do this elective while at CPMC, schedulers and administration will work with you to make the rotation fit into your schedule. Housing is provided at the Bwindi Community Hospital Guest House, and transportation will be funded for you. This is an excellent experience that has been exceptionally rewarding for residents in the past.
[Read Dr. Bamberger testimony for this elective.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/education/gme/cpmc-internal-medicine/resident-testimonials#global-health)
### Living in San Francisco
There’s never a dull moment in San Francisco, a national hub for culture, dining, outdoor activities, local events, theater and parades. Experience the mountains, beach, and city in one iconic place that’s an easy drive away from wine country or skiing.
[Get to Know the Area](https://www.visitcalifornia.com/places-to-visit/san-francisco/)
### Contact Us
Program Coordinators
Katie Say Cheng
Program Director
Maggie So, M.D., FACP
[MedEd@sutterhealth.org](mailto:MedEd@sutterhealth.org)
Follow us on Instagram [@cpmcimresidency](https://www.instagram.com/cpmcimresidency/)
[Get In Touch](mailto:MedEd@sutterhealth.org)
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