Curriculum

Clinical Experience

Our program offers a broad range of clinical experiences across Banner Health and affiliated community sites, giving residents a well-rounded education and a deeper understanding of the diverse healthcare systems that serve our patients. Through a patient-centered, team-based care model, residents have the opportunity to follow patients across care settings and transitions, reinforcing continuity and comprehensive care.

Our training is designed to prepare residents for fulfilling, sustainable careers – whether in primary care, hospital medicine, or subspecialties – by offering robust and diverse clinical experiences that emphasize both depth and breadth of internal medicine practice.

We use a 4+4 block system, with 12 rotations each academic year. This model clearly separates inpatient and ambulatory time, reducing competing demands and allowing residents to be fully present in each setting. It also supports continuity, wellness, and focused learning.

Key features of our clinical training model include:

  • Balanced rotation schedule: Call-intensive rotations (e.g., inpatient wards, ICU, Transitions) alternate with non-call rotations (e.g., cardiology, geriatrics, neurology, ambulatory, community medicine, electives) to help minimize fatigue and promote recovery
  • Continuity Clinic: residents attend continuity clinic one full day per week during non-call blocks, maintaining consistent relationships with their panel of patients
  • Team-Based Coverage: Each resident is paired with a practice partner and supported by the larger HOUSE team to ensure seamless care coverage when team members are on inpatient service
  • Progressive Autonomy: The rotation structure is intentionally sequenced to promote increasing levels of responsibility and independence, based on resident competency and readiness
  • Integrated Learning Environments: Rotations are structured to optimize education, minimize unnecessary transitions, and ensure alignment with ACGME milestones

Below is a breakdown of the number of months spent in each rotation across the three years of residency.

Rotation Breakdown by PGY Year
  PGY-1 PGY-2 PGY-3
Inpatient Medicine 4 months 3 months 3 months
ICU 1 month 1 month 1 month
Transitions 1 month 1 month  
Ambulatory 1 month 1 month 1 month
Community Medicine 1 month    
Population Health   1 month 1 month
Electives 3 months 2 months 2 months
Individualized Education Experiences 1 month 2 months 4 months
Continuity Clinic Schedule
Month Track A Track B
July No Clinic Clinic *
August Clinic * No Clinic
September No Clinic Clinic *
October Clinic * No Clinic
November No Clinic Clinic *
December Clinic * No Clinic
January No Clinic Clinic *
February Clinic * No Clinic
March No Clinic Clinic *
April Clinic * No Clinic
May No Clinic Clinic *
June Clinic * No Clinic

* months with continuity clinic. These months are eligible to use vacation days
(Links to PGY1, PGY2, PGY3 sample schedules and Rotation Schedule Details)

Schedule Details
Rotation TeamComposition Schedule
Inpatient Wards 2 Interns
1 Senior
1 Attending
  • Most weekdays are 7:00am – 7:00pm. New patients are accepted nearly every day, depending on team capacity. Teams may sign out as early as 3:00pm on weekends and holidays if they are not on call and all patient care is completed.
  • Each team does approximately one week per month of night float (7:00pm – 7:00am).
  • When one member of the team is off, the other team members cover.
ICU 2 Interns
1 Senior
1 Attending
  • Days are 7:00am – 7:00pm. New patients are accepted nearly every day, depending on team capacity
  • Residents do not cover nights in the ICU
Community Medicine

Community Medicine provides residents with hands-on clinical experience in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other organizations dedicated to serving underserved and vulnerable populations. The curriculum emphasizes the impact of social determinants of health, structural barriers to care, and the importance of culturally responsive care delivery. Residents have the opportunity to:

  • Provide care in resource-limited settings
  • Collaborate with interprofessional teams
  • Participate in community outreach or service projects
  • Partner with local organizations to address health inequities
Transitions

Transitions is an opportunity to understand the continuum of care by rotating in clinical environments that fall between transitional inpatient hospitalization and outpatient care. During this rotation, residents spend time in the Emergency Department, Observation Unit, skilled nursing facilities, acute rehabilitation centers, and a dedicated transitions clinic.

These settings represent vulnerable junctures in the patient journey – places where clinical decisions, resource utilization, and care coordination significantly influence outcomes but are often less visible during residency training. In Transitions, residents will gain firsthand insight into:

  • Levels of care and criteria for transitions between settings
  • Discharge planning complexities and post-acute care needs
  • Functional status assessment and rehabilitation potential
  • Communication across care teams and care settings
Population Health

Population Health equips residents with the knowledge and tools to improve health outcomes at the patient and community level. Residents explore how to improve care to promote prevention, manage chronic disease, and reduce disparities. Key components include:

  • Analyzing population-level data from your continuity clinic patient panel
  • Identifying trends in care gaps or health inequities
  • Designing and implementing targeted interventions that help improve the health of our patients
Individualized Educational Experiences

We believe internal medicine residency should support diverse career paths and individual passions. The Individualized Educational Experiences (IEEs) are a flexible component of the curriculum that allow residents to design elective rotations aligned with their career goals and personal interests.

Example IEEs by Career Interest Examples
Primary Care
  • Community health center rotation
  • Women’s health
  • Behavioral health integration
  • Geriatrics and complex care management
  • Population health/QI research to example needs of your patient panel to close care gaps
Hospital Medicine
  • Direct-care hospitalist rotation
  • Junior attending on teaching service
  • Observation medicine
  • Leadership training (hospital operations, committee participation)
  • Patient safety and quality improvement elective
Subspecialty Fellowship
  • Advanced subspecialty rotation
  • Focused outpatient subspecialty clinics
  • Research elective
  • Palliative care and symptom management
  • Medical education elective (teaching subspecialty content)
Academic Medicine/Medical Education
  • Curriculum design and development project
  • Teaching elective
  • Medical education research project
  • Junior attending on teaching service
  • Simulation and skills-based education
Health Policy, Advocacy, & Administration
  • Health administration and clinical operations
  • Health policy experience with local/state organizations
  • Advocacy projects addressing health equity or access to care
  • Quality and safety project
  • Public health agency rotation

The example rotations provided are intended only to illustrate the range of possibilities and inspire residents to think creatively about their own paths. They are not exhaustive, prescriptive, or guaranteed offerings.

IEEs are designed and developed in close collaboration with faculty to help guide the planning process, connect residents with the right opportunities, and ensure the experience is both educational and personally meaningful. This partnership ensures that every IEE aligns with program requirements while also supporting the resident’s individual career aspirations, professional identify formation, and long-term growth.

By pairing flexibility with thoughtful mentorship, IEEs become a powerful way for residents to share their own training journey and prepare for the next stage of their careers.

Electives

We offer a diverse range of electives, including:

  • Cardiology
  • Nephrology
  • Infectious disease
  • Gastroenterology
  • Heme/oncology
  • Neurology
  • Pulmonology
  • Rheumatology
  • Endocrinology
  • Toxicology
  • Dermatology
  • Sports medicine
  • Allergy/Immunology
  • Obesity Medicine

As a new training program, we encourage residents to create electives that are not yet in place to meet their career goals and enhance their learning experience.

Sample Schedules
PGY-1
July August September October November December
Inpatient Wards Elective Inpatient Wards Ambulatory Inpatient Wards Elective
January February March April May June
ICU Community Medicine Transitions Elective Inpatient Wards Individualized Experience
PGY-2
July August September October November December
Inpatient Wards Elective ICU Population Health Transitions Individualized Experience
January February March April May June
Ambulatory Elective Inpatient Wards Individualized Experience Inpatient Wards Community Medicine
PGY-3
July August September October November December
ICU Individualized Experience Inpatient Wards Elective Inpatient Wards Ambulatory
January February March April May June
Individualized Experience Elective Population Health Individualized Experience Inpatient Wards Individualized Experience
Didactics

Our clinical and didactic education incorporates the latest evidence-based medicine into all that we do. Didactics are designed to supplement our robust clinical experience in preparing our residents for practicing independently and passing the board exam. 

  • Academic Half Day:
    Academic Half Day is a cornerstone of our residency’s educational experience – a protected weekly block of time dedicated to deepening clinical knowledge, honing critical thinking skills, and fostering collaborative learning. Held every Tuesday afternoon, AHD brings together all residents (with the exception of a few excused rotations) for an immersive and energizing learning environment.

    Sessions are led by expert faculty and interdisciplinary leaders and feature:
    • Interactive, case-based discussions that mirror real clinical scenarios
    • High-yield pre-readings to maximize participation and retention
    • Board-style questions woven into teaching to build exam readiness
    • Peer learning and faculty mentorship in a supportive setting

We believe learning should be active, engaging, and relevant. AHD isn’t just about acquiring facts – it’s about developing the clinical reasoning, teamwork, and professional identity that shape outstanding internists.

  • Noon Conference:
    Noon conference is held three times a week and dedicated to teaching topics in internal medicine, subspecialties, wellness, and humanity in medicine. These sessions may include resident-led clinical cases with facilitation of clinical reasoning and medical-decision making, interdisciplinary team discussions, monthly board review, journal club, or other ideas from our residents that enhance their engagement and learning. 
     
  • University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
     
  • Patient Safety and Quality Improvement:
    Longitudinal patient safety education designed to prepare our residents to be active contributors to a culture of safety and continuous improvement. Through a combination of didactic sessions, experiential learning, and team-based projects, residents gain the knowledge and skills needed to identify system vulnerabilities, analyze errors, and implement evidence-based solutions. 

    Core components include:
    • Foundations of patient safety science and QI methodology
    • Hands-on training in root cause analysis, PDSA cycles, and process mapping
    • Participation in interdisciplinary QI initiatives within the hospital system
    • Development and presentation of a resident-led QI project
       
  • Ambulatory Half Day
    Weekly didactics during the Ambulatory rotation designed to enhance our resident’s understanding of primary care management and systems-based practice.
Simulation

The Banner Simulation Medical Center – Mesa is a virtual hospital that is an invaluable resource in training at Banner Health. At 55,000 square feet, this is one of the largest simulation centers of its kind in the world, and has many features including:

  • Intensive care unit
  • Emergency Department
  • Medical Surgical unit
  • High-fidelity mannequins to enhance the “real world” feel of our simulation sessions
  • Procedure training mannequins for all internal medicine procedures

Our residents will have dedicated multimodal simulation sessions monthly to reinforce medical knowledge, patient care, and communication skills. 

Board Prep Resources

We use multiple assessments throughout training to determine individual resident preparedness for independent practice and success in passing the ABIM boards, and our leadership team is ready to support residents with developing individualized study plans.

  • AMBOSS Q-bank for non-call rotations – all residents will receive access to AMBOSS including a robust question bank for USMLE/COMLEX 3 as well as ABIM preparation. Residents will complete readings and be assigned questions that correspond to their rotation, allowing a timely connection between practical patient care and test preparation strategy
  • Monthly Board Review – all residents will have the opportunity to participate in a monthly board review session during Noon Conference. These sessions focus not only on medical knowledge but also on the strategies to help overcome “trick questions” or other pitfalls
  • Academic Half Day – Each week during Academic Half Day (AHD), residents will start and end the session with a few board-style questions based on the weekly objectives and reading. At the end of every month, residents will take a test to assess knowledge gained during that month’s topics; this is followed by a corresponding test review
  • Annual In-Training Exam (ITE) – all residents take the ACPs ITE every year as an opportunity to simulate a board exam. In conjunction with AMBOSS question analytics, our program is able to track test-taking skills, acquisition of medical knowledge, and tailor learning plans to address areas of weakness
  • Mock ABIM Exam – all PGY2 and PGY3 will take a mock ABIM exam at the end of the year which will be followed by a review and strategy session
Resident as Educator/Teachers

Teaching is a core responsibility – and privilege – of internal medicine residents. Our residents play an essential role in educating medical students and, as upper-levels, in mentoring and teaching interns. We recognize that many residents are passionate about teaching and may even be considering a career in academic medicine. Our program is designed to support and develop these skills in all residents, with additional opportunities for those who wish to pursue advanced training in medical education

Throughout their three years of training, all residents receive structured preparation for their roles as clinical educators. These experiences are embedded across the curriculum and include:

  • Intern Orientation: Foundational sessions on bedside teaching, feedback, and modeling professional behaviors
  • Annual Retreats:
    • Intern Retreat
    • How to be a Great Resident: PGY1 to PGY2 Transition Retreat
    • PGY2 Career and Teaching Skills Retreat
  • Simulation-Based Teaching Practice: Residents develop teaching and debriefing skills in the simulation center
  • 360° Teaching Feedback: Residents receive feedback on their teaching effectiveness from attendings, interns, and medical students to foster reflection and growth. 

Residents with special interest in medical education can deepen their skills through a number of optional programs and activities, including: 

  • U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix “Resident as Educator” Simulation Activities: Hands-on experience teaching and leading in structured simulation environments 
  • Resident as Educator Program of Individualized Education (PIE) Certificate: A longitudinal experience culminating in a certificate recognizing focused training in medical education
  • “Resident as Educator” Simulation Instructors for MS3 and MS4 Sim events
  • Community Outreach: Participation in events for high school students exploring careers in medicine, offering residents a chance to teach and inspire future healthcare professionals.