The 4+2 Model and The Dual Clinic Model
The 4+2 Schedule
Our program has an X+Y schedule of 4+2 throughout all three years of residency. Residents have 4 weeks of inpatient, selective, or elective rotations followed by a recurring 2-week ambulatory block. These ambulatory weeks are often referred to as "+2" and include half-days of primary care continuity clinics (more information below), subspecialty clinics, and outpatient didactics. The primary care program schedule (4+2) is different from the categorical internal medicine program schedule (4+1), but primary care residents work side-by-side with categorical residents during their X blocks (i.e., when not on their +2 ambulatory blocks).
During the primary care “+2” weeks, residents will spend about 6 half days in each of their 2 continuity clinics. Residents also have half days in subspecialty clinics, didactics, community sessions, and for panel management. Panel management is a weekly half-day block during +2 to catch up on inbox items and to hone clinic work-flow.
The Dual Clinic Model
The UCLA Primary Care Internal Medicine Program includes two different tracks with separate NRMP codes. You can apply to both of these tracks or to just one of them. The two tracks are part of the same primary care program and in many ways are more similar than they are different. Residents across the two tracks get to know each other well and work together during their PCM (primary care medicine) blocks, during outpatient didactics, on inpatient rotations, and in their UCLA Santa Monica continuity clinic.
The key difference between the tracks is where residents have their two continuity clinic sites. Residents in both tracks split their continuity clinic time equally between UCLA Santa Monica primary care clinic and another clinical site. For the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center/Santa Monica track (OV/SM), this second clinic is located at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, which is part of the Los Angeles County safety-net health system. For our VA Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team/Santa Monica track (VA-HPACT/SM), this second clinic is a federally-funded clinic for Veterans experiencing homelessness.
One of the strengths of both of the tracks is the opportunity to establish longitudinal patient panels in two different medical systems serving two different patient populations. This gives residents the opportunity to think broadly about what a career in primary care can look like, what different health care systems are able to offer patients, and the profound role of social and structural factors in shaping health.
VA-HPACT/SM Track
West Los Angeles VA Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (VA-HPACT) + UCLA Santa Monica (SM) - NRMP # 1956140M0
The West LA VA Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (VA-HPACT) clinic is a patient-centered medical home dedicated to serving Veterans who are unhoused. Residents at this site work within a single payer healthcare model in a clinic specifically tailored for Veterans experiencing homelessness. Providers and trainees work with and learn from interprofessional teams with nurse practitioners, pharmacists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and case managers in a housing-first model of care. Our veterans coming to West Los Angeles VA may travel from throughout Los Angeles county or even beyond, as there are affiliated sites in downtown Los Angeles, the South Bay, and the San Fernando Valley. Patients at VA-HPACT face a disproportionate burden of mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders, and VA-HPACT/SM residents get longitudinal experience in caring for patients with these conditions.
Residents have a second continuity clinic at UCLA Santa Monica. See the final section of this page for details on our Santa Monica clinic.
OV/SM Track
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (OV) + UCLA Santa Monica (SM) - NRMP # 1956140M1
Olive View–UCLA Medical Center (OV) is a safety-net academic medical center in the San Fernando Valley that serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking, immigrant, and medically underserved patient population. Recently ranked among the top three hospitals in the nation for community benefit by the Lown Institute, OV is recognized for its commitment to caring for Medicaid and uninsured patients while investing in programs that improve community health. Our high-functioning primary care continuity clinics provide residents with the opportunity to build long-term relationships with diverse patients while practicing evidence-based, team-based, patient-centered care. Residents train alongside collaborative, mission-driven faculty and staff who are deeply committed to education, health equity, and serving the community. Olive View has consistently been among the top-performing Los Angeles County Department of Health Services sites across multiple ambulatory quality metrics. Beyond continuity clinic, residents gain extensive outpatient experience through a wide range of specialty and community-based rotations, including asylum medicine, addiction medicine, street outreach, HIV care, hepatology, urgent care, dermatology, and outpatient procedures. For residents committed to primary care, health equity, and underserved medicine, Olive View offers an unparalleled training environment. Residents graduate with the confidence to care for medically and socially complex patients in any practice setting while developing a lifelong commitment to health equity and service.
Like our VA-HPACT/SM track, OV/SM residents have a second continuity clinic at UCLA Santa Monica. See below for details on our Santa Monica clinic.
UCLA Santa Monica Primary Care Clinic
In addition to their respective clinics at VA-HPACT and OV, residents in both primary care tracks have another continuity clinic at UCLA Santa Monica. This clinic cares for a diverse patient population with a mix of insurance payors. Over the course of residency, many residents find they are able to tailor their Santa Monica patient panels to their areas of interest. Many attendings at this clinic bring special niches and areas of expertise to their teaching, such as HIV medicine, LGBTQ+ health, complex care, East-West medicine, and health systems and policy expertise.
Our Director of Mental Health Education for the residency program, neuropsychologist Dr. Stephanie Young, co-precepts at UCLA Santa Monica through an integrated mental health training model. Residents benefit from real-time, patient-focused teaching in mental health and become well-versed in managing a broad range of mental health conditions in the primary care setting.