Internal Medicine Residency Program

Certificate Programs

Hospital Medicine Certificate Program

We offer a Hospital Medicine Certificate Program (HMCP) for residents interested in hospital medicine with experiences and teaching that will better prepare them for independent practice and to help them make informed career decisions. Residents may apply during their PGY-2 year. As this is a certificate program, residents may concurrently participate in a pathway to gain additional novel experiences. The HMCP is also open to residents who are undecided about careers in hospital medicine or who may not be planning to pursue careers in hospital medicine, but would like additional experiences that are offered.

a hospitalist in a training practicing needle injection with a prosthetic

Curricular Overview

  1. Mentorship: Residents are assigned a hospital medicine mentor to help develop early career goals, develop their curriculum vitae, and navigate the job search.
  2. Longitudinal Scholarly Project (optional): Residents have the option to complete the Hybrid QI and Lean Certification Curriculum in which they will learn to design and implement QI projects. This hybrid curriculum involves both asynchronous online modules with synchronous in-person or Zoom sessions. Residents are encouraged to present their work at conferences such as Society of Hospital Medicine or American College of Physicians and publish in academic journals.
  3. Enrichment and Didactics: Residents participate in monthly didactics during their PGY-3 year on high-yield topics in hospital medicine. Recent examples:
    • "Billing 101"
    • "Making the Most of Your First Job"
    • "Respiratory Therapy and Different Modes of Oxygen Delivery"
  4. Hospital Medicine Elective: Residents participate in hospital medicine elective during their PGY-3 year. This includes clinical experiences rotating with various specialties, including: day triage officer, wound care team, respiratory therapy, PM&R, diabetes educator, toxicology, case management, and procedures with interventional radiology. The elective also includes a field day at a skilled nursing facility to better understand transitions of care.

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification

3 students performing an ultrasound on a man's neck

In recent years, there has been a rapid shift towards using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) as a diagnostic and procedural tool. There is growing evidence that POCUS improves diagnostic accuracy, decreases time to diagnosis, reduces procedural complications, improves patient satisfaction and shared diagnostic understanding, and reduces healthcare costs. Despite this, there remains significant barriers to the integration of POCUS in internal medicine. 

The UCLA Internal Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Program is a two- or three-year multimodal, longitudinal curriculum designed to help internal medicine residents advance their skills in ultrasound. The program curriculum includes a combination of core didactic and scanning sessions led by trained faculty, informal scanning sessions with peer residents, compilation of an ultrasound portfolio, and completion of a scholarly project. Senior residents will also have the opportunity to complete an optional one-week elective in advanced ultrasound topics, which may be adapted to their career interests. 

Curricular Overview

  1. Core Didactic Sessions: 1- to 2-hour monthly sessions led by faculty with allotted time for practice on peers and/or ultrasound trainers.
  2. Hands-On Scanning Sessions: We will likely have optional 1-hour weekly sessions with peer residents, including direct patient scanning.
  3. Ultrasound Portfolio: Acquire a collection of saved exams using butterfly online storage. Individualized feedback will be given by an instructor upon completion.
  4. Scholarly Project: Opportunities include presenting an ultrasound case at Case Club, pursuing an independent medical education/research project, etc. 

Eligibility: All UCLA internal medicine residents (including categorical, primary care, and medicine-pediatrics) are eligible to participate in the POCUS Training Program. Participation in this program does not exclude residents from participation in any of the Internal Medicine Pathways.