Ambulatory Medicine
Approximately one-third of the residency training occurs in the ambulatory care setting. This includes time in the general medicine continuity clinics, subspecialty clinics, ambulatory block rotations, emergency medicine, walk-in clinics, neighborhood health clinics, and home-care visits.
In the ambulatory setting, the faculty's primary responsibilities are to supervise and teach the residents. In the outpatient clinics, residents are also able to obtain appropriate and timely consultation from other specialties for their ambulatory patients, and there are services available from other health-care professionals such as nurses, social workers, language interpreters, and dietitians.
Residents may be excused from attending their continuity clinic when they are assigned to the intensive care unit, to emergency medicine, to an away-elective, or to night float. Residents must attend a minimum of 108 weekly continuity clinic sessions during the 36 months of training. The continuing patient-care experience should not be interrupted by more than 1 month, excluding a resident's vacation.
The number of patients seen by a first-year resident, when averaged over the year will range from 3 to 5 per scheduled 1/2-day session. The number of patients seen by a second-year resident, when averaged over the year, will range from 4 to 6 per scheduled 1/2-day session. The number of patients seen by a third-year resident, when averaged over the year, must be at least 4 per scheduled 1/2-day session. Each resident must follow patients with chronic diseases on a long-term basis.
Every effort will be made to inform residents of the status of their continuity patients when they are hospitalized so the resident can make appropriate arrangements to maintain continuity of care.