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Culture of Teaching

A devotion to and ability for teaching represents the most important criterion for recruiting new faculty members. Our faculty take pleasure in one-on-one and small group teaching and prioritize teaching opportunities ahead of their other academic pursuits. We continuously develop new and innovative approaches to medical education. Our progressive ward structure, our weekly theme-based noon conferences, and our expanded QI program are all examples of recent innovation.

Other programs include:

  • Integration of evidence-based medicine into everyday teaching and practice
  • Close collaboration between faculty and subspecialty medical staff for inpatient learning
  • Opportunities for interdisciplinary care that allow residents to teach and learn from other healthcare professions
  • An emphasis on systems-based practice with programs to implement best practices through computerized order entry
  • Specialized rotations and learning modules to teach medical skills, such as procedures rotation and ECG modules.
  • Learning a receptiveness to life-long learning, by both giving and receiving effective feedback

We believe in continuous improvement for our program, which means we value resident feedback and identifying opportunities to further advance our teaching effectiveness. An open environment welcomes direct verbal feedback and provides electronic resources for confidential comments to the program. Residents share in governance decisions regarding curriculum.

Faculty Mentorship and Individualized Teaching

  • Each resident meets with their faculty mentor regularly throughout the to ensure well-being, personal, and professional success
  • Faculty precepting is always available for every three residents during continuity clinics
  • Collaborative practices have either a one-to-one or one-to-two faculty-resident ratio
  • Subspecialists work directly with residents on ward teams and subspecialty rotations, providing highly individualized teaching based on direct observation
  • Faculty support residents in research and other scholarly activity

Subspecialist Teaching

  • Providence Portland Medical Center does not have internal medicine subspecialty fellowships, so residents work directly with master subspecialty clinicians. Our residents on inpatient rotations have opportunities for advanced patient care, problem solving, and procedures usually reserved for fellows at university programs.
  • Residents on subspecialty rotations work one-one-one with subspecialty clinicians. An experienced subspecialist staffs resident consultations providing an effective experience for learning complex physical examination skills, clinical reasoning, and targeted diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Inpatient Teaching

  • Work Rounds are designed to facilitate team clinical decision-making on assigned patients. Each team works with a full-time hospitalist and a core generalist from Medical Education. This blend allows different approaches to be highlighted and facilitates direct observation.
  • Resident Report occurs daily and is lively, participatory, and academically stimulating. This formal case presentation is a literature review prepared by a resident. All contributions are treated respectfully, and residents find the process educational and enjoyable.
  • Subspecialty Consults are done by subspecialty faculty who interact directly with the ward team, allowing direct teaching from experienced and committed attendings.

Resident as Educator

  • Since the COVID-19 pandemic, residents have developed the track “Residents as Teachers”.
  • Weekly noon conference has a defined core curriculum.
  • Second and third year residents serve as educators in Resident Report which includes a case discussion and the presentation of an evidence-based answer to a specific clinical question.
  • Prior to R2 year, a special two-part “Teaching on the Wards” workshop is held.
  • Each senior resident presents a capstone conference to faculty and residents in a Grand Rounds format.
  • Residents are often key contributors to medical student education on the wards, in the ICU, and during subspecialty electives.

Outpatient Teaching

  • In continuity clinics, residents develop their own panel of patients for whom they become the primary care provider.
  • Preceptor involvement in the ambulatory setting is intense. There is one faculty preceptor per three to four residents during continuity clinics.
  • Collaborative practices have a 1:1 faculty-resident ratio and longitudinal relationship between faculty and resident.
  • Formal self-directed, on-line ambulatory curriculum