Welcome!
We are excited that you are considering Providence Portland Medical Center
(PPMC) for your internal medicine residency. I’ve been fortunate
to receive excellent training in my last three years here at this program,
and hope that we can provide the same experience for you. Our program
offers an excellent broad-based internal medicine education in the setting
of a large tertiary care hospital with the resources of a major medical
center and the close relationships of a community program. I’ve
been happy to call this program home because of the warm and welcoming
environment and passion for education among the residents and faculty here.
PPMC is a tertiary care hospital in central Northeast Portland. As one of Oregon’s largest hospitals, we care for a complex and varied patient population which includes people from all backgrounds and income levels. Given Providence Portland’s central location within the city, our accessibility to the community often draws interesting and undifferentiated medicine cases. We also receive referrals and transfers from surrounding communities for hours away through the large system of Providence Health, which includes 51 hospitals and 800+ clinics across 7 states.
As the only resident trainees in our hospital, we have multiple dedicated educators focused on our education. Our inpatient training is guided by a strong team of general medical education faculty as well as dedicated hospitalist clinician educators, who work closely with us in taking care of a broad range of interesting cases. We get the opportunity to work directly with the excellent critical care group in our ICU where we see a combination of medical, cardiac, and surgical patients, as well as getting hands-on experience with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Here we have the opportunity for a high volume of procedural experience including intubations and placement of central and arterial lines, which is excellent preparation for those who wish to practice medicine in hospitals with an open ICU or those who plan to specialize in critical care. On the outpatient side our primary care clinic is a patient centered medical home located on the hospital campus where residents manage their own continuity patient panel with a great support team including behavioral health, case management, and care coordination.
Our trainees are well prepared for a variety of careers from this strong foundation with many taking jobs as hospitalists and primary care providers in the surrounding area. Those seeking further subspecialty training have a strong record of matching into competitive fellowships in a variety of fields. We encourage academic achievement: our residents regularly present posters at regional and national conferences, with the financial help to cover travel expenses and allocated time for scholarly presentations.
What sets us apart is the strong bond within our residency community and our understanding of the importance of wellbeing, rest, and balance. Everyone here knows each other on a first name basis, and our residents spend time together outside of work including program sponsored gatherings as well as exploring the many adventures the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Our 4+2 block schedule means that you’ll never go too long without a weekend off, and our residents receive a generous allotment of vacation time as well as wellness half days to make appointments and keep up with whatever else may come up. We understand that your life keeps on going through your medical training and are here to support you through it.
I am so glad you are considering joining our team and residency family and look forward to meeting you!
Christopher Bender, MD
Chief Resident 2022-2023
