Frequently Asked Questions
What makes St Vincent's special?
“Hands down, the people. St V's stood out amongst all the programs I interviewed with, because of the strong comradery amongst residents as well as strong support from our faculty & program director. The community is supportive through some of the most challenging work hours, highs and lows, we will ever experience in our careers. I would choose this program time and again for this reason.” Kemin Fena, MD (Current PGY3)
"Its people. I rotated at St. Vincent as a medical student and saw how kind residents were to each other. I also found that the attendings were supportive of the residents. The environment was nurturing. After three years I still think so." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“Perfect middle ground between academic center and community hospital. Great training and medical care in a friendly and compassionate environment.” Gabe Hocum, 2022 graduate
“The people. I know the nurses, attendings, consults, most of the time on a first name basis. We easily collaborate together. Joanna Bove, 2022 graduate
What is the ABIM board pass rate for St. Vincent’s?
Our 5-year pass rate is 96% from 2020-2024, the second highest for Internal Medicine programs in the Pacific Northwest.
Why did you choose this program for residency?
“Residents were like a family; they were all happy and seemed to enjoy their work no matter how difficult. The program really takes care of you and gives you space to grow and learn. The benefits are incomparable.” Calder Dorn, DO (current PGY2)
“Going into interviews I felt confident in my strength as an applicant with good board scores, etc. however I felt that at St. Vincent the faculty were very interested in who I am as a person, which was refreshing and important to me.” (Gabe Hocum, 2022 graduate)
“I felt welcome here on my interview day, and I liked the style of an academic-focused community program with a multitude of resources.” (Leah Grant, 2021 graduate)
“Seemed like a very supportive program/faculty, happy residents, unique ACU structure, and good opportunities for the potential fellowships I am interested in.” Jillian Catral, 2021 graduate
What makes St. Vincent's faculty special?
“Very accessible and dedicated to your learning. Knowledgeable and willing to learn from the residents themselves.” Calder Dorn, DO (current PGY2)
What do you like about clinic?
"It is a continuity clinic - meaning we, as residents, have the panel of patients we manage. We see our own patients throughout the 3 years. This means we are responsible for the in-basket messaging on a daily basis and communications with the consultants. It also helps to see what treatments work and didn't work. In addition, we work with the same MA and mostly with the same attending. Overall, it is a good model and allows us to get a feel of what the outpatient medicine looks like and helps to navigate career choices." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“As a second year who has no intention of going into primary care, I really like our clinic. We don't use the X+Y schedule here, which when I was interviewing, I thought was a red flag but trusted that it must be this way for a reason. Now that I am here, I see the benefit of continuity of care. Even 14 months into the program I have already developed strong relationships with many of my clinic patients. This requires regular follow up which is much more feasible in our system. Overall, we take a slight burden of inconvenience for better quality and more satisfying patient care in our clinic, which to me is worth it.” (Gabe Hocum, 2022 graduate)
“The patients are really nice and very welcoming to new residents. They are invested in your training as much as the program and faculty are. There also a lot of resources that make our clinic run smoothly, which is really helpful.” Stephanie Barayuga, 2021 graduate
What do you like about the wards?
“I was not sure what to expect on my first ACU rotation as an intern, but I quickly fell in love with the collaborative effort between all care team members, including the patient themselves, in providing excellent patient-centered care. The detailed teamwork cultivates a unique opportunity to develop professional relationships and leadership skills while delivering evidence-based driven standards of care. It's not uncommon for patients and families to comment on how grateful they are to be a member of their own care team and how truly involved they feel. I have enjoyed ACU rounding even more as a senior resident as I am able to coordinate care while improving the confidence of our junior team members.” Adrianna Morse, Chief Resident 2024-2025
What do you like about the ICU?
“ICU attending are a wealth of information. The ICU nurses are incredibly good at their job. You feel like you are actively involved in patient care, not just observing.” Calder Dorn, DO (current PGY2)
“Our ICU supports a robust evidence-based learning environment with attendings who are passionate about teaching and nursing staff who excel in patient care. Since there are no fellows in our ICU, residents are given ample opportunities for various procedures including central and arterial lines, intubation, paracentesis, and chest tube insertions.” Matthew Moritz, MD (current PGY2)
"We get to know our ICU attendings very well given how much time we spend in the ICU during the training and the fact that there are no fellows. Residents have a lot of opportunities to do procedures. ICU attendings are very supportive and some of our best teachers in residency. I think I saw my biggest growth as a resident after ICU rotations." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“Our ICU rotation is one of the best. Although it is a bit intimidating at first you quickly learn that it is an excellent learning environment as you are so well supported. A great bonus of our ICU is that there are no fellows, so when it comes time for procedure you are first in line. I have quickly accumulated a good amount of experience in performing central line placement, intubation, paracentesis, arterial line placement, thoracentesis, and lumbar puncture.” (Gabe Hocum, 2022 graduate)
What is your experience like regarding resident autonomy within our program?
“Our program has a great balance. For example, starting out, our clinic inbasket work is always routed through our preceptor. As we gain confidence and get more comfortable with managing general inbasket items, we are signed-off to manage routine things such as labs, screening results, medication refills, etc. However, clinic faculty are always available to help out with tricky clinical questions. This trajectory is mirrored in the inpatient setting with more assistance and supervision provided early on in residency with increasing amount of responsibility and independence as we move through training.” Kemin Fena, MD (current PGY3)
“Our program exemplifies a good balance between autonomy and supervision. An individualized approach along with graduated autonomy allow residents to progress at their own pace while having attending support as needed.” Matthew Mortiz, MD (current PGY2)
What is your favorite rotation and why?
“My favorite rotation is Ward C. This is a second-year rotation which all R2's complete. It is just the resident and an attending physician. As an aspiring hospitalist, this rotation was full of learning for my future career. It was also a great chance to practice the workflow of a future hospitalist where I could pre-chart, round and triage a list of 8 patients. Although challenging, I felt this was a very rewarding rotation to see my own personal/professional growth.” Kemin Fena, MD (current PGY3)
“The ICU rotation. Our attendings love to teach and create a very supportive learning environment. We also have no fellows, which means interns/residents get first grabs when it comes to procedural opportunities.” Matthew Moritz, MD (PGY2)
"Infectious Diseases - attendings are very interested in teaching and you get to see interesting cases. it is a busy rotation, but I learned a lot. Rheumatology - again, attending is a good teacher, and you can do some procedures. Primary Care Rotation - for one month you are imbedded in the clinic and see primary care cases only. some of them are routine follow ups and some are more urgent care cases. It is a good way to feel if primary care is for you." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“ICU, get a lot of independence and you get to see a lot of interesting pathology. Furthermore, the ICU nurses are amazing and can teach you anything.” Joanna Bove, 2022 graduate
How are residents' voices heard?
“There are so many avenues for residents to share feedback, suggestions or concerns. Most often, I reach out to the chief resident or program director. We also complete frequent evaluations for the different rotations and faculty we work with which allows us to submit anonymous feedback. We have quarterly resident meetings where we can share / discuss things during a protected time. I am also a member of the GMEC (graduate medical education committee) along with 4 other co-residents where we meet with residency programs across the other local Providence ministries. And, through all these avenues, resident feedback is seriously taken into consideration and just within the last few years alone, I've seen a lot of changes brought about such as X+Y for senior residents, changes to ACU B ward team, and the structure of the OCE resident clinic block.” Kemin Fena, MD (current PGY3)
"We have a meeting with program directors several times a year. a week prior to the meeting there is an email sent by a chief resident asking for topics to discuss during the meeting. those are usually brought up during the meeting and I have seen several changes made after the discussions. In addition, during our review (every 6 months) program director also asks for feedback. That's another way you can bring up topics you want to see changed." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“Resident meetings are held throughout the year with our PD and APD where residents can voice their concerns. Aside from the dedicated meetings, our faculty also supports an open-door policy and encourages residents to reach out with new suggestions at any time. Because of this, there are constant changes/adjustments that occur in the program based on resident feedback.” Matthew Moritz, MD (current PGY2)
What do you do when not working?
"Spending time with my family, which includes my almost 3 years old toddler." Tatyana Aleksandrova, 2022 graduate
“I spend a lot of time hanging with my coworkers who are also my best friends. We like to go to out to eat/happy hour. I also liked to go to concerts and movies (pre-COVID) and hiking. This summer I have really liked going to Sandy River and the beach at Vancouver, WA.” (Leah Grant, 2021 graduate)
“Video games, crafts, knitting, crochet, novels.” Daphne Sy, 2021 graduate
“Cooking, hiking, more recently rock climbing.” Jillian Catral, 2021 graduate
What do you like most about living in the PNW?
“The beautiful scenery. You have the luxury of both the mountains and the coast within 1-hour of Portland making it easy to explore on your days off!” Matthew Moritz, MD (PGY2)
“Portland and the Pacific NW are a great place to live with something for everyone. Portland is packed with culture including great food, art and music. Personally, I am a big music lover and frequently go to shows at the numerous unique venues in Portland and browse the varied record stores. Outside of music and food there is world class outdoor adventures at your fingertip.” (2022 graduate)
“The opportunity to do so many things outdoors, being from Kansas.” (Leah Grant, 2021 graduate)