Curriculum

The number of months allotted to each rotation is different for each post-graduate year, as summarized in the table below:

There are four inpatient Kaiser ward teams at Saint Joseph Hospital. Each house staff team consists of one senior resident (PGY II or III) supervising one or two interns (PGY I). All teams will also have either a third or fourth year medical student, and some may have both. Medical student education is taken very seriously and this gives the residents abundant opportunities to teach. Residents are responsible for the care of patients from admission to discharge, and are the primary providers for the patients. Residents are supervised by a teaching attending who manages patients and conducts teaching rounds with the house staff team. Teams take "long call" every sixth night, triaging new admissions to the various Ward teams until 9:00 p.m.; there is no overnight call. Overnight admissions are the responsibility of the Night Float team, which transfers the care of these patients to the Ward teams in the morning.

• Download the General Inpatient Medicine Ward Rotation overview.
• Download Ward team expectations.

There is one Night Float team on service every month, consisting of one supervising resident (PGY II or III) and three interns (PGY I). The supervising resident works 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Sunday, a supervising resident from an elective covers this shift according to a schedule made by the Chief Resident. Interns rotate through two days of 3:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., two days of 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and two days off. The team is responsible for cross-cover management of inpatients on the teaching services and for new admissions. Supervision of the Night Float team is by the admitting attending physician for each specific patient.

• Download the Night Float Medicine Rotation overview.
• Download Night Float team expectations.

This team consists of a senior resident (PGY II or III) supervising one intern (PGY I).  All teams will also have either a third or fourth year medical student, and often times, both. Medical student education is taken very seriously and this gives the residents abundant opportunities to teach. Residents on the FIT team are responsible for admission and ongoing care of patients from the Caritas Clinic (our resident-run clinic), and "unassigned" patients from the Emergency Department (those patients without a primary care physician or with a primary care physician who does not have privileges at Saint Joseph Hospital) in rotation with the MiM team. The FIT team also provides medical consultations for other specialties in the hospital. The team is supervised by one of the core Internal Medicine Faculty. The FIT team is in house daily, but has no overnight call. The Night Float team covers cross-cover issues and new admissions overnight.

• Download the Faculty Inpatient Team Rotation overview.
• Download Faculty Inpatient Team expectations.

This team consists of a senior resident (PGY II or III) supervising one intern (PGY I). All teams will also have either a third or fourth year medical student, and often times, both. Medical student education is taken very seriously and this gives the residents abundant opportunities to teach. The MiM Group is a private hospitalist group that provides inpatient services (admission and consultation) for private physicians in the community. Residents on this team are responsible for admission and management of these patients and unassigned patients from the Emergency Department in rotation with the FIT team. Residents are supervised and taught on formal rounds by one of the MiM physicians. The MiM team is in house daily without overnight call. The Night Float team covers cross-cover issues and new admissions overnight.

• Download the Midtown Inpatient Medicine Rotation overview.
• Download Midtown Inpatient Medicine expectations.

Three critical care teams are on service each month at Saint Joseph Hospital, consisting of a senior resident (PGY II or III) supervising one intern (PGY I), and frequently one subintern (MS IV). Residents are the primary caretakers of patients in the Intensive Care Unit, responsible for admission and ongoing management. The teams rotate through ten day shifts followed by five night shifts. The day teams alternate short call and long call, with the long call team triaging admissions during the day until 7:00 p.m., and the short call team helping with admissions and patient care until no later than 4:00 p.m. The night call team arrives at 7:00 p.m. and is responsible for new admission and cross-coverage until 7:00 a.m., but stays until 9:00 a.m. to complete their work, to check-out to the day teams, and to participate in teaching rounds. The long-call and night call teams respond to and manage all adult Medical Resuscitation Alerts calls, and all Rapid Response Team calls in the hospital. When patients transfer out of the ICU, one of the floor teams teams assumes their care. Formal teaching/management rounds are made each weekday with both a Kaiser Permanente and National Jewish Health Intensivist, as well as, a Cardiologist and Doctor of Pharmacy. Bedside ultrasound is taught and frequently utilized. During this month the residents do not have responsibilities at the Caritas Clinic.

• Download the Intensive Care Medicine Rotation overview.
• Download Intensive Care Medicine expectations.

One Oncology team is on service each month, consisting of one senior resident (PGY II or III) supervising two interns (PGY I), and frequently a fourth year medical student. Residents are responsible for the care of patients admitted to the hospital with hematologic or oncologic illnesses. Residents are supervised by both Oncologists and Internal Medicine Hospitalists, who help direct the day-to-day care of individual patients, as well as performing bedside teaching rounds daily during weekdays. The Oncology team is in house daily without overnight call. The Night Float team covers cross-cover issues and new admissions.

• Download the Inpatient Oncology Rotation overview.
• Download Inpatient Oncology expectations.

Every month there are one or two categorical residents rotating at the Caritas Clinic. Residents take care of patients with acute illness, follow-up on hospital discharges, and are trained in how to perform numerous joint injections, skin biopsies, and cryotherapy. Time is also allotted to teaching residents about specific ambulatory care topics and all residents learn about malpractice at Colorado's largest malpractice insurance carrier. Residents are also given protected time to develop and implement a quality-improvement project at the Caritas Clinic.

Every intern (PGY I) rotates for one month at Denver Health Medical Center, one of the premier Emergency Medicine training programs in the United States. Residents are responsible for assessing patients as they enter the Emergency Department, formulating and implementing the plan of care, and discharging them appropriately. Residents work on a shift schedule, and are supervised by senior Emergency Medicine residents and attending physicians.

Elective months are available to all residents in each year of training. Residents have numerous options for their elective months, allowing them to tailor their training to their interests. Elective rotations are available in all specialties, and are offered at Saint Joseph Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, National Jewish Health, and the University of Colorado. Residents may also arrange unique elective months to suit their own educational goals. These include research electives and electives in rural, out-of-state, or international settings.

• Download the list of elective options.