If you read nothing else...
Our program is characterized by:
- Certifying exam pass rates in the top 10 percent of programs in the country
- Outstanding preparation for outpatient generalist, hospitalist, subspecialty, or academic adult medicine careers
- A close knit group of friendly, supportive residents with high morale
- A culture of rigorous thinking, academic curiosity, evidence-based decision making with advanced educational and information technology, efficiency in resource use, compassion, and humility
Abbott Northwestern Hospital is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the largest medical center complex in the Twin Cities with state of the art hospital and outpatient clinics that provide you with the best possible support to care for your patients. Abbott Northwestern continues to be named on multiple lists of the nations top hospitals both as an institution and in many specialty areas. We have one of the most complete and extensive computerized medical record systems in the country.
Our patient population is extremely diverse, with the right mix of diseases and socioeconomic factors. The patients come from inner city and suburban environments, as well as rural out state communities, and have a unique mix of primary to tertiary care needs. More than one third of our patients come from outside the Twin Cities metro area. We have an abiding commitment to caring for this diverse group of patients.
We have one of the most complete, organized, and integrated formal curricula that you can find with a very strong emphasis on bedside medicine and critical thinking. We also have an emphasis on advanced educational technology, focused on a convergence mobile device and toolset, an interactive audience conference system, technologically advanced attending rounds structure, extensive simulation-based procedure training, and the new Abbott Northwestern Center for Clinical Simulation.
Current Highlights...
New 3-Year Bedside Ultrasound Curriculum
The internal medicine residency program is moving beyond using bedside ultrasound for invasive procedures, which it has been doing for the last 5 years, and begins a full 3-year curriculum integrating bedside portable ultrasound machines into the physical exam. We are among a small group of residency programs nationwide embarking on this mission that we feel is going to be essential to the future careers of our physicians. The goal is not to replace diagnostic radiology or the classic physical exam, but rather to improve our bedside diagnostic accuracy and efficiency in areas where the classic physical exam is insufficient, provide immediate feedback to our classic physical exam elements, thus improving their accuracy for times when ultrasound is not available, and provide our internal medicine residents with a career skillset that will one day be as widespread as that of the stethoscope. This is the Abbott Northwestern Internal Medicine Bedside UltraSound Program - IMBUS.
Center for Clinical Simulation
The residency program has been using extensive simulation training for procedural skills and physical exam over the last several years. However, the Abbott Northwestern Center for Clinical Simulation that finished construction in 2010 adds an additional layer to simulation-based training for the residents. The center was founded by the residency program, and provides state-of-the-art high-fidelity simulation in replica ER and ICU rooms for multi-disciplinary training of code situations, emergency management, and high-risk/low-frequency scenarios. Residents are the core training group utilizing the simulation center, and the center is directed by the internal medicine residency program.
Procedures & Ultrasound Curriculum
The program's unique internal medicine residency procedure team has performed over 2000 procedures during its first 4 years, and seen more than a 20% increase in procedure volume anually. The outcomes of the residency's Procedure Team & Procedure Rotation were presented at the 2009 International Simulation in Health Care Conference. This team is a unique and very beneficial part of our first year "Procedures & Ultrasound Rotation."
Cardiology Fellowship Program
The Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Hennepin County Medical Center have begun an ACGME-accredited fellowship training program in cardiovascular disease. The mission of this fellowship is to provide outstanding clinical training in cardiology. This fellowship is a wonderful opportunity for individuals to experience world-class cardiology at two distinct sites in Minneapolis. The range of experiences includes in-depth training in all aspects of cardiovascular medicine, including imaging and advanced heart failure/cardiac transplantation. The fellowship program is a 3-year program that began in July 2011 and has two fellows each year.
The Robina Project Care Guides
The residents' continuity clinic, Medicine Clinic, has received a major grant to study innovations in primary care (See Star Tribune article). With support from interested residents and faculty, we initially hired 3 "care guides" to help patients and doctors improve care for our most difficult chronic disease patients. Using principles underlying the "patient-centered medical home" such as teamwork, consistent engagement, and empowering patients to take charge of their own illness, 332 patients with diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure worked together with their care guide and primary care resident for one year. 12 of 13 pre-specified care goals (e.g., meeting national guidelines for blood pressure, Hgb A1c) improved, 7 with p-value <.05. Overall, unmet care goals were reduced by 28% (p=.000).
Working collaboratively with others interested in re-inventing primary care, this program has now been picked up by 5 Allina clinics and 12 care guides as part of a randomized trial, and by 5 clinics in the Hennepin County Medical Center. It is an excellent example of innovation and translational research within our residency program.
