Medical Education
The Department of Medicine continues its intensive investment in advancing educational programs at both thegraduate and undergraduate levels. Department faculty contribute extensively to medical student education inboth the basic science and clinical clerkship years and directly supervise the training of over 200 residentsand fellows each year.
Undergraduate Medical Education
Under the leadership of Clerkship Director Maggie Thomas, M.D., MPH, MS, Department of Medicine faculty help more than 300 third- and fourth-year medical students each year build the knowledge, confidence and clinical judgment needed to care for patients. As teachers, mentors and advisors, faculty create meaningful learning experiences in the classroom and alongside patient care teams.
That commitment continues to inspire interest in internal medicine. In the 2026 Match, 28 graduates, or 17.5%, entered categorical internal medicine, internal medicine-pediatrics or internal medicine-psychiatry programs.
Curriculum Innovation
The department continues targeted efforts to increase the number of students entering internal medicine in response to workforce needs in primary care and key subspecialties. Curriculum updates include:
- More active clinical learning. The third-year clerkship reduced lectures, expanded interactive subspecialty-led sessions and adopted an Academic Half-Day model that preserves afternoons for patient care.
- Stronger assessment and support. Updated objectives and the end-of-clerkship clinical skills examination align with Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine recommendations and place greater emphasis on clinical reasoning. An early AMBOSS quiz helps identify students who may need additional support before the subject examination.
- Skills across the curriculum. Point-of-care ultrasound expanded from a core clerkship component into a longitudinal learning experience during the Immersion phase of the curriculum (year 3). After earning Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certification, students also participate in a rapid response experience.
- Evidence-based practice and artificial intelligence. The evidence-based medicine requirement now introduces AI-supported search tools while teaching students to recognize their limitations in clinical care.
- Expanded sub-internship experience. A pilot has been developed with direct patient care teams added capacity to the department's highly competitive fourth-year sub-internship and increased one-on-one learning with attending physicians for FY27.
Career Advising
Under the leadership of Marc Heincelman, M.D., MPH, associate dean for career advising in the College of Medicine, six funded Careers in Medicine specialty advisors support students pursuing internal medicine: Kathryn Anderson, M.D.; Jamel Brown, M.D.; Susan Evenhouse, M.D.; Aundrea Loftley, M.D.; Keri Holmes-Maybank, M.D.; and Andrew Schreiner, M.D., MSCR.
