While we believe that the most important and effective learning in internal medicine is accomplished through direct patient care, we recognize the value of a structured curriculum and the importance of teaching conferences. These conferences range from didactic formats to case discussions to interactive workshops. What follows is a brief description of the core conferences for the internal medicine housestaff, although this is just a small fraction of the multiple educational conferences that are offered throughout the Medical Center. Residents also attend Subspecialty Core Lectures in each of the required subspecialty blocks. Most of these are lectures specifically prepared for the residents and presented by faculty members.

Noon conferences are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday every week throughout the year. The curriculum for this conference series revolves around key inpatient internal medicine topics. Each senior resident gives a scholarly talk during this time slot. Special noon conferences that occur on a monthly basis include: Journal Club, Ethics Conference, Housestaff Policy and Committee Meetings, Morbidity and Mortality Teaching Conference, and Chief of Service Rounds (where cases are presented as unknowns to the Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine).

Intern Intake is a weekly conference run by the chief residents only for the interns where basic topics related to management of acute medical problems in hospitalized patients are covered. This is a great time to discuss interesting patients, clinical dilemmas, and to have bonding time for the interns.

Medicine Grand Rounds are held every Wednesday morning and attendance is required. UCLA faculty as well as visiting faculty present up-to-date, practical information to the entire Department of Medicine.

Morning Report is held every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning. Residents present interesting cases to their colleagues to try and develop a differential diagnosis and management plan. The Chief Residents run morning report and are responsible for a few key teaching points at the end of the case. Our morning reports span inpatient and outpatient medicine, systems-based practice, and different disciplines. In addition, special morning conferences that occur on a monthly basis include: Autopsy Conference and GI Radiology Rounds.

The chief residents host monthly Junior Resident Rounds and Senior Resident Rounds where 2 or 3 cases are presented as unknowns (by pre-selected residents) and the residents work through the cases with a faculty facilitator. Resident presenters review pertinent literature related to the case.

All R2’s and R3’s on ambulatory blocks attend Wednesday Didactics after Grand Rounds every Wednesday morning. These conferences cover topics in ambulatory general internal medicine and emphasize those topics that lend themselves to a more interactive teaching format (e.g., workshop on end of life issues and breaking bad news, workshop on joint exams and trigger point injections, general ophthalmology and workshop on the funduscopic exam, cardiac auscultation practical, etc.) Firm Meetings directly follow these didactic sessions and are a time to discuss clinic patients, interesting outpatient cases, and systems issues.

There is a 45 minute Case Conference before each morning clinic session in the Internal Medicine Suite where residents see their general medicine patients. Residents and faculty discuss cases that have been prepared by faculty with key reference articles provided. Each week a different topic is covered, and the curriculum spans two years (there are approximately 100 topics).