The outpatient general medicine experience spans all three years of residency training and is comprised of weekly general medicine clinics,  didactic lectures focused on core outpatient topics, and lectures addressing practical aspects of outpatient practice management.

Weekly continuity clinics at the UCLA Internal Medicine Suite (IMS) begin in the intern year.  Interns are assigned panels of patients from outgoing residents and they build their practices over the course of the three-year program. Beginning in the PGY-2 year, residents are paired with a clinic partner so that one is always on an ambulatory rotation while the other is assigned to inpatient services. This permits cross coverage and minimizes competition between busy inpatient and outpatient duties. The partner on ambulatory rotation is available to provide routine or urgent care of his/her partner’s patients if that resident is not readily available. This arrangement not only permits the resident to build a large diverse outpatient practice and to have sufficient time dedicated to maintaining that practice, but also provides residents with increased opportunities to care for general medicine outpatients.

During ambulatory blocks residents are also scheduled to see general medicine patients at Simms-Mann Health and Wellness Center in nearby Santa Monica.  Simms-Mann Health and Wellness Center is staffed by UCLA faculty physicians and is part of Venice Family Clinic, the largest provider of healthcare to the underserved in the United States.  The patient population at Simms-Mann is comprised of low-income men and women, the majority of whom are uninsured.  In contrast, the patient population at the UCLA Internal Medicine Suite (IMS) is comprised of a diverse group of insured patients with managed care, fee-for-service, Medicare and/or Medi-Cal (Medicaid) insurers.