We are proud to have the most innovative schedule in Graduate Medical Education, aimed at training well-rounded generalists who can serve as model physicians in primary care, the hospital, or any other setting of their choosing after graduation.

For all three years of residency at Cayuga Medical Center, residents have rotation blocks that are two weeks long, and consist of:

• 2 weeks of direct inpatient care at Cayuga Medical Center, a 212-bed community hospital serving a diverse population in and around Cornell University and The Finger Lakes,
• 2 weeks of individualized learning experiences (such as medical electives), and
• 2 weeks of continuity clinic, where residents provide primary care for their own patient panels.

This cycle repeats every six weeks, so that residents have an even mix of inpatient and outpatient training with ample time for individualized learning depending on their specific career goals.  We have a broad selection of electives available in all medical subspecialties, as well as research and teaching electives for interested residents.

Inpatient rotations consist of two-week blocks on these services: medicine, ICU, night float, and the medicine admitting service (“lead admitting resident”).  Residents care for patients with the full breadth of internal medicine problems, under direct supervision of our excellent attending faculty, many of whom share appointments at Weill-Cornell Medical Center.  Daily teaching rounds occur on the inpatient service, which include bedside rounds, presentations on assigned topics, and discussion of evidence-based literature and recommendations.  It is a collaborative learning environment, where all members of the care team are encouraged to read and teach one another – all under the guidance of the attending physicians.

Continuity clinic rotations consist of two-week blocks at our brand-new, state-of-the-art primary care clinic (opened in 2024).  Residents follow their own patient panels longitudinally using the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model.  Residents are granted at least one half-day per week of administrative time during clinic rotations to complete documentation or review and communicate results with patients, mirroring a real-world community practice experience.  There is also an academic half-day of outpatient didactics during each block focused on ambulatory and primary care topics.

Individualized learning experiences (or “electives”) consist of two-week blocks in the clinical experiences of residents’ choosing.  We offer traditional subspecialty elective experiences in cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, nephrology, endocrinology, rheumatology, allergy/immunology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, geriatrics, palliative care, addiction medicine, and much more.  We also offer unique electives tailored to residents’ specific career goals such as: research, resident-as-teacher, community engagement, as well as electives working with primary care physicians in the community.

Our didactics are truly protected time for learning and growth.

In addition to the academic half-day during continuity clinic rotations, the didactic schedule includes daily noon conferences given by residents, program faculty, and subspecialists, with topics chosen to provide a comprehensive overview of Internal Medicine; we also have EKG rounds and radiology rounds led by experienced specialists to help residents hone their skills interpreting data.

Third year residents and faculty alike help to lead targeted board review sessions using MKSAP – the gold standard resource for board preparation — which is supplied by the program for each resident.

Finally, journal club and case conference are led by residents with attending guidance.  All residents will get to lead at least one journal club, one resident-led conference, and one case conference every year of training.

Our Program is committed to fostering strong community partnerships, recognizing that patients’ health and well-being are influenced by their living, learning, working, and recreational environments.  The Health Equity Curriculum ensures residents are well versed in community resources, equipped to advocate for health equity, and capable of improving community services to provide better healthcare.  This curriculum empowers residents to become engaged medical providers and community partners, utilizing quality improvement tools to build health equity projects.  This hands-on experience allows them to apply their community engagement and quality improvement knowledge and skills to enhance the health and wellbeing of their community.

Additionally, the curriculum includes robust training in quality and process improvement approaches, with a focus on Lean/Six Sigma methodology, which uses a team-based, data-driven approach to improve processes and quality.  Residents earn both yellow and green belt Lean Six Sigma certifications, enhancing their value in any industry and advancing their career opportunities.