Internal Medicine specialists are at the forefront of managing acute and chronic diseases and providing comprehensive and coordinated health care. The U.S. Census Bureau projects a 12 percent population growth by 2030, including a 55 percent increase in the population over 65. As the population ages the skills of internists will only become increasingly important.

Cayuga Medical Center is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) highlighting the community’s shortage of necessary primary care providers. The residency program is designed to deliver high quality education through a structured curriculum, regularly scheduled conferences and robust patient-care experiences. A careful balance of supervision and progressive autonomy will allow our residents to develop into strong physician leaders ready to advance their education and careers while simultaneously delivering care to the community in which they reside.

Our strong community partnerships and innovative scheduling situates the resident-patient-community relationship at the center of the three years of training. Our original model will ensure residents receive the education they need in a rigorous training environment while maintaining a healthy work-life balance necessary for a long and fulfilling career.

Situated in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) at Ithaca is an acute-care facility that provides high-quality health care to its community. Operating as a member of the Cayuga Health System, the 212 bed, not-for-profit medical center, is designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) as a Sole Community Hospital which recognizes its importance as the sole source of inpatient hospital services reasonably available in our geographic region. CMC is nationally accredited by The Joint Commission, is designated as a primary stroke center by NYS and an Accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI by the American College of Cardiology. It has been affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College since 1993.

The 200+ physicians on the Medical Staff at CMC represent the full range of medical and surgical specialties and sub-specialties including allergy and Immunology, anesthesia and pain medicine, cardiology ( including interventional cardiology), critical care medicine, dermatology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, facial cosmetic surgery, family practice, gastroenterology, internal medicine, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology and hematology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, orthopedics, pathology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, plastic and reconstructive surgery, podiatry, psychiatry, pulmonary and sleep medicine, radiation medicine, radiology (general and interventional), rheumatology, sports medicine, surgery (general, bariatric, thoracic and vascular) and urology.

The Cayuga Medical Center Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program has as its guiding mission and raison d’etre a goal of training exceptional general internists who are skilled in providing high quality, coordinated, comprehensive and compassionate primary health care to adults in any health care setting;  our particular focus is that our future internists be particularly prepared to practice in areas of physician workforce shortages and health inequities. As such, our curriculum is equally divided between inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences; moreover, our outpatient experience is characterized by robust resident empanelment, continuity of care, health promotion, and concern for the health of our community.

Our program’s unique scheduling model ensures that residents receive the appropriately rigorous training that is required to become capable physicians, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance to be fulfilled physicians.  Our small program size promotes a warm, collegial atmosphere that is supportive and nurturing so that residents can thrive as they pursue professional and personal development.

• The city of Ithaca is located in the picturesque Finger Lake region at the southern tip of the largest Finger Lake, Cayuga Lake and is surrounded by 150+ waterfalls and gorges. The area provides all the benefits of a rural location including all season outdoor activities, a nationally renowned farmers market and wineries in an American Viticultural Area. Partly owing to its colocation with Cornell University and Ithaca College, Ithaca offers tremendous cultural, culinary, and educational resources rarely found in a rural locale.
• Ithaca is well known for its world class cuisine, having more restaurants per capita than New York City. It is also noted for cultural diversity and scenic landscapes. Home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, the area is often ranked high in many magazines as one of the best places to live in the US.
• Strong relationship with the newly established Cornell University Center for Health Equity and MPH programs will enable our residents to perform high quality community-focused research.
• Enrollment in an original program will provide matriculating residents with unparalleled opportunities for leadership roles and professional development.
• Our schedule places residents in the ambulatory setting two weeks of every month (2+2). This time is spent delivering care to their panel of continuity clinic patients as well as participating in longitudinal outpatient subspecialty electives. This model will facilitate physician-patient continuity of care and foster resident wellbeing by decreasing competing demands placed on our learners. Additionally, this unique training model will engender meaningful relationships with mentors as residents work together with the same faculty member over the course of an entire year during longitudinal subspecialty experiences.
• Residents in every year of training have time allocated in their schedules to participate in self-directed community projects aimed at partnering with community members to identify and mitigate health care disparities and inequities in our community.
• Residents in their first year of training will undergo Lean Six Sigma quality improvement training and participate in a longitudinal quality improvement project qualifying them for a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Green Belt certifications.
• Cayuga Medical Center’s patient population draws from the local university, colleges systems, local residents and surrounding regions which results in a diverse patient population in need of care for both common and rare disorders with varying degrees of acuity.
• Residents will train in a highly functioning Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Practicing in our ACO will provide residents with greater access to resources that will benefit their patients including care management, data analytics and local experts who deliver education pertaining to the administration and management of different health care delivery systems.
• Excellent training opportunities in a sole community hospital, critical access hospital, Federally Qualified Health Center, Level 3 PCMH Certified primary care office as well as various other outpatient settings.
• Cayuga Medical Center and the Residency program employ world class faculty. Most of our faculty hold dual appointments at Weill Cornell Medical School.