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Internal Medicine at Kaiser Santa Clara
Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is the accreditation status of Kaiser Santa
Clara?
1.
How frequently are residents on call? Is there a night float
system?
Internal Medicine inpatient wards services take long call every
5th day. The 5 day cycle is made up of one long call, one short
call, and 3 non-admitting days. Long call teams admit up to
10 patients and short call teams up to 4 patients on their respective
days. Long call teams take their last admission by 7pm and leave
the hospital by 9PM. There is a night float system to admit
overnight and cover the hospital, allowing long call teams to
sleep at home.
The ICU rotation is the only rotation with overnight call.
Residents leave first thing in the morning post-call and then
have the rest of the day and the following day off.
There is no call on AC or elective rotations. Weekends and
nights are generally free during these rotations.
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2. Will I get
days off? How much vacation do I get?
Each resident will have one day out of seven off when averaged
over any four-week rotation during inpatient months. During
outpatient months (AC and elective) weekends are generally off.
All residents receive three weeks of paid vacation per year. |
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3. How much autonomy
will I have in this program?
Each resident receives as much autonomy as he/she is capable
of handling in our program. Our system puts an emphasis on resident
independence and responsibility. An HBS staff is assigned to
each team to supervise resident patient care and to teach the
team.
Resident teams generally admit patients on their own while
on long call, although at least two HBS are in the hospital
at all times to assist when needed. Residents then present
the cases to their team HBS post-call. |
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4. What choices
exist for elective rotations?
Electives can be chosen in any subspecialty area including Allergy,
Anesthesia, Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrine, Gastroenterology,
Hematology/Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Neurology,
Pulmonology, Rheumatology and Sports Medicine.
Residents take most of their electives at Kaiser Permanente
Santa Clara. Electives can also be taken at other Bay Area
hospitals including Stanford University and Santa Clara Valley
Medical Center. Off campus rotations can be arranged during
each post graduate year (limited to one/year), with the approval
of the program director. |
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5. How successful
have recent graduates been in finding jobs after residency?
Our residents are very competitive for Internist, Hospitalist,
and Fellowship positions. Many residents who complete our program
join Kaiser Permanente as internists with The Permanente Medical
Group, or return to join us as specialists after completing
fellowship. As the largest single employer of physicians in
Northern California, Kaiser Permanente offers many opportunities
for Internists in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Our
residents see this as a great benefit of doing a residency within
the Kaiser Permanente system. |
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6. Can I get into
fellowship after residency at Kaiser Permanente?
Graduates interested in pursuing fellowship training have all
secured competitive positions. Recent matches include Cardiology,
Hematology/Oncology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease, Pulmonary/Critical
Care, and Rheumatology. |
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7. What are the
opportunities for research?
All of our categorical residents complete a clinical research
project or publishable case report before graduating. Each Spring,
the program sponsors its Annual Resident Research Symposium,
where residents present their research project to the faculty.
The faculty judges evaluate projects and awards are given at
graduation. Our program is very well represented in The Western
Regional American College of Physicians (ACP) Resident Poster
presentations. Our residents typically present four to five
different posters, and in 2007 the winning poster was presented
by a Kaiser Santa Clara resident. |
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8. What is the pass
rate of graduates on the American Board of Internal Medicine
certifying exam?
95% of residents over the past 5 years have passed the ABIM
on the first attempt. |
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9. What medical schools do current residents come from?
Please check out where our current residents come from by
clicking on the "Our Residents"
link. |
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10. What does
HBS stand for?
HBS stands for Hospital Based Specialist. The hospitalist system
is a growing trend nationwide and within Kaiser Permanente.
(To learn more about the hospitalist movement, go to the Society
of Hospital Medicine website).
Our HBS program was implemented in April 1997 and has led to
improvements in teaching and patient care. Our hospitalist program
has also been recognized as a model for Northern California
Kaiser Permanente. In addition to Internal Medicine responsibilities,
HBS physicians also care for non-Internal Medicine patients
on non-teaching services. |
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11. How is Kaiser
Permanente different from other HMOs?
Kaiser Permanente, unlike many other HMOs, is a nonprofit organization.
Kaiser Permanente protects physician decision making from the
oversight and approval of insurance administrators. We are committed
to the needs of our members and our social obligation to provide
benefit for the communities in which we operate, rather than
by the needs of shareholders. |
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12. Are there
restrictions on ordering diagnostic tests?
Kaiser Permanente physicians are free to order the laboratory,
radiographic, and other tests deemed necessary without seeking
pre-approval from health plan administrators. As in any residency
training program, there is education as to the utility and cost
of evaluations in the framework of evidence-based medicine.
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13. How stable
is Kaiser Permanente?
The California Division of Kaiser Permanente has been fiscally
solvent and growing for more than 50 years. Kaiser Permanente
in Northern California is composed of three different organizations
in close partnership: The Permanente Medical Group (the physician
group practice), the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
(insurance plan), and the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
(hospital operations). Kaiser Permanente has medical centers
and medical offices nationwide, including California, Colorado,
District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri,
Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. California is the largest
of the Kaiser Permanente organizations and the only one that
has residency training. Despite uncertainty and instability
in the healthcare industry, Kaiser Permanente remains strong
and able to provide high-quality, effective care. |
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14. Can I afford
to live in Silicon Valley on a resident's salary?
Though rents are expensive, all of our residents live comfortably.
In addition to your salary, meals are covered when on duty,
your medical license is paid for, and there is an educational
allowance through the GME Office. Please see our Salary
and Benefits page for more information on our salaries. |
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15. Are there
medical student clerkships?
Yes. 4th year medical student rotations on the General Medicine
Ward rotations are available. Please complete the online application.
You may also contact , our Student Clerkship Coordinator. |
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16. How can
I contact one of the Program Directors or Chief Resident?
Contact the Residency Coordinator for Internal Medicine, . She will put you in touch with one of the program
directors, the chief resident, or one of the residents.
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| 17.
What is the accreditation status of Kaiser Santa Clara?
Kaiser Santa Clara was recently (2007) accredited for a full
3 year cycle.
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