In-Patient Medicine

Residents complete a total of seven inpatient blocks, two of which are night float, plus one block each of Cardiology, Critical Care, Rheumatology and Neurology. While on the inpatient service, you can expect to experience a large variety of conditions and patients. The residency service admits all patients from the residency clinic along with patients from several other family physicians and those patients who do not have a physician.

The inpatient service is run by full-time Family Medicine faculty who possess extensive experience and a love of teaching. Our inpatient service is at Lutheran Hospital. The team consists of first, second, and third year residents, sharing day and night coverage.

You will become quite comfortable with taking care of common hospital admissions, including ICU admits, and with managing inpatients. In addition to the faculty, numerous specialists are available not only to consult but to teach as well. The residency works closely with several specialty groups who are always eager to educate the residents while assisting in the management of their patients.

Anytime you are on an inpatient month, you can expect to experience the full range of family medicine. The number of ICU patients on the inpatient service averages about 10-20% of the total with an average of 1-3 pediatric patients at any given time. In addition, it is not uncommon to have 1-3 OB patients on the service.

Procedures are readily available anytime you are in the hospital. Frequent opportunities exist to gain experience with lumbar punctures, central lines, suturing, and intubations. Residents also provide 24 hour code coverage for Lutheran, so you can expect to gain experience running codes.