The primary care residency track of the Internal Medicine Residency program in NYU Langone’s Department of Medicine combines rigorous inpatient training, an extensive formal primary care curriculum, and diverse outpatient clinical experiences to prepare outstanding, broadly skilled primary care physicians.

We’re educating the next generation of physicians to adapt to an ever-changing healthcare system, while delivering high-quality, holistic patient care focused on meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.

The 3-year program accepts 8 residents each year to train at NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur, and VA NY Harbor Healthcare System. Residents also provide community-based healthcare and conduct population health studies. You spend 60 percent of your time at Bellevue and 40 percent at the other locations.

Our program graduates are nationally recognized for their clinical preparation and go on to careers in academic medicine, private and community-based healthcare practices, and public service.

The National Resident Matching Program^® (NRMP^®) code for the primary care residency track is 2978140M0.

Primary Care Track Details

The blocks that make up the primary care residency curriculum are designed to meet specific educational objectives and consist of interactive learning activities, independent projects, and resident-led conferences. Blocks begin in the first year with Essentials of Primary Care (EPIC), a rigorous monthlong introduction to primary care, focused on the diagnosis and management of common illnesses and effective systems-based practice.

Subsequent blocks include dermatology, gender health, clinical epidemiology, addiction medicine, geriatrics and palliative care, health policy, psychosocial medicine, and musculoskeletal medicine.

During ward months, residents are integrated into inpatient and ambulatory care rotations in the Internal Medicine Residency curriculum. During your second and third years, you also have the unique opportunity to choose a third clinic as part of your ambulatory care block to enrich your primary care training experience.

Amount of Time Residents Spend in Training by Location

Past resident experiences have included working in Bellevue clinics that are dedicated to hemoglobin A1C monitoring and diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, hepatitis, survivors of torture, the World Trade Center Health Program for first responders, and virology and HIV. Other clinic experiences include the acupuncture and urology clinics at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur, the NYU Student Health Clinic, and private medical practices.

As a resident, you also give an annual lecture on a topic of your choosing, which is critiqued by your peers and faculty, and participate in various conferences and events for the primary care residency track. Your progress is tracked year to year to improve your professional development.

We maintain a one-to-three faculty-to-student ratio to ensure the quality of your educational experiences.

Postgraduate Year 1

During your first year, or PGY-1, the focus is on developing core clinical skills integral to becoming a primary care physician. Interns learn deductive reasoning, establish patient continuity, develop psychosocial skills, and build working relationships with colleagues and staff.

Essentials of Primary Care 1.0 Block

During the first primary care block, Essentials of Primary Care 1.0, you participate in four weeks of intensive training in the diagnosis and management of common clinical conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, asthma, hyperlipidemia, depression, and hepatitis B. You also learn about common acute complaints, interpreter services, electronic medical records, and team building.

Through problem-based case studies, learning sessions, evaluation of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), video review, and traditional lectures, you develop the skills to effectively manage the general primary care of patients. The goal of this block is to become familiar with the pillars of primary care and kickstart your clinical experience by practicing good habits from the outset.

Sample Essentials of Primary Care Schedule

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
		Intern Core	Grand Rounds		Clinical Reasoning Conference
AM	NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur Clinic	Diabetes Overview	Effective Communication with Patients	Bellevue Clinic	Problem-Based Learning: Lipid Management
		Diabetes Case Discussion	Management of Dyspepsia		The Well Visit
12:00PM		Psychosocial Rounds	Journal Club		Essentials of Primary Care Clinicians
PM	Gouverneur Clinic	Gouverneur Clinic	Problem-Based Learning: Hypertension	Panel Management	NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur Clinic
			3PM Conference

Psychosocial Medicine

During the psychosocial medicine block, you spend eight weeks learning about the doctor–patient relationship, medical ethics, and the psychosocial aspects of patient care. You master the knowledge and skills needed to manage common psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and somatization.

Teaching methods include group interviews, role playing, audio and video recording, and learner-centered techniques.

Addiction Medicine

In the two-week addiction medicine block, you learn about substance use disorders from both a clinical and public health perspective. Skills taught include both pharmacotherapy and motivational interviewing techniques to treat people with these disorders. You also complete training in the prescription of buprenorphine and participate in rotations at primary care buprenorphine clinics.

Self-Directed Learning

The self-directed learning block is available during each year of your residency training. During this two-week block, you choose or design your own learning experience in a specialty of your choice with experiences that range from clinical, to research, to quality improvement activities. Many residents choose an experience that addresses their interests and isn’t covered elsewhere in their training. Others prepare for challenges associated with a specific type of primary care setting, such as rural or other underserved communities. Previous resident experiences have included social justice in medicine and courses in the medical humanities.

Postgraduate Year 2

During your second residency year, or PGY-2, you sharpen your ambulatory care skills and learn to integrate evidence-based medicine and clinical practice through a variety of outpatient experiences.

Essentials of Primary Care 2.0

In this four-week block, you continue to build upon concepts in Essentials of Primary Care 1.0 and go deeper into the “bread and butter” of medicine. Whereas in your first year, you may have learned about essential hypertension, in Essentials of Primary Care 2.0 you learn about different forms of the disease, including secondary causes and resistant hypertension. You also begin learning how to teach as a resident and discuss and practice teaching strategies to employ on the wards.

Musculoskeletal Medicine

In this two-week block, which covers neurological, rheumatologic, and sports medicine complaints commonly seen in primary care settings, you improve your ability to evaluate and treat neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Teaching modules help you refine your ability to perform musculoskeletal exams and simple procedures, including joint injections. Specialty clinic rotations take place at NYU Langone Health and NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue.

Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Decision-Making

This six-week course provides the foundational knowledge of evidence-based medicine. You learn to critically appraise medical literature, use quantitative decision-making techniques, and effectively ask and answer clinical research questions. It culminates with a research project, which many residents go on to present at a national meeting.

Gender Health

During the four-week gender health course, residents expand and refine their knowledge of gender- and sexuality-based health issues through a combination of clinical experiences and workshops.

In resident- and faculty-led learning sessions and objective structured clinical exams, you examine topics such as sexuality and sexual dysfunction, health in the LGBTQ+ community, contraception, menopause, infertility, common gynecological problems, and gender-specific cancer screening.

Sample Gender Health Schedule

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
			Grand Rounds	PGY-2 Resident Core	Clinical Reasoning Conference
AM	Reproductive Health Clinic	Prostate Health Lecture	Cervical Cancer Screening Lecture	Urology Clinic	Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Case Discussion
	Endocrinology Clinic	Contraception Lecture	Osteoporosis Lecture
				Transgender Health Lecture
12:00PM		Psychosocial Rounds	Journal Club
PM	Bellevue Clinic	NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur Pap Test Clinic	Women’s Health Continuity Time	Home Visits	NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur Clinic
			3PM Conference

Global Health Electives

Global health electives are two- or four-week clinical, research, or teaching experiences abroad, and are available to second- and third-year residents through NYU Grossman School of Medicine or outside institutions. You may also design your own experience. Learn more about applying for global health electives.

Dermatology

Residents spend two weeks in high-volume outpatient dermatology clinics at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System and Bellevue learning about the diagnosis and management of common dermatological conditions and procedures in primary care.

Community and Home Medicine

Residents learn about the social determinants of health, develop skills to care for patients in the home, and complete a community health research project in this two-week block, which involves conducting home visits with patients and exploring the health of a community of your choosing.

Postgraduate Year 3

During your third residency year, or PGY-3, you strengthen your knowledge base, hone your leadership and teaching skills, and refine your clinical expertise in specific areas of interest.

Essentials of Primary Care 3.0

In Essentials of Primary Care 3.0, you spend time investigating landmark studies, discuss managing patients with advanced diseases and multiple comorbidities, and take part in a deliberative practice curriculum to refine your patient interviewing skills. You prepare for life beyond residency with a CV-drafting workshop and sessions with residency alumni who answer questions about applying for jobs and working in internal medicine.

Research Practicum

In this two-week immersive experience, residents conduct a research project from start to finish and expand on the skills they have developed during the clinical epidemiology block by working with a research team to analyze a data set, develop a research question, and present a solution. With guidance from research faculty, you collaborate with other residents to write a research abstract and submit a paper for publication. Many residents go on to publish and present their research at national conferences.

Health Policy and Economics

In this six-week course, you develop the knowledge and ability to be an advocate for patients and influence policy decisions that shape the healthcare system.

Taught by NYU Langone faculty, politicians, managed care executives, and hospital administrators, the health policy and economics course is structured as a seminar series that culminates in a health advocacy project.

During lobbying trips to Albany, New York, and Washington, you meet with state and federal representatives and advocate for policy changes that influence particular health issues. Past resident projects have covered a variety of topics:

• formal incentives to recruit primary care physicians to underserved areas
• state legislation that requires all hospitals to offer palliative care
• presumed consent for organ donation
• reimbursement for advanced planning discussions between healthcare providers and patients who are critically ill
• Medicare-supported residency positions

Geriatrics and Palliative Care

In this two-week block, residents master the skills needed to care for elderly and terminally ill patients by working in geriatric clinics, performing home visits, participating in didactic learning, and taking field trips to nursing homes and hospice care settings. Palliative care topics are explored through patient consults and lectures.

Musculoskeletal Medicine

In this two-week block, which covers neurological, rheumatologic, and sports medicine complaints commonly seen in primary care settings, you improve your ability to evaluate and treat neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Teaching modules help you refine your ability to perform musculoskeletal exams and simple procedures, including joint injections. Specialty clinic rotations take place at private orthopedic and rheumatology practices and Bellevue.

Leadership and Professionalism

This four-week course helps you develop teaching and leadership skills that coincide with your career development priorities. The course covers topics including precepting, running effective meetings, and working with medical students.

Conferences and Events

All residents on the primary care residency track in NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Internal Medicine Residency program participate in resident-led conferences and other events with their peers and faculty.

These educational experiences include case discussions, interactive seminars, bedside rounds, and didactic lectures. Conferences are recorded. Residents take part in a video review of their performance and receive feedback to improve their teaching skills.

3PM Conference

During this 90-minute conference, you practice your lecturing and teaching skills by presenting to your colleagues on a topic of interest to you. You develop your talk with help from faculty members. Attendees evaluate your presentation, and you meet with faculty to receive structured feedback.

Essentials for Primary Care Conference

In these 45-minute conferences, you choose from a list of core Essentials for Primary Care (EPIC) topics and prepare a lesson for your colleagues. The format is flexible, but lectures tend to focus on developing knowledge and skills applicable to outpatient settings.

Psychosocial Case Conference

In this weekly conference, you review patient cases, discuss diagnostic challenges, and participate in conversations that reinforce and advance skills you developed during the psychosocial medicine block in PGY-1. You work as a group to develop effective patient care management strategies, debrief challenging cases, and deepen your clinical knowledge about psychosocial medicine topics.

Clinical Reasoning Case Conference

Primary care residents on ambulatory block participate in this weekly morning conference that provides a forum to discuss patient cases and related questions, including clinical reasoning and patient management.

Journal Club

During the weekly journal club conference, you apply structured, evidence-based evaluations to current medical literature. Each resident prepares one or two presentations each year in an interactive conference style.

Primary Care Retreat

Faculty and residents participate in an annual two-day primary care retreat to review and reflect on the residency program, and to brainstorm improvements. Considered a highlight of the year by many, the retreat catalyzes both fine-tuning and broad innovations in the program.

National and Regional Meetings

Third-year medical residents and those with research projects that have been accepted to be presented as abstracts or posters receive department funding for travel to national meetings. We also provide financial support for residents to participate in training courses in New York City, as well as to attend regional conferences and other local meetings.

Contact Us

The primary care residency track is overseen by Jennifer G. Adams, MD. For more information, contact us at IMResidency@NYULangone.org.

Learn more about graduate medical education programs at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and access information for incoming and current house staff.