General medicine services are the core of the inpatient experience in the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Residents are exposed to the full range of clinical disorders and gain experience in primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care. Because Einstein Medical Center is a referral center for area hospitals, medical residents receive hands-on training in the care of patients with the full spectrum of complex illnesses.

General medicine services are organized by firm and are geographic. Patients referred from the Department of Emergency Medicine are evaluated by the medical admitting resident, who works with a nurse facilitator to admit patients to the appropriate firm. Each firm consists of two inpatient teams, and each team includes one to two medical students, two PGY-1 residents, one to two senior residents and a full-time teaching attending. Each firm is assigned to a single hospital floor. The firm system allows residents to establish collaborative and continuous partnerships with nurses, social workers, pharmacists and clerks.

PGY-1 residents on the general medicine service have primary responsibility for six to ten patients and receive close supervision and substantial teaching. A full-time faculty member supervises patient care activities on each team and conducts bedside daily teaching and management rounds.

Non-Teaching Service

In order to ensure that the residency program remains focused on its educational mission, the Department of Medicine sponsors a nonteaching service. Patients admitted for routine procedures and those admitted after the firms are full are admitted to the nonteaching service. The nonteaching service guarantees that residents have responsibility for a limited number of patients and ensures an appropriate workload. Physician assistants and dedicated physicians provide full-time coverage for the nonteaching service.