Many medical schools offer various residency training programs in internal medicine, aimed at educating participants in different subspecialties within the discipline. If the desire is to be a general internist, a subspecialist, a policy maker, a practitioner, an educator, or a researcher, consider pursuing a residency in primary care.
What is primary care residency?
A residency program in primary care focuses on training physicians to work as a generalist. Such programs will create a deep foundation in medicine and broad exposure to career mentors and various opportunities in the field.
Yale Internal Medicine’s Primary Care Residency Program trains leaders to be agents of change. The goal is to assist program residents in identifying their niche within medicine.
“Being an agent of change may mean providing leadership in your community as a primary care provider or serving as a thought leader impacting health policy. We give our residents a broad exposure to the fields of medicine to allow their passions to develop in a fertile environment for growth,” said Sarita Soares, MD, FACP, program director and associate professor of medicine (general medicine).
How long is primary care residency?
Most primary care residency programs last three years, and some programs offer unique opportunities to further enhance one’s educational experiences.
At Yale, primary care residents can pursue the Yale HIV Training Track, a three-year training to care for people living with HIV. This educational experience is in addition to the standard Internal Medicine training, and residents will learn to provide state-of-the-art longitudinal primary care to patients infected with or at risk for HIV infection as part of a multidisciplinary team at the new Yale Center for Infectious Diseases.
Primary Care residents can also participate in the Collaborative Behavioral Health & Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) training program. CHAMP provides Yale Primary Care residents and physician associate students with enhanced training and professional development in behavioral health, addiction medicine, and provider wellness. This is also a three-year track.
Aren’t all primary care residency programs the same?
In short, no. Each program has its strengths and challenges, and applicants should search for an environment in which they will thrive.
Yale’s primary care residents benefit from many robust inpatient and ambulatory experiences through three years of training. Primary care residents will care for patients at the New Haven Primary Care Consortium (NHPCC), a new outpatient facility in partnership with Yale New Haven Hospital, Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, and Fair Haven Community Health Center. The NHPCC houses adult primary care, pediatrics, and women’s health in one state-of-the-art building. Embedded in this care model are mental health clinicians who work with each primary care team, allowing residents to provide outstanding primary and mental health care for our patients and our community.
In addition, patient care takes place at Yale Internal Medicine Associates, an adult primary care practice, and other subspecialty offices.
Community-based settings include education in refugee medicine, asylum medicine, street medicine, global health, addiction medicine, and rural medicine.
“Yale offers other areas for unique learning such as culinary medicine, Research in Residency curriculum, or the point of care ultrasound course,” said Bradley Richards, MD, MBA, executive director of the primary care residency, and assistant professor of medicine (general medicine).
The culinary medicine program provides opportunities for medical education and interdisciplinary research on how food and cooking can help prevent and manage chronic health conditions. Program Director Nate Wood, MD, MHS, is a graduate of the Primary Care Residency Program.
The Department of Internal Medicine also offers five Distinctions Pathways to serve as additional opportunities for residents to gain additional skills and mentorship in selected fields of study. Each distinction is marked by a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum in medical education, global health, research, quality improvement, and antiracism and health disparities, to ensure a robust training experience. More details of these distinctions are available on the Distinction Pathways website.
How are days structured in a residency program focused on primary care?
The ACGME outlines standard obligations for residency programs that are required for accreditation by their organization. They outline educational components, work hours requirements, and other provisions in their Program Requirements.
The Yale Primary Care Residency Program uses a simple 6+2 system. First-year residents alternate between six weeks of mixed time (i.e. inpatient, private office, ED, electives) and two weeks of core outpatient rotations. Second- and third-year residents follow a similar structure, but with less inpatient time. Residents will have very few clinic sessions during non-ambulatory blocks. Electives allow the residents to personalize their learning to meet individual goals.
Residents have required inpatient and outpatient rotations annually, complemented by a variety of electives in general internal medicine, all medical subspecialties, global health, and research. The rotation schedule consists of thirteen four-week blocks. Schedules vary for PGY-I, II, and III. Read more about electives and rotations on the website.
What will my salary be during residency?
Each residency program and institution determines residency pay. According to the American Medical Association, first-year residents earn an average of $60,000.
Yale offers a great compensation package along with a focus on resident wellness. Yale’s compensation is more competitive than many programs. PGY-I residents earn $79,602 with a $3000 education stipend. In addition, residents have four weeks of vacation each year.
The complete salary scale can be reviewed on the Primary Care Residency Program website and the benefit packages can be found on Yale New Haven Hospital’s website under House Staff Benefits.
Editor’s Note
Soares and Richards were named to the Primary Care Residency leadership team in June 2024.
Soares, a primary care residency graduate, was named program director. As a resident and now as part of the primary care executive team, she has witnessed the program's commitment to constant development and growth to meet the current needs of the primary care residents, patients, and community.
“The collegiality and sense of belonging within the Yale Primary Care family is truly special, and our program is stronger because of the diversity and unique lived experiences of our residents, faculty, and staff. We are more than a training program – we are a family of passionate, socially justice-minded, intellectually curious, patient-centered clinician-educator advocates who strive to achieve the tenets of our mission daily,” Soares said.
Richards will help to build on the program’s legacy while helping drive forward new initiatives. “My focus will be on helping lead and manage the residency training program, overseeing program operations, faculty engagement, health system, and medical school collaborations, driving long-term strategy and vision, and continuing to maintain a training environment that supports the diverse career aspirations of our residents.”
According to the National Resident Matching Program, the “2024 Match offered 19,423 primary care positions” throughout the United States. The Yale Primary Care Residency includes 54 residents, with 18 positions offered each year.
To learn more about Yale’s training programs, visit the website at Internal Medicine Residency Training Programs.
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale School of Medicine is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.