The Combined Residency in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a 5-year program preparing residents for full dual certification in both specialties. Combined programs are quite unique, with UIC offering only one of around twelve such programs in the country actively recruiting. The program was initiated in 1991, and by the 1995-1996 academic year, it reached its full capacity of 10 residents. In 2011, the program grew to three residents per year and reached its new full capacity of 15 residents at the start of the 2015 academic year. We successfully graduated our first trio this June, 2016. Trainees have come from a wide spectrum of medical schools around the country.
The residency is run by Program Director Carissa J. Tyo, MD. She is a graduate of the UIC Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine combined residency, and is a presently on faculty in both the Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine departments. This dual affiliation encourages communication between the two departments and prevents conflicts regarding schedules in the fulfillment of all requirements. With the addition of Adam Rodos and Sukhi Bains, we now have three dually trained faculty members who split time between the ED, Clinical Decision Unit, and inpatient teaching wards. All three very much enjoy interacting with residents and medical students.
Both departments have well sought-after residencies, with national as well as international reputations. Diverse clinical and academic backgrounds are stressed in the program. Residents have the opportunity to work in a broad range of clinical scenarios, alternating between Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine (and related subspecialties) over three month blocks, with each month being a different clinical/academic/research rotation. Critical care experience is emphasized, with minimum 1-2 months spent in ICU settings every year. Numerous graduates have completed further training and have become “triple-boarded” in critical care as well as emergency and internal medicine. Others have sought fellowship training in fields such as Cardiology, Sports Medicine, Infectious Disease and International Medicine.