Our Didactic Curriculum begins for incoming PGY1 residents during July orientation with a 3-day intensive introduction to Point of Care Ultrasound training. Residents are taught the fundamental theory and practice of bed-side ultrasound technique and interpretation by in-house and invited nationally recognized experts in the use of POCUS. This is followed by an innovative Boot-Camp Lecture Series, a 25-lecture review that extends from July through early September focusing on common situations faced by our new PGY1 colleagues. Sessions are held Monday-Friday 12:30-1:30, with resident’s time being protected from clinical responsibilities. The series cover 25 common clinical management topics such as “Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain”, “Responding to Codes and Rapid Responses” and “Interpretation of ABG’s”. Also included are practical topics such a “Writing Effective Admission Orders” and “Tips for Effective Communication with Nurses and Other Members of the Care Team.”
The program also offers a series of daily conferences throughout the year during the noon hour. This is also protected time for all residents at all PGY levels. Examples of ongoing lectures series include:
- Morning Report
- Core Curriculum Conference (A three-year cycle of lectures including core material from all medical subspecialties)
- PGY Specific Case Conference Presentations
- Journal Club
- Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
- Morbidity & Mortality Conference
- Department of Medicine Case Conference
- Critical Care Conference
- EKG Interpretation Round Table
- Cancer Conference/Tumor Board
- Cardiac Cath Conference
- Breast Cancer Conference Board Review
- Rapid Response Conference/Training
- Quality and Safety Conference
- Quality Improvement Conference
Additional didactic sessions are offered in our Wellness Series, dispersed throughout the year. A short list of representative topics include:
- Avoiding Sleep Deprivation
- Dealing with the “Impostor Syndrome”
- Asking for and Accepting Feedback
- Attending to Your Financial Health (A multi-part series on basic personal finance, budgeting, saving, investing and strategies for loan repayment)
A host of on-line, self-paced topics are also available through the Northwell iLearn Portal platform. Subjects include:
- Safe and Effective Patient Handoffs
- TeamSTEPPS
- Residents as Teachers
- Tips for Good Medical Record Documentation
Finally, we offer an extensive series of in-person, small-group ABIM board review sessions, both resident and faculty run.
All didactic conferences are created with an eye towards avoiding “Death by PowerPoint”. Whenever possible, presentations are case based with an emphasis on interactive dialogue between the speaker and resident audience.