Curriculum

The LSU Med/Peds Residency is a four-year program comprised of two years of Internal Medicine and two years of Pediatrics, completed in alternating four-month blocks.  Residents transition from interns to supervisory residents after sixteen months in the program, after completing eight months of training in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Our Med/Peds program is well-integrated into both the categorical Internal Medicine and Pediatrics programs. Our residents receive the full benefits of each categorical program yet also maintain strong identity as Med/Peds physicians.  Bi-monthly meetings devoted to Med/Peds residents afford our residents opportunities to discuss topics unique to Med/Peds and reinforce our strong Med-Peds community.

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine training takes place at University Medical Center, Touro Infirmary, and Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner. Please see our sample schedule for specifics; generally, after your 24 months of the Internal Medicine component of your residency, you will have completed 7-8 ward months, 2 ICU months, 1 ER month, 5 months of dedicated Med/Peds ambulatory clinic, 2 required electives, 4 chosen electives.  Elective time may be inpatient, outpatient, or a combination of both.  Ward in-house call averages Q4 or 5 depending on site while ICU averages Q4.  Other months and electives are call-free.  We do not have 24 hour call—as such our residents complete a maximum of 2 months of night float while rotating with Internal Medicine.  We do not conduct home call.

We offer a Hospital Track, a Primary Care Track, and an HIV Track for interested residents.  The Internal Medicine Department follows a 4+1 schedule. Two of the three hospitals (Touro and Kenner) admit to open ICU's during general wards rotations for additional experience caring for critically ill adults, with subspecialist support, while UMC’s closed Medical ICU is staffed entirely by Critical Care-trained physicians. Additional core rotations include ER, MICU, Heme/Onc, and Geriatrics. Electives include Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology, and Endocrinology.  Additional non-Internal Medicine-based electives (i.e. Dermatology, Radiology, etc.) can be arranged by resident request.

Pediatrics

Pediatric training is almost entirely at Manning Family Children’s Hospital, Louisiana's only free-standing hospital for children. For specifics; generally, after 24 months, you will have completed 4 General Pediatrics ward months, 1 Hematology-Oncology wards rotation, 1 PICU & 2 NICU months (Touro and MFC NICU), 1 well baby nursery month, 2 Pediatric ER months, and 10 subspecialty and elective months.  These include 4 required subspecialty rotations, 2 ambulatory clinic months, 1 advocacy months, 2 individualized elective months, and 1 month of night-float. In addition, while rotating on Pediatrics, our Med-Peds residents continue to see their continuity patients in our Med-Peds clinic one half-day per week.  The Children’s Hospital employs a drip system, and all ward months employ a night float system.  For residents interested in academics there is a Residents as Teachers elective to strengthen educational skills.   Dedicated Quality Improvement and Research rotations are available for interested residents while on the Pediatrics side or on the Internal Medicine side.

Med/Peds Ambulatory Rotation

Both interns and residents rotate through a combined Med/Peds ambulatory elective during their four-year residency. During this rotation, residents attend a variety of clinics staffed by Medicine, Pediatrics, and Med/Peds faculty highlighting outpatient care in both private and academic clinic settings. Residents spend a lot of time in the Med/Peds Clinic. Additionally, residents may pursue specific subspecialty experiences in the LSU Medicine and Pediatric ambulatory clinics according to interest.  These dedicated ambulatory rotation is a supplement to the +1 ambulatory weeks while on Internal Medicine, and the ambulatory half-days while on Pediatrics.

Sample Four-Year Tracking Schedule