Internal Medicine
Did you know...
"Emory's program is both rigorous and competitive. Each year we receive more than 4000 applications and interview approximately 10% of candidates."
- Emory University Department of Internal Medicine
Learn more about the internal medicine residency selection process through our interview with Dr. Roy Ziegelstein, former Program Director of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center internal medicine residency program.
We can help you match...
See how The Successful Match book has helped others
See how Success on the Wards has helped others
Why pursue Internal Medicine as a career?
2010 Internal Medicine Salary
Overview of Residency Training
To become an internal medicine physician or internist, three years of residency training are required. According to the AMA and AAMC, there are 22,292 residents training in 379 ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency programs. Forty-nine percent are USMDs, 45% are international medical graduates, and 6% are osteopathic graduates. In the 2010 NRMP Match, approximately 5,000 categorical positions were available.
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Internal medicine residents in the United States |
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# of total residents |
% USMDs |
% IMGs |
% osteopathic graduates |
|
22,292 |
49% |
45% |
6% |
| Data adapted from Brotherton S, Etzel S. Graduate medical education, 2009 - 2010. JAMA 2010; 304(11): 1255 - 1270. | |||
2010 Match Results
U.S seniors are readily able to match into internal medicine. In the 2010 NRMP Match, only 2.8% of U.S. seniors who applied to the field went unmatched. However, top-tier university programs are quite competitive.
Osteopathic applicants may match into allopathic or osteopathic internal medicine residency programs. There are approximately 100 osteopathic residency programs.
In 2010, approximately 1,800 international medical graduates matched into the specialty. However, many fail to match. In the 2010 Match, 53.7% of independent applicants went unmatched (IMGs are considered independent applicants).
Why pursue Internal Medicine as a Career?
Internal medicine physicians discuss reasons why they chose to pursue a career in internal medicine:
Rachel Miller, MD
Robert Trowbridge, MD
2010 Internal Medicine Physician Compensation/Salary
Find out how much an internal medicine medicine physician makes
Subspecialties of Internal Medicine
Subspecialties in which internists can pursue fellowship training leading to board certification include adolescent medicine, cardiovascular disease, clinical cardiac electrophysiology, critical care medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, hematology, hospice and palliative medicine, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, medical oncology, nephrology, pulmonary disease, rheumatology, sleep medicine, sports medicine, and transplant hepatology.
Excelling in your Internal Medicine Clerkship
Our book, Success on the Wards: 250 Rules for Clerkship Success (pictured below), has an extensive chapter that will prepare you for this clerkship. Read pages 5 and 6 of the first chapter for more information.
See how our book has helped others.
Internal Medicine Residency Application
Almost all residency programs require applicants to submit their completed application through the Electronic Residency Application Service, also known as ERAS. ERAS does not, however, allow applicants to submit their curriculum vitae or CV as part of this application. Instead, ERAS requires all applicants to transfer information from their CV to the ERAS Application Form. It is the ERAS Application Form that is then sent to programs for review along with the the rest of your application.
Once the application is received, program directors will read it closely and carefully. The application will be used to assess the quality of your written communication skills. Programs place considerable emphasis on communication skills because effective communication has been shown to directly affect the quality of care given to patients.
Therefore, it is imperative that all information in your application is well communicated and error-free. In our experiences reviewing and editing applications, errors are common. We agree with the words of the American College of Physicians. "Generally, your curriculum vitae is the first contact you may have with a prospective program director...It should emphasize your strength and create an interest about you sufficient to result in a personal interview."
We have considerable experience reviewing and editing the ERAS Application Form can make sure that your application is polished, professional, and powerful.
Our ERAS Application Review/Editing Service can be purchased through our online store. All clients will work directly with Dr. Samir Desai, author of The Successful Match.
Important Information for the Aspiring Internist
Primary care - the best job in medicine?
Physician career satisfaction within specialties
Where have all the general internists gone?
Worklife and satisfaction of general internists
The joys of a being a hospitalist
Predicting, preparing for, and creating the future: what will happen to Internal Medicine?