Greetings and welcome! The University of Iowa – Des Moines Internal Medicine Residency Program is a community-based university-affiliated program with greater than 40 years of experience in training residents in the science and art of Internal Medicine. We foster academic rigor in a supportive, innovative, and collaborative learning and working environment. As a result, our residents develop broad-ranging skills that allow the pursuit of careers in locations throughout the United States, ranging from general Internal Medicine practice to subspecialty practice.

We offer ten categorical and two preliminary medicine positions each year. With training sites that have a spectrum of patient care experiences from primary to tertiary care, and a program size that allows for significant schedule customization, we are able to offer primary care, hospital medicine, and subspecialty medicine training tracks to help residents achieve their career goals. Historically, one-third of our residents choose to enter into subspecialty fellowship training, frequently obtaining positions in competitive specialties and at nationally recognized programs.

Our faculty consists of outstanding general Internists and subspecialists actively involved in one-on-one teaching and mentoring. Our residents also play a major role in education, mastering abilities necessary to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and growth of the knowledge and skills of students, residents, and faculty.

I trust that you will find the information on our site helpful. Please call, write, or email our office for more information. We look forward to helping you learn more about what our program has to offer.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tyler Schwiesow
Program Director
University of Iowa- Des Moines Internal Medicine Residency Program
Iowa Methodist Medical Center
UnityPoint Health- Des Moines

Mission of Program

Provide an educational environment that will enable residents to acquire the medical knowledge, clinical and procedural skills, and professionalism necessary to practice independently as an internist in a variety of practice settings, and to have a solid foundation for potential subspecialty training.




Aims

• Provide inpatient internal medicine and subspecialty training experiences, with supervised graduated autonomy, such that residents become proficient and confident in their practice.
• Provide ambulatory medicine training necessary to effectively manage the spectrum of illness seen in an internal medicine practice and to support the health maintenance of an adult population.
• Demonstrate and teach residents high-value care practices, and develop leadership skills in patient safety and quality improvement.
• Provide ample clinical and scholarly activity opportunities, along with appropriate schedule flexibility, for educational experiences that support residents toward their professional goals.
• Demonstrate and perpetuate collegial and supportive environments, with attention to resident and faculty emotional and physical well-being.

• Ten categorical and two preliminary year positions are offered in the match each year.
• Our principal teaching hospital is Iowa Methodist Medical Center, a private academic medical center.
• Residents will see a diverse patient population as they rotate through our two additional teaching venues: the VA Central Iowa Health Care System and Broadlawns Medical Center, a county hospital.
• Individual rotations (including international opportunities) are available on a case by case basis.
• Superior clinician/educators provide 1:1 teaching and excellent supervision, while ensuring that the resident takes on increasing responsibilities and exercises meaningful autonomy.
• Over 1/3 of residents enter fellowship, with a 96% match rate over the past 13 years.

All rotations are taught by board certified faculty who participate in regular faculty development programs to further develop their supervision and teaching skills. The extensive formal education program covers a broad range of topics from general medicine and the internal medicine subspecialities. The curriculum also addresses topics from a variety of other disciplines.

Residents work one-on-one with faculty during clinical rotations. Patients admitted to inpatient teaching services are always cared for by medical students and residents working with one teaching staff physician. Residents write all orders for patients assigned to their care.

A real strength of the University of Iowa - Des Moines Internal Medicine Residency Program is the procedural experience. You'll master those procedures required by the American Board of Internal Medicine and achieve a superior level of proficiency in performing a wide variety of procedures.

Residents are required to maintain ACLS certification and demonstrate mastery of airway management, mechanical ventilator management and hemodynamic monitoring of critically ill patients. Residents can also obtain ATLS certification during residency training.

A number of program graduates have chosen a hospitalist career path after residency training and report that the hospital and critical care training they received prepared them well for this career path.

One of the highlights of our residency program is the General Internal Medicine teaching division and outstanding general internist teachers, role models and mentors. The continuity of care clinics in which our residents participate provide excellent exposure to a wide variety of ambulatory patient concerns and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn health prevention and health maintenance skills.

Over one-third of our graduates have gone on to pursue subspecialty fellowship training, securing positions at very competitive fellowship programs across the country. Our fellowship match rate is 96% over the past 13 years. Learn more about our graduates.

There are tremendous opportunities for research available to residents in the program with excellent advisors and mentors to support and encourage those who elect to participate.

You will work with faculty advisors, the program director and administrative staff to help discuss and refine your career plans. The program provides a yearly career planning seminar that specifically reviews the process and timeline of the job and fellowship application process.

• Identifying and locating practice opportunities.
• Developing an appropriate curriculum vitae.
• Securing appropriate recommendations and letters of reference.
• Guidance in job and fellowship interviews.

The residency program sponsors a variety of fun social events throughout the calendar year. These include the welcoming picnic in late June, a golf and tennis outing for residents and faculty in July, an Iowa Cubs baseball game in August, an annual Internal Medicine residents vs Surgery residents softball game and picnic in the fall, a holiday party in December and a wonderful graduation ceremony and dinner every June to honor graduating residents.

In addition to these planned events, there a host of other resident-initiated parties, dinners and social events including group outings to touring plays, concerts and sporting events.

There really is no shortage of things to see and do with family and friends within and outside the residency program while training in Des Moines.

Established in 1901 in a single building, today Iowa Methodist has become an important regional medical center and teaching hospital, and a regional campus for the University of Iowa.

Located in downtown Des Moines on a 42-acre campus, Iowa Methodist employs nearly 4,000 people and has 370 staffed beds.

Iowa Methodist Medical Center provides care to tens of thousands of patients each year, providing a broad spectrum of hospital-based services including, cancer treatment, cardiac care, maternity and women's services, emergency and trauma treatment, physical rehabilitation, wellness programs, surgery, orthopaedics and critical care.

Iowa Methodist is the designated Level I trauma center for the Central Iowa region.

Iowa Methodist Medical Center is part of UnityPoint Health - Des Moines, which includes Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Methodist West Hospital, Blank Children's Hospital, John Stoddard Cancer Center and Iowa Health Physicians and Clinics.

Learn more about Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

Methodist West Hospital opened in October 2009 to serve the rapidly growing western communities. The 95-bed, state-of-the-art Methodist West Hospital offers a variety of services including: orthopaedic services, cardiovascular and pulmonary services, emergency department, maternity services and surgery.

Methodist West was designed specifically to care for orthopaedic needs. The Orthopaedic Center of Excellence has 34 beds featuring private adaptable rooms with the ability to be flexible as healthcare delivery and patient needs change.

The emergency department at Methodist West Hospital serves patients of all ages for trauma, medical, surgical and psychiatric evaluations. The Emergency Department has two trauma rooms, two triage rooms, 13 treatment/exam rooms and ambulance service in collaboration with City of West Des Moines.

Methodist West Hospital offers experienced staff and 24/7 on-staff neonatal support in partnership with Blank Children's Hospital. The 12-bed maternity center includes private labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms.

The surgery department contains 14 private pre-operative rooms, six leading edge operating rooms, a cardiovascular catheterization lab and an endoscopy suite.

Learn more about Methodist West Hospital.

The VA Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, is a 100 bed acute care hospital providing acute and specialized medical and surgical services, residential outpatient treatment programs in substance abuse and post-traumatic stress and a full range of mental health and long-term care services, as well as sub-acute and restorative rehabilitation services and a domiciliary.

Located on 47 acres, the VA is available to the approximately 120,000 veterans who live in central Iowa. VA ambulatory care clinics log more than 200,000 visits annually.

The VA Central Iowa Health Care System (VACIHCS) provides community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Mason City, Fort Dodge, Knoxville, Marshalltown and Carroll.

The medical center has an active graduate medical education program.

Learn more about the VA Central Iowa Health Care System.

Broadlawns Medical Center is a 200-bed acute care, community hospital, in Des Moines that is supported by several specialty clinics serving the medical, surgical, mental health and primary health care needs of the residents of Polk County

This county hospital was originally created over 70 years ago to ensure that area residents could receive needed medical care regardless of their financial resources.

Additional construction in the 1990's and extensive remodeling in the past two years expanded and improved the medical-surgical care areas where residents train.

Broadlawns Medical Center is the largest publicly funded hospital in Iowa and provides a unique and rewarding environment for learning. Residents experience a variety of illnesses and health care issues that are not common to most programs. The teaching faculty are firmly committed to the mission of teaching and "caring for our community."

Learn more about Broadlawns Medical Center.