Internal Medicine Residency Greenville - Academics and Teaching

Many residents have interest in pursuing scholarly endeavors including research and quality improvement initiatives. This is well supported by a dedicated two-week research block in each year of residency, didactics, and mentorship. All residents are supported to present research at the South Carolina ACP conference. In addition, residents can use educational funds to present at national conferences. Recently, our residents have presented research at ACC, ACG, TCT, ASN, and IDSA. Our faculty is eager to mentor residents in projects.

At Prisma Health, we partner with Clemson University, Furman University and the University of South Carolina in a unique, dynamic collaboration known as the Health Sciences Center. This collaboration allows for novel interprofessional collaborations to meet the real-world needs of our community. Residents have also engaged in academic offerings such as the Clemson Clinical and Translational Research Graduate Certificate.

High quality teaching is a priority. Each May, our rising PGY-2 residents participate in a retreat outside of the hospital setting. Lead by our Program Director, Associate Program Directors and other experienced faculty, this retreat is designed as a transition event that prepares our rising PGY-2 residents to supervise a ward team, teach interns and medical students and focuses on physician well-being. Our residents are highly regarded for their teaching abilities by the medical students. In addition to teaching students during their clerkships, our residents are involved as mentors in interest groups and The Colleges Program, teaching during simulation and other didactics, and participation in community events such as Root Cause. Here is what some of our medical students had to say about their experience training with our residents:

David S. Enyart, Jr. MS4

Prior to my clinical rotations, I resolved to approach each of my clerkships and electives with the mindset that I would spend the rest of my life in that specialty. It likely goes without saying that this approach, at times, was easier in theory than in practice. However, this was far from the case when it came to my experiences with the internal medicine program, which eventually led to my decision to pursue a career in internal medicine. I was captivated by the incredible sense of teamwork and compassion among all members of the healthcare teams with whom I rotated, which had a positive impact on all members of the team and strongly promoted student-participation in direct patient care as valued members of the healthcare team. The attendings and residents consistently went out of their way to demonstrate and teach physical examination techniques at the bedside, as well as to offer helpful and constructive feedback to students. Most of all, I was deeply moved by the extraordinary acts of generosity and compassion toward patients and their families by many of the physicians on my team. My experiences with the internal medicine program – the many exemplary attendings and residents with whom I am fortunate to have received the opportunity to work alongside, as well as the many patients and their families I was able to learn from and be a part of their healing process – undoubtedly added value to my education and helped me further realize the kind of physician I aspire to be.

Jennifer L. Santos, MS4

My 8-week internal medicine rotation at Prisma Health was one of the most rewarding experiences of my medical school career. After my first few days on the Medical Teaching Service (MTS), I was drawn to pursue a career in this unique specialty. I owe a great deal of this decision to the incredible attendings and residents who I had the privilege of working with during this time. My attendings exhibited high level problem-solving skills and a meticulous attention to detail that I hope to emulate in my training. They exuded a palpable passion for medicine and a drive to uphold a high standard of care for their patients. It was apparent that they not only enjoyed their jobs, but they were genuinely invested in medical education as well. They were patient and thoughtful as they listened to our assessments and offered appropriate feedback. Furthermore, the internal medicine and internal medicine/pediatrics residents were some of the best residents that I worked with throughout my entire third year. They were diligent, compassionate physicians who sought to provide medical students with the right combination of responsibility and guidance. I also learned valuable skills by solely observing their work ethic and bedside manner. Many of my fellow classmates, whether they are pursuing internal medicine or not, have commented on their positive experience with the Internal Medicine residents and attendings at Prisma Health. I was, and continue to be, excited to learn alongside the patient care teams in the Prisma Health Internal Medicine Department.

Rob Summers, MS4

While on my Internal Medicine clerkship, I had the opportunity to assist in the care of patients with a variety of illnesses. I felt like my residents and attendings prioritized my educational experience, often taking extra time to teach and answer questions about important topics that I encountered on a busy inpatient service. While on the Medicine Teaching Service, I established a strong foundation in internal medicine and was encouraged to lead discussions with my patients on rounds. Through the clerkship, I developed skills and tools that I will carry with me as I apply to residency programs and for the rest of my career.

Please watch this video if you’d like to learn more about research at Prisma Health.