PMCC Residency
Frequently Asked Questions

Family Medicine - FAQ

What types of educational conferences are available?
There are a number of educational conferences during the week. And while residents attend conferences in their disciplines, they are also welcome to attend any other conferences they find interesting. A typical family practice conference schedule would be:

> Monday - meetings and board review with family practice faculty.
> Tuesday - a combined Internal Medicine/Family Practice conference in grand rounds format.
> Wednesday - conferences at family practice center focusing on topics of special interest to family medicine.
> Thursday - core curriculum/cancer conferences
> Friday - no conference.

What facilities are available to residents when they are on call?
Each discipline has its own call rooms. These rooms are allocated so that every resident has his/her own room while on call. There is a common recreation area with a pool table, ping pong table, television, microwave and refrigerator.

How often do family practice residents take call?
The call schedule for interns depends entirely upon the service to which the intern is assigned. Typically, it would be as follows:

> Two months are spent on the inpatient family practice service. During this service interns schedule their own call, usually five or six nights per month. One - and possibly two - of these will consist of 24-hour call on a weekend.
> Four months are spent on the in-patient internal medicine service where interns can expect to be on call every fourth night. Interns can expect two free weekends during each month on this service.
> Two months are spent in the emergency department, and there is no call during this service.
> One month is spent doing an inpatient pediatric rotation at The Children's Hospital of Alabama where interns have call every fourth night.
> On general surgery, call averages every third to fourth night.
> For the remaining months, interns schedule their own call, which averages four to five nights a month. Second and third year residents take call three or four times per month, except during the UAB OB/GYN rotation when call averages every fifth to sixth night.

What type of opportunities do Physicians residents have to learn about pediatrics and OB/GYN?
PMCC interns spend one month on an inpatient service at The Children's Hospital of Alabama, one of the nation's leading pediatric institutions. They share the same opportunities and responsibilities as pediatric interns while on this service. PMCC interns also spend a month in outpatient pediatrics at the PMCC Family Medicine Center in North Birmingham or with a private pediatrician. Elective opportunities include pediatric emergency care and other areas of pediatrics.

For OB/GYN experience, PMCC residents have a rare opportunity to spend three months with the UAB OB/GYN team at Cooper Green Hospital.

Internal Medicine - FAQ

What are the benefits of training in internal medicine at PMCC?
At PMCC residents receive state-of-the-art clinical training in skills necessary for primary care practice, hospitalist careers or fellowship training. This is accomplished in an environment that is friendly, personal and academic. Our affiliation with several on-campus group practices, as well as our close working relationship with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, allows our residents to develop expertise in managing a broad spectrum of clinical disorders from the critically ill to common, general medical problems. At PMCC and affiliated clinics, all patients are utilized for teaching. Residents have primary responsibility for their patients, and there are no fellows to compete with for procedures.

What is the call schedule like?
All residents meet monthly with the chief medical residents to schedule their call. First year residents take in-house call on average every fifth night. Second and third year residents usually take in-house call every sixth night. Overall call ranges from every fourth to seventh night. Residents on all rotations have at least two, and frequently three, weekends off each month.

How many residents get fellowships and where?
The majority of our residens who seek fellowships attain them and in highly qualified programs. For example, four of our six graduating residents in 2007 acquired fellowships at UAB, Univeristy of Texas Galviston, and Texas A&M University Of the residents seeking fellowships, more than 90 percent attain competitive fellowships at prestigious institutions, such as, UAB, Vanderbilt, University of Virginia, and California Pacific Medical Center, among others.

Where are recent graduates practicing?
Of our recent graduates who elected not to pursue fellowships, more than 75 percent are practicing medicine in Alabama. Most are in private, primary care group practices with many continuing their affiliation with PMCC. Recently, a growing number are working as hospitalists in the Birmingham area, while others are employed as emergency department physicians.

How much flexibility do I have in tailoring my schedule and electives to meet my special interests and needs?
Our curriculum is designed to allow residents to concentrate on hospitalist rotations, ambulatory primary care skills or the more traditional mix. This is accomplished by utilizing a flexible elective format.

Transitional Year - FAQ

What makes the PMCC residency programs special?
PMCC has a rich educational heritage. We have sponsored graduate medical education programs longer than any other teaching hospital in Alabama. We started a formal internship in 1919, the year such programs were first recognized by the American Medical Association, and PMCC developed the first surgery residency in Alabama in 1939. PMCC places the highest priority on educational excellence and the needs of residents. It offers a very comfortable and collegial learning environment.

How do duties and responsibilities of transitional year residents compare to those of categorical specialty residents?
Transitional year residents have the same status, responsibilities and privileges as first year categorical specialty residents at PMCC. They are readily accepted on all specialty and subspecialty assignments and are encouraged to take initiative in patient care, while enjoying effective backup and support by dedicated faculty members and senior specialty residents. There is an excellent balance of academic activities and clinical experience.

How much input and flexibility do PMCC transitional year residents have in developing their assigned schedules?
This is one of the strongest features of the program. Requests that are compatible with applicable accreditation standards are virtually always granted. Residents have six months of selective and elective choices in the PMCC Transitional Year program, and the schedule for each resident is designed to meet his or her personal needs and interests.

How do transitional year residents relate to residents in other disciplines at PMCC?
There is a high level of camaraderie among residents in PMCC programs. Everyone supports one another, and there is a tremendous degree of mutual respect among residents in all disciplines. The atmosphere is extremely comfortable and friendly. It is fun to come to work every day!