Program Structure/ postgraduates
The contents for Internal medicine postgraduates training program are designed to meet the highest standards of training in internal medicine that will make it to be on a par with training programs provided by similar programs in the other parts of the world. At the same time the contents are tailored to meet the needs of internal medicine care in Ethiopia and will reflect the spectrum and burden of medical diseases in the country.
Year one of the training program – Consists of eight modules which are conducted separately with the Ethics module, which will be conducted for a few weeks in a longitudinal fashion. The total workload and duration in the first year is to be completed in 11 months with one month of vacation.
All modules are expected to be completed during the first year; however, one module is not considered a prerequisite to the other. Some residents are assigned to start one module along with supervising consultants, while other residents start a different module with different consultants. At completion of the modules, residents will switch.
All residents are expected to actively participate in the didactic lectures, seminars, journal clubs, and case discussions which will be conducted throughout the year.
Promotion to the second year of the training requires completion of all credits and a cumulative score of 70% in the first year evaluation.
Year two of the training program – The second year consists of 11 months of active learning activities and one month of vacation. There are seven modules in this year of study. Completing the internal medicine/ward module is a prerequisite to proceed to the specialty modules. The research module is allocated with a total of eight weeks. Residents will be allowed to choose the appropriate time for themselves to do the research work in consultation with their research mentor but they will have a common research methodology lecture.
Year three of the training program – The third year consists of 11 months of active learning activities and one month of vacation. There are seven modules in the third year. The residents can take a second four weeks’ research time in block during the third year. Completion of all credits, defending the research work, and completion of minimum exposures and procedures detailed in the assessment strategy will be required before taking the qualifying exam.
Completion of a total of all credits, a pass in the research defence, and an overall score of 70% will be required for graduation.
Program Structure (Summary by Year)
Year 1: Clinical Program R-1
Course Code: IMED 7003
Duration: 48 weeks
| Course/module code | Course/Module title/name | Duration | Hours/year |
| IMED 7013 | General Internal Medicine | 5 months | 1,800 |
| IMED 7023 | Medical Intensive Care | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 7033 | Emergency module | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 7043 | Radiology module | 1 month | 264 |
| IMED 7053 | Psychiatry module | 1 month | 264 |
| IMED 7063 | Dermatology/Venereology | 1 month | 264 |
| IMED 7073 | Medical Ethics module | 1/2 month | 120 |
| EDU 7082 | Teaching skills | 1/2 month | 120 |
| Total | 11 month | 3,552 |
Vacation: 1 month
Year 2: Clinical Program R-2
Course Code: IMED 8003
Duration: 48 weeks
| Course code | Module | Duration | Hours/year |
| IMED 8013 | General Internal Medicine | 3 months | 1,080 |
| IMED 8023 | Medical Intensive Care | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 8033 | Emergency module | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 8093 | Cardiology | 2 month | 720 |
| IMED 8113 | Pulmonology | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 8123 | Nephrology | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 8133 | Rheumatology | 1 month | 360 |
| PH 8102 | Leadership module | 1/2 month | 120 |
| PH 8142 | Research module | 1/2 month | 128 |
| Total | 11 month | 3,848 |
Vacation: 1 month
Year 3: Clinical Program R-3
Course Code: IMED 9003
Duration: 48 weeks
| Course code | Module | Duration | Hours/year |
| IMED 9013 | General Internal Medicine | 2 months | 720 |
| IMED 9023 | Medical Intensive Care | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 9153 | Endocrinology | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 9163 | Neurology | 2 months | 720 |
| IMED 9173 | Infectious Disease | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 9183 | Hematology | 1 month | 360 |
| IMED 9193 | Gastroenterology | 2 months | 720 |
| PH 9142 | Research module | 1 month | 264 |
| Total | 11 months | 3,864 |
Administrative issues and residents involvement
Introduction
Chief residents: plays an important, being positioned at the nexus between faculty and residents.
Chief resident will be elected among residents who start their third year of residency by department staff meetings, taking the following points into consideration during the process:
- academic performance,
- dedication to patient care,
- Presentation, and organizational / leadership skills.
- Assistant chief residents can be elected from any year of study. There needs to be at least two assistant chiefs in number.
Chief resident
- Prepare letters and notices about the different activities for residents
- Organize mid-year gatherings
- Handle emergency scheduling (e.g. resident illness)
- Schedule weekly meetings with his or her postgraduate program coordinator and report major achievements and challenges in the program.
First Assistant
- Coordinate mainly the postgraduate activities.
Second Assistant
- Prepare monthly duty rotation.
- Organize handover rounds.
- Organize and supervise residents assigned in wards and clinics.
- Search for sponsors and finance for mid-year and year-end gatherings as well as gifts for residents.
Third Assistant
- Coordinate mainly undergraduate activities.
DURATION OF THE PROGRAM
This Internal Medicine Residency Training Program will have a total duration of three years.
TEACHING METHODS AND STRATEGY
The program will employ the following modes of delivery to conduct the training:
- Supervised direct patient care in the outpatient as well as inpatient settings
- Supervised performance of diagnostic and interventional procedures
- Didactic lecture series
- Seminars and journal article presentations
- Clinical cases, morbidity and mortality conferences
- Mentored research projects, and
- Self-study
Assessment Methods
Comprehensive strategies will be used to assess the performance of residents.
Assessment of Residents
- Internal medicine residents are routinely evaluated throughout their residency using multiple methods.
- At the beginning of each clinical service, the attending faculty will review the expectations for that particular clinical service with the resident.
- The attending faculty will provide written evaluations and verbal feedback to the residents at the end of each month on their rotation.
- During year two and three of the training, there will be periodic meetings with the residents and research mentors to evaluate their performance on their research project using specific research assessment tools.
- All of these evaluations are reviewed with the internal medicine resident on a periodic biannual performance review.
1.Evaluation tools for year one
| Evaluation tool | Evaluator/s | Time of evaluation | Contribution to the total mark |
| Global evaluation tool | Attending faculty | End of each rotation (module) | 20% |
| Semi-annual Residency Director evaluation | Residency Director | Every six months | 10% |
| 360° evaluation tool | Fellows, residents, nurses and patients | At the end of each rotation (module) | 10% |
| End of first-year examination | Exam organizers of the department of internal medicine | At the end of first year | 60% |
2.Evaluation tools for year two
| Evaluation tool | Evaluator/s | Time of evaluation | Contribution to the total mark |
| Global evaluation tool | Attending faculty | End of each rotation (module) | 40% |
| Semi-annual Residency Director evaluation | Residency Director | Every six month | 10% |
| 360° evaluation tool | Fellows, residents, nurses and patients | At the end of each rotation (module) | 10% |
| Research project-proposal writing | Staff faculty | End of second year | 10% |
| End of second year examination (written) | Exam organizers of the department of internal medicine | At the end of second year | 30% |
3.Evaluation tools for year three
| Evaluation tool | Evaluator/s | Time of evaluation | Contribution to the total mark |
| Global evaluation tool | Attending faculty | End of each rotation (module) | 10% |
| Semi-annual fellowship director evaluation | Residency Director | Every six months | 10% |
| 360° evaluation tool | Fellows, residents, nurses, and patients | At the end of each rotation (module) | 10% |
| Average R-1 & R-2 assessment | Residency Director | End of year three | 10% |
| Logbook for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures | Residency Program Director | Two months before completion of training | Complete/ incomplete |
| Research project | External examiners and/or staff faculty | End of year three, along with qualifying examination | 10% |
| Qualifying examination | External examiners and staff faculty | At the end of year three | 50% |
Allocation of qualifying Examination mark (out of 100%)
| Exam type | Evaluator/s | Contribution to the Examination mark |
| MCQ | Staff faculty | 30% |
| Practical Long case | External examiners and/or staff faculty | 30% |
| Practical Short case | External examiners and/or staff faculty | 20% |
| Spot | Staff faculty | 10% |
| Viva | External examiners and/or staff faculty | 10% |
4.Grading: Similar with the university’ grading system.
Promotion, Withdrawal, Readmission, and Transfer Criteria
- Attendance: Residents are expected to attend at least 95% of all academic activities. Absence with legitimate reasons for more than one week must be compensated before sitting for end of first, second year, or final examination.
- Resident absence for any reason for more than two months will be forced to withdraw. Absence for >= 3 months will end up in academic dismissal. Female resident returning from maternity leave can resume her study from where she stopped.
- Resident should score a minimum of 70% in the end-of first year examination to be promoted from first to second year.
- Resident should score a minimum of 70% in the end-of second year examination to be promoted from second year to third year.
- Resident should score a minimum of 70% in the final examination to qualify for graduation.
- If the resident scores <70% at the end of first year, she/he will repeat the first year.
- If the resident scores <70% at the end of second year, she/he will repeat the year.
- If the resident fails to complete a module, he/she won’t be allowed to sit for end-year or qualifying exam.
- If the resident fails to defend thesis, he/she won’t be allowed to sit for qualifying exam.
- If the resident scores <70% at the end of the third year, the duration of extra attachment needed will not be less than three months and not more than one year.
Withdrawal and Readmission
- Resident who withdraws before completing less than 50% of the modules for the year, upon return shall start all over again. If completed more than 50%, the resident will continue from where he/she stopped if returned within one academic year; but if return occurs beyond one academic year, he/she will have to restart again.
- A resident who has been dismissed for academic reasons may apply for readmission only once during the whole study period of a given program.
- No resident who has discontinued his study for a period longer than two years may be granted readmission.
Transfer from one university to another university
- A resident should learn for at least one year before being considered for transfer to another university.
- Residents with justifiable reasons only, such as medical reasons, marriage, should be considered for transfer.
- There has to be an agreement from the accepting university.
Academic dismissal
- A resident with major disciplinary problems.
- A resident who fails on the same year of study twice.
- A resident who withdraws twice.
Termination from study
- A resident who disappeared for three or more months without justifiable reason.
Graduation Requirements
Resident should have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above.
- Residents should produce a dissertation paper with score > 70% in the evaluation of the paper.
- The resident should not have serious medical misconduct.
- Residents must successfully perform the expected procedural and diagnostic skills.
Degree nomenclature
At the successful completion of the training program, residents will be awarded a specialty certificate in internal medicine and entitled “internist”. In Amharic “የውስጥ ደዌ ህክምና ስፔሺያሊስት “Or in Afaan Oromoo ‘Ispeeshaalistii waldhaansa keessoo’