Details on the curriculum and educational tracks in the Family Medicine Residency program at IU Health Arnett.

a family medicine resident practices her sutures on a chicken breast with the help of another trainee

Curriculum and Educational Tracks

At the IU School of Medicine Family Medicine Residency at Indiana University Health Arnett program, we pride ourselves on the content, structure, and continuous improvement of our education content.

One of the most exciting and unique aspects of the IU School of Medicine Family Medicine Residency at Indiana University Health Arnett is our longitudinal approach to family medicine education. We acknowledged early on that residents must have an ongoing exposure to specialty topics and experiences to allow for retention and application of the knowledge obtained. Learning experiences that are done longitudinally include cardiology, dermatology, behavioral health, gynecology, outpatient pediatrics, radiology/POCUS, sports medicine/orthopedics, and care of the older adults.

Along with understanding the unique benefit this type of curriculum provides, we also appreciate that certain experiences must be conducted as a continuous, traditional block. These include inpatient adult, pediatric, and obstetric rotations. Therefore, our curriculum is presented as blocks, with certain blocks designated as longitudinal blocks.

We value creating a welcoming environment for patients, learners, and each other. Our residency program partners with the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for Inclusive Excellence to provide quarterly interactive workshops quarterly. The goal is to assist and invest in the personal and professional development of faculty, residents, medical students, and staff.

Curriculum by Year

PGY1 Curriculum

Inpatient Adult Medicine — 3 blocks Care of the Pregnant Person — 1 block

Inpatient Nights — 2 two-week blocks Inpatient Pediatrics — 2 blocks (1 is at Riley Indianapolis)

Emergency Room — 1 block Longitudinal — 4 four-week blocks, 2 two-week blocks

PGY2 Curriculum

Inpatient Adult Medicine — 3 blocks Inpatient Nights — 2 two-week blocks

ICU — 1 block Longitudinal — 3 four-week blocks, 2 two-week blocks

Elective — 2 blocks Care of the Pregnant Person — 1 two-week block

Surgery — 1 block

PGY3 Curriculum

Inpatient Adult Medicine — 2 blocks Inpatient Nights — 2 two-week blocks

Family Medicine Clinic — 1 block Longitudinal — 2 four-week blocks, 2 two-week blocks

Elective — 4 blocks Care of the Pregnant Person —1 block

Curriculum by Rotation

IU School of Medicine Family Medicine Residency at Indiana University Health Arnett provides residents with an exciting and well-balanced approach to learning in an environment that enhances both clinical skills and personal development. Faculty and residents regularly review the curriculum to ensure it meets the educational needs of our residents to maintain curricular excellence.

Core Rotations

Family Medicine Clinic

The Family Medicine Clinic curriculum is an experience where all residents provide wellness, acute, and chronic care for patients of all ages in their continuity clinic at the Family Medicine Clinic. Residents gain a substantial amount of outpatient experience early on with as many as three half days of clinic as an intern. Care is provided through in-office and virtual visits. Residents will learn about population health and begin to manage their own patient panels while monitoring their quality metrics. Residents also learn a wide variety of procedural skills that can be done in an outpatient setting by rotating through our procedure clinic. During PGY3 residents will get an opportunity to serve as junior faculty and work with an attending to precept patients with PGY1 and PGY2 residents.

a family medicine resident examines the arm of a patient in the clinic

Adult Inpatient Medicine

During the three years of training, residents will be part of our residency inpatient adult medicine team. This group consists of a PGY1, PGY2, and PGY3 resident, as well as an attending physician and rounding pharmacist. The PGY1 and PGY2 residents manage their own list of patients with close supervision provided by the PGY3 resident. Residents will admit continuity patients from the Family Medicine Residency Clinic to the service. Attending support is comprised of both residency faculty and hospitalists, offering the opportunity to learn different care approaches and experience different teaching styles.

Residents also spend time on night-float working with the hospital nocturnists to cover our adult patients, cover the inpatient pediatric floor, manage rapid responses/codes, and admit patients.

a resident examines a patient in the maternity care rotation

Care of the Pregnant Person

Residents provide obstetrical care in their continuity clinic and rotate with IU Health Arnett obstetricians throughout their training. During all three years, residents spend time on the labor and delivery floor where they will see patients in triage, manage active laboring patients, and participate in both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Residents also rotate in the outpatient OBGYN clinic seeing patients for prenatal care visits. In addition, residents have continuity OB patients they will see in their Family Medicine Residency Clinic. For these continuity OB patients, residents provide all prenatal care with an expectation to manage the delivery, postpartum, and newborn care.

A resident examines a patient in the pediatric inpatient rotation

Inpatient Pediatrics

Residents will do two blocks of inpatient pediatrics during PGY1. Residents will do a block of inpatient pediatrics at IU Arnett Hospital where they get the opportunity to experience pediatric care at a community-based hospital. This will include care of healthy newborns as well as sick pediatric patients. Residents also get the opportunity to rotate at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health where there is a higher volume and acuity of patients. During night float, residents will help to manage and admit pediatric patients at IU Arnett.

Educational Tracks

In addition to the excellent training that all residents at IU School of Medicine Family Medicine Residency at Indiana University Health Arnett receive, we are also very excited to offer targeted education tracks in global health, hospitalist medicine, sports medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.

Residents are also given the opportunity to join additional pathways available through IU School of Medicine (Training Pathways | Graduate Medical Education | IU School of Medicine).

Global Health Track

Residents at Arnett Family Medicine Residency have the opportunity to participate in the IU School of Medicine interdepartmental Global Health Track. This track engages highly motivated residents from all specialties to understand the social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease throughout the world.

Highlights of the global health track include:

Local or international global health elective
Quarterly half day conferences that include didactic sessions, case reports, hands-on-learning, journal clubs, and group discussions
Mentorship: Twice/year meetings with global health mentor to discuss track progress, explore global health opportunities for career after residency, and inspire long-term commitment to global health issues
Scholarly project on a global health topic

Residents who successfully complete the global health track receive a certification in global health from the IU Center for Global Health.

Adult Hospital Medicine Track

The adult hospital medicine track offers enhanced training for resident physicians interested in a career as an adult hospitalist. The track is designed for resident physicians interested in practicing as an adult hospitalist after completion of residency training as well as residents interested in applying for hospital medicine fellowships.

Highlights of the adult hospital medicine track include:

Elective rotations specific to adult hospital medicine, including critical care, hospital administration, palliative care, neurology, and infectious disease
Participation in root cause analyses for inpatient cases
Participation in an Inpatient Hospital Committee
Quality improvement project targeted to the care of the inpatient adult

Sports Medicine Track

The sports medicine track offers additional training for residents who have a passion for sports medicine. The track supports resident physicians who wish to boost their skills in sports medicine as well as those who wish to pursue a sports medicine fellowship.

Highlights of the sports medicine track include:

Mentorship with fellowship trained Arnett physicians
Event coverage and sideline experience
Increased opportunity to practice musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound guided joint injections
Opportunity to participate in scholarship activity at both local and national conferences

Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)

Our OMM curriculum is based on lecture and hands on didactic review of each of the body regions and technique to treat somatic dysfunctions. OMM Didactics also includes journal club and board review for the practical portion of the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians licensing exam. Residents participate in dedicated OMT clinic about once quarterly and are offered the In-Service Exam from the American Osteopathic College of Family Physicians.