Royce H. Johnson, MD FACP Vice-Chair & Professor of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine Chair, KMC Department of Medicine		Welcome to the UCLA-Kern Department of Medicine! In 1975, our Department officially became a teaching service of the UCLA Department of Medicine, with excellence in patient care and excellence in education as its primary goals. For over 3 decades, the Department has upheld its sacred tradition of developing outstanding internists that eventually become exceptional practitioners and notable leaders of the community. The Department, with its vast resources in terms of clinical material and research opportunities, provides comprehensive academic training to its residents and medical students. The Department shares these educational opportunities by offering core rotations to the other residency programs at Kern Medical Center (Transitional Year, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Surgery). This meaningful interaction among the different specialties ultimately aids the Internal Medicine resident in defining the roles and skills of an internist in actual practice. The Medicine residents are considered graduate students of the UCLA School of Medicine. Upon successful completion of residency, they receive their certificates of graduation from UCLA. Aside from the Categorical Medicine track, the Emergency Medicine and Transitional Year programs of KMC are also affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA through the Department of Medicine.