The Internal Medicine Ward & In-patient Consultation Rotation occurs at Kern Medical Center. There are 4 Ward firms, each composed of a full-time UCLA faculty in Internal Medicine, a senior house officer (PGY-2 or 3), 2 interns, and medical students. Interns go on overnight call q8-days. Cap for interns is set at 5 new admissions per call day. The senior resident takes call q4-days, but the call ends early in the evening as a night float resident takes the over the night call. Residents average around 65 working hours, with a mandatory day-off, per week. The patient population is amazingly diverse in terms of pathology and demographics, and residents learn to comfortably manage a wide array of cases with an optimal balance of autonomy and supervision. During the rotation, the Medicine residents also work closely with the Medicine subspecialty services, the other specialties, and the ER staff. >> back to Curriculum
The Critical Care Rotation occurs at the Intensive Care and Direct Observation Units of the Kern Medical Center. The rotation is closely supervised by a full-time UCLA faculty in Critical Care. There are 4 ICU teams which go on call q4-days, each composed of a senior resident (PGY-2 or 3), an intern, and a medical student. Teams admit an average of 2 cases per call, and residents work around 65 hours a week (mandatory day-off per week). The rotation allows the resident to gain competence in the care of the acutely ill patient and in providing immediate and continuing care of a variety of the critically-ill in this setting. Also during the rotation, residents learn proficiency in invasive procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and hemodynamic stabilization. A formal course in medical ethics is also integrated in the curriculum. The rotation is highly-structured academically, and provides nationally-accredited training in fundamental critical care and advanced life support. >> back to Curriculum
The Ambulatory Care Rotation occurs at the Medicine Subspecialty Clinics of the Kern Medical Center. The rotation is designed to provide familiarity with outpatient subspecialities, to develop appropriate utilization and referral patterns to subspecialists, and to develop knowledge in the preventive health care measures of each subspecialty. Aside from the Pulmonary, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Oncology and Neurology Clinics (see specific subspecialty rotation description), the Department also conducts the Coccidioidomycosis, Hepatology, HIV/Immunology, Rheumatology, Diabetes, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Clinics. The Cocci Clinic was established (and still being manned to this day) by Dr. Hans Einstein and Dr. Royce Johnson, the world’s foremost authorities on Valley Fever. The Rheumatology Clinic is run by Dr. Michael Liebling, Chief of Rheumatology at Harbor-UCLA. The Hemostasis/Thrombosis Clinic is run by Dr. William Baker, a well-known local expert in Hematology. Residents attend these subspecialty clinics during weekdays (office hours), and take weekends off (Fridays are usually half-days). >> back to Curriculum
The Pulmonary Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units of the Kern Medical Center, as well as the Pulmonary Clinics of KMC. The rotation in supervised by a full-time UCLA faculty in Pulmonology. Majority of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations and from the cases seen in the Pulmonary Clinic, conducted 2 half-days per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience working with patients having disorders of the respiratory system. Also during the rotation, residents are taught proficiency in interpreting chest imaging, pulmonary function tests, and sleep studies. Residents regularly observe procedures at the Pulmonary Function Lab and at the Bronchoscopy Suite. One full-day per week, residents rotate through the Kern Allergy Medical Clinic, a private specialty clinic run by a UCLA-affiliated visiting faculty, where proficiency in managing allergic & immunologic disorders, and skin testing is learned. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Cardiology Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units and the Cardiology Clinic of the Kern Medical Center supervised by a full-time UCLA faculty in Cardiology. Residents also rotate at different community training sites, supervised by part-time UCLA-affiliated visiting faculty. Half of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations and from the cases seen in the Cardiology Clinic. The other half of the rotation occurs at the private practices of UCLA-affiliated cardiologists, where residents see patients and procedures at the private clinics, as well as at the private hospitals (Bakersfield Heart Hospital, Bakersfield Memorial, and Mercy Hospital). The rotation provides opportunities for the resident to develop familiarization with a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases. Also during the rotation, residents are taught proficiency in interpreting electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, and stress tests. Residents regularly observe procedures at the Cardiac Diagnostic Lab and at the Cardiac Catheterization Suites of KMC and the other centers. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Geriatrics Rotation occurs at the UCLA-VA Nursing Home Care Unit at the Sepulveda, CA campus. The rotation is supervised by full-time UCLA faculty in Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry. The residents work closely with UCLA Geriatric and Geriatric Psychiatry fellows as well as internal medicine residents from the other UCLA-affiliated programs. During the rotation, residents are taught the medical and psychosocial aspects of care of the geriatric and the institutionalized patients. The resident becomes part of the interdisciplinary team, which includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, kinesiotherapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists, and recreational therapists. The scope of care includes skilled nursing care, short-term care, rehabilitation, palliative care, and respite. Rotators also learn to manage decubitus ulcers and skin lesions during Wound Rounds conducted by the Dermatology Service. Residents are housed in the UCLA-KMC apartment (2BR, fully-furnished) at the Westwood campus, work office hours during weekdays, and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Nightfloat Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units of Kern Medical Center. The nightfloat resident, under supervision by an on-call UCLA faculty, works independently to see consults and admit patients overnight. Working in this fashion permits the residents to develop many important skills that will be used later in the practice of medicine, including the ability to triage, the recognition of limitations and the ability to develop skills of interpersonal communication, maximizing information exchange with patients, fellow residents and attending physicians. During the rotation, the resident develops skills in System-Based Practice, using a variety of hospital resources to provide optimal patient care. The nighfloat resident works 5 nights a week (Sunday until Thursday).>> back to Curriculum
The Bakersfield VA Clinic Rotation occurs at the local outpatient care facility of the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Residents are supervised by UCLA-affiliated faculty in Internal Medicine. In addition to developing well-rounded competence in ambulatory medicine and preventive care, the rotation also provides experience in healthcare issues specific to the veteran population that afford unique challenges in diagnosis and management. During the rotation, residents work office hours during weekdays, and take the weekends off.
The Emergency Medicine Rotation occurs at the Emergency Department of Kern Medical Center. The residents are directly supervised by full-time Emergency Medicine faculty. The resident is exposed to a wide range of medical-surgical problems across all age groups in the ER and urgent care settings. Residents also are given the opportunity to develop procedural skills unique to the acute care setting. During the entire rotation, residents work a total of 14 eight-hour shifts. >> back to Curriculum
The Infectious Disease Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units, as well as at the ID, Cocci, Hepatology and HIV/Immunology Clinics of Kern Medical Center. The rotation is supervised by a full-time UCLA faculty in Infectious Diseases. Majority of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations, and from the cases seen in the 4 clinics, each conducted half-a-day per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience in managing patients with bacterial, viral and fungal infections, coccidioidomycosis, HIV, Hepatitis C, parasitic infections, and tuberculosis. Also during the rotation, residents are taught proficiency in preparing gram stains, AFB smears and cultures at the twice-weekly sessions in the Microbiology Laboratory. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Nephrology Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units and the Renal Clinic of Kern Medical Center. The rotation is supervised by part-time visiting UCLA faculty in Nephrology. Majority of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations, and from the cases seen in the Renal Clinic conducted half-a-day per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience in managing patients with disorders of renal function and urinary tract. Exposure to in-patient hemodialysis is obtained at Kern Medical center, while experience in chronic outpatient dialysis is taken from weekly visits to the BakersfieldDialysisCenter, a private facility. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Neurology Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units and the Neurology Clinic of Kern Medical Center. The rotation is supervised by part-time visiting UCLA faculty in Neurology. Majority of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations, and from the cases seen in the Neurology Clinic conducted half-a-day per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience in managing patients with neurologic disorders. Also during the rotation, residents regularly observe procedures at the Neurodiagnostic Laboratory of KMC, and are taught basic skills in interpreting electroencephalograms, electromyelograms, nerve conduction studies, and neuro-imaging modalities. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
Residents are given the opportunity to do at least 2 Medicine subspecialty rotations of their choice at the other UCLA-affiliated campuses in Los Angeles. Any rotation (subject to availability) can be selected, although most residents prefer Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, and Hematology-Oncology. Most residents elect to rotate in Oliveview, Cedars-Sinai, West-LAVA, and Harbor-UCLA. During the rotation, residents are housed in the UCLA-KMC apartment (2BR, fully-furnished) at the Westwood campus, work office hours during weekdays, and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
Residents are given the opportunity to do at least 2 elective rotations of their choice at Kern Medical Center or at the other training sites within the community. Any Medicine subspecialty rotation (subject to availability) can be selected, the most popular of which for recent residents have been Dermatology, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, and Oncology. Electives in Urgent Care and Private General Practice are also available. Residents can also do rotations in non-Internal Medicine specialties like Pediatrics, Surgery, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, ENT, and others (subject to availability). Schedule depends on the type of elective selected, but usually, the resident works weekdays during office hours and take weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Gastroenterology Rotation occurs at the in-patient care units and the Gastroenterology Clinic of Kern Medical Center. The rotation is supervised by full-time UCLA faculty in Gastroenterology. Majority of the educational experience is derived from in-patient consultations, and from the cases seen in the GI Clinic conducted half-a-day per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience in managing patients with disorders of the gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary tracts. During the rotation, residents regularly observe procedures at the Endoscopy Suites of KMC and other centers. Residents may also be assigned to see patients at other community sites. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off. >> back to Curriculum
The Oncology Rotation occurs at the Central Blood & Cancer Center (a UCLA-affiliated outpatient cancer treatment and research facility), as well as at the in-patient care units and the Oncology Clinic of Kern Medical Center. The rotation is supervised by part-time visiting UCLA faculty in Oncology. Majority of the educational experience is derived from the cases seen at CBCC, from in-patient consultations, and from the cases seen in the Renal Clinic conducted half-a-day per week. The rotation provides a concentrated experience in managing patients with hematologic and oncologic disorders. Exposure to in-patient chemotherapy is obtained at Kern Medical Center, while experience in outpatient chemotherapy and radiotherapy is taken from the KMC Chemo-Infusion Clinic and from CBCC. Residents work weekdays and take the weekends off.