Program Overview
Mission
The Valley Health Internal Medicine Residency Program is dedicated to training outstanding physicians who deliver exceptional, compassionate, and evidence-based care. Through rigorous clinical education, scholarly inquiry, mentorship, and service to diverse populations, we prepare residents to become skilled internists, lifelong learners, and leaders committed to improving the health of the communities they serve.
Vision
Training Physicians. Serving Communities. Inspiring Excellence.
At the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, our Internal Medicine Residency Program prepares physicians to care for patients with skill, compassion, and purpose. Through exceptional clinical training, academic rigor, and meaningful community engagement, we develop leaders who are committed to advancing health, fostering innovation, and making a lasting difference wherever they practice.
Values
Compassion
We place patients and families at the center of everything we do, providing care with empathy, respect, and dignity.
Excellence
We pursue the highest standards in clinical care, education, professionalism, and patient outcomes.
Curiosity & Lifelong Learning
We foster intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and the continuous pursuit of knowledge to advance the practice of medicine.
Community
We are committed to improving the health and well-being of the diverse rural and urban communities we serve.
Integrity
We uphold honesty, accountability, and ethical decision-making in every aspect of our work.
Collaboration
We value teamwork, mentorship, and interdisciplinary partnerships that strengthen patient care and professional growth.
Service
We embrace our responsibility to serve others and to address the evolving healthcare needs of our region.
Wellness & Resilience
We support the personal and professional well-being of our residents, recognizing that thriving physicians provide the best care for patients.
Program Highlights
Competency-based Advancement Structure
Our program is designed in a competency-based advancement structure. Individuals are continuously observed, assessed and provided with feedback in all experiences. Goal-setting is based on Internal Medicine milestones. Once an individual achieves competency in a goal, they set new goals and are advanced in their level of responsibility. As such, we use a competency-based language to define stages of development rather than a time-based language.
Our learners move through phases of development—from Learner (PGY1 year) to Manager (usually end of PGY1 year into PGY2 year) to Teacher/Leader (usually mid PGY2 year to end of training).
Learner
In the learner phase of training, an individual works under close supervision and coaching to achieve basic milestones in Internal Medicine. We use a deliberate practice model in which learners set milestone-based goals; work to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes with direct observation and feedback from faculty, seniors, and team members; and then, based on feedback, set new goals. Supervisors are trained in "supervised autonomy" as a principle so that learners are not "directed" but coached to grow.
Manager
Once a learner reaches competency in all learner-level milestones, they advance to the manager phase of training. In this phase, one works to establish independence in the management of common Internal Medicine ambulatory and inpatient patient presentations. Our managers do not supervise learners, nor are they supervised by upper-level residents. They work collaboratively on manager-level rotations with attending physicians to establish competence. Residents consider this the most challenging and most rewarding phase of training as they truly grow into clinical independence in this phase.
Teacher/Leader
Once a manager is considered independent in managing most common medical conditions, they advance to the leader/teacher phase of training. In this phase, they continue to gain the necessary experience over time in managing many medical conditions and they work on teaching and leadership skills. Their milestones during this phase are worded as phrases such as "can teach others...", "leads a healthcare team", "coordinates care across...", "role models for others...". It is in this level of training that our residents lead teams on the wards, in the ICUs, specialize in consultative care, and serve in advanced roles in the ambulatory practice setting.
Unique Schedule Structure
Our unique tandem block schedule was designed by residents and studied in an Internal Medicine residency. The schedule was created with the following goals in mind:
• Separate inpatient/ambulatory responsibilities with dedicated curricula
• True continuity with a panel of patients in continuity practice
• Excellent coverage for continuity patient panel when on inpatient
• Maintaining four-week experiences for learning purposes
• Optimized trainee wellbeing by creating “systole/diastole” cyclic pattern to schedule which more closely resembles future practice schedules
The tandem block schedule pairs four-week direct patient care inpatient experiences (wards, icu, specialty services - designated as "I" in schematic below) with other experiences (ambulatory, consults, research, electives - designated as A) in an alternating eight-week block schedule. The "A" designation indicates that the resident has continuity clinic three half-days per week during that rotation. The residents are partnered together in practice partnerships so that one of the partners is always in clinic that week and manages outpatient responsibilities for the patient panels during that time. Residents do not have clinic during "I" blocks.
“The tandem block schedule is more than a logistical innovation, it’s a commitment to our residents’ growth and well-being. It allows for deep engagement in both inpatient and outpatient medicine while preserving the relationships that matter most: with patients, with preceptors, and with each other.”
— Dr. Stephanie Call, MD, MSPH, Program Director
The schematic below represents two residents’ schedules for the first 16 weeks of a year. Each column is two weeks. John and Stacey are clinic partners. They are in clinic three half-days per week on A blocks.
Focus on true continuity in a community-based continuity practice
Our resident practice is built to foster the resident-patient relationship, training in a team-based approach to patient-centered care, and to the development of skills needed by a practicing internist in the ambulatory setting (both clinical and leadership/administrative). We accomplish this through:
• Unique schedule which allows true continuity and consistency in the practice
• Resident patient panels and resident identification as the primary care provider
• Team-based care (including nursing, case management, mental health, pharmacy services)
• Partner system that supports continuity and trains individuals for future models of practice
• Ambulatory-based conferences
• New office opened as the primary care practice alongside the Valley Health Transitional Care Clinic.
Focus on the well-being of trainees
We want to train well-rounded internists for the future who have a continued passion for their work and a deep understanding of the need for self-care. Our structures and curricula support this through (not an all-inclusive list):
• Resident wellbeing conferences
• Resident social activities
• Coaching and advising structures
• Schedule structure – tandem-block schedule
• Culture supporting self-care
• Structures for scheduling primary care, mental health, dental, other needed medical care visits (wellness half days – 12 per year, scheduled by resident)
• Access to primary care, mental health, other medical care
• Valley health fitness center membership for self/family members
• 20 days of vacation leave per year
• “Opt out” program for mental health “check-ins” in PGY 1 year
Learn More about Graduate Medical Education at Valley Health
Including Salary and Benefits Information
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