Residents are continuously evaluated throughout the program. The nature of the program and the constant communication between trainees and attendings fosters an environment that encourages growth. For more formal evaluations, a web-based system that allows attendings to evaluate trainees after every four week rotation is used. Residents are also able to evaluate their peers, attendings, the program, and themselves. Ancillary medical staff members are given the opportunity to evaluate the housestaff as well. The system analyzes data, provides information regarding performance trends, records narrative comments, and identifies problems using an early warning notification that enables prompt intervention.
Mini clinical evaluation exercises, which are observed history and physicals, are also used for assessment. The evaluation of residents is based on six core competencies: medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, communication skills, practice based learning and systems based learning. In addition, our program incorporates board review oriented, monthly topical sessions that culminate in a monthly testing session. Though it is understood that examinations do not always adequately quantify knowledge, residents perform better on the Internal Medicine Board examination when they are properly prepared. The program offers yearly in-training examinations.