Internal medicine is concerned with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases of adults. The Department of Internal Medicine's educational, patient care, and research activities cover all facets of the discipline, including general internal medicine and primary care as well as the specialized areas of allergy and immunology, cardiology, clinical pharmacology, endocrinology and metabolism, gastroenterology and hepatology, hematology, oncology, blood and marrow transplant, infectious diseases, nephrology, pulmonary, critical care, occupational medicine, and rheumatology.
The department is committed to the complete spectrum of medical education, from didactic and clinical education of MD students to resident and fellowship training.
Department of Internal Medicine faculty members bear a major share of teaching medical and physician assistant students in the preclinical curriculum. During the first year, faculty members participate in MED:8121 Clinical and Professional Skills I and MED:8131 Clinical and Professional Skills II, as well as MED:8122 Medicine and Society I and MED:8132 Medicine and Society II. They also participate in teaching MED:8124 Mechanisms of Health and Disease I, MED:8133 Mechanisms of Health and Disease II, and MED:8134 Mechanisms of Health and Disease III. Departmental faculty members are key contributors in the third semester, instructing MED:8221 Clinical and Professional Skills III, MED:8222 Medicine and Society III, MED:8223 Mechanisms of Health and Disease IV, and keystone courses.
During the core clinical clerkship year, the department's faculty members instruct students for 10 weeks in IM:8310 Internal Medicine at University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa River Landing, and the VA Iowa City Health Care, or in hospitals of the Des Moines Area Medical Education Consortium. Students actively participate as members of an inpatient ward team and/or specialty consult services, and in the evaluation and management of patients at outpatient internal medicine clinics in IM:8310.
During their advanced clerkship students may select a clinical experience to fit their own career goals from courses offered in general medicine, subspecialties, intensive care, and a subinternship program IM:8401 Advanced Inpatient Subinternship in Internal Medicine.
The department offers a three-year residency training program in internal medicine. In addition, most of the department's specialty divisions offer two- and three-year clinical and research fellowships, in which fellows develop special knowledge and skills relevant to their specialties. Fellows who hold doctoral degrees may be accepted to programs whose major focus is laboratory research.
Teaching in the Department of Internal Medicine takes place in the Iowa City area at University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa River Landing, and the VA Iowa City Health Care, and in Des Moines at the VA Central Iowa Health Care and Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
Internal Medicine Courses
IM:8301 Inpatient Internal Medicine arr.
Development of knowledge, diagnostic and management skills vital to care of hospitalized patients; clinical responsibilities, educational conferences, independent study.
IM:8302 Outpatient Internal Medicine 3-4 s.h.
Development of knowledge, diagnostic and management skills in the outpatient clinical setting; clinical activities, discussion of problems, independent study.
IM:8310 Internal Medicine 10 s.h.
Development of knowledge, diagnostic, and management skills of vital signs in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings; clinical responsibilities, discussion of problems, educational conferences, independent study. Requirements: MD enrollment.
IM:8401 Advanced Inpatient Subinternship in Internal Medicine 4 s.h.
Student responsibility for evaluating, treating, and following patients admitted to inpatient general medicine services. Requirements: fourth-year MD enrollment.
IM:8410 Clinical Allergy Immunology arr.
Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of asthma and allergic and immunologic diseases; conducting and interpreting relevant specialized clinical and laboratory tests; emphasis on outpatients; formal and informal teaching sessions.
IM:8412 Clinical Cardiology arr.
Development of breadth and depth in diagnostic and therapeutic problems encountered in clinical cardiology; participation in evaluation and decisions regarding patients seen sometimes in the cardiovascular clinic, inpatient cardiology wards, and electrophysiology service.
IM:8413 Noninvasive Cardiovascular Assessment: EKG Interpretation and Experiences in Ultrasound 2 s.h.
Develop and further the confidence to read basic EKG patterns and rhythms critical to the primary care physician; these are the same objectives and methods as are stressed within the EKG portion of the transitions to clinical clerkships course; students are expected to refamiliarize themselves with this ICD material before beginning the course; students will learn by reading actual EKG's on their own with facilitation of learning by direct instructor feedback of their interpretation. Requirements: MD enrollment.
IM:8414 Clinical Endocrinology arr.
New patient evaluation, inpatient referral; returning patients in diabetes, endocrine clinics; complete patient evaluations, charts; participation in clinical conferences.
IM:8416 Clinical Gastroenterology arr.
Work in consultation service at University of Iowa Health Care or VA Iowa City Health Care; assistance in diagnostic procedures for patients examined as part of consultation service; participation in patient follow-up through weekly return clinic.
IM:8418 Hematology Oncology arr.
Diagnostic skills in hematology and oncology.
IM:8422 Clinical Infectious Disease arr.
Diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, study of patients with infectious diseases, under staff guidance; techniques of diagnostic microbiology; participation in conferences, teaching activities.
IM:8424 Medical Intensive Care Unit arr.
IM:8426 Pulmonary Disease arr.
Breadth, depth in diagnostic, therapeutic problems encountered in clinical pulmonary disease; evaluation of outpatients and inpatients under staff supervision; interpretation of special studies carried out in pulmonary function laboratory, fiberoptic bronchoscopy and brush biopsy of lung; exposure to diagnosis and management of acute respiratory failure in intensive care units at University of Iowa Health Care and VA Iowa City Health Care.
IM:8428 Nephrology arr.
Evaluation of patients from University of Iowa Health Care inpatient service, VA Iowa City Health Care and clinics; emphasis on early kidney disease and all varieties of hypertension.
IM:8434 Clinical Rheumatology arr.
Clinical features of rheumatic diseases, their differential diagnosis, and principles of management; patients from arthritis clinic, inpatient consultation service of University of Iowa Health Care and VA Iowa City Health Care.
IM:8435 Palliative Care 2,4 s.h.
Requirements: MD enrollment.
IM:8437 Multidisciplinary Cancer Care 2 s.h.
Basic concepts of cancer care; role of multidisciplinary team in care of cancer patients; development of attitudes, knowledge, and skills useful for entering a specialty that encounters patients with cancer. Requirements: MD enrollment.
IM:8449 Editorial Writing for Medical Students 4 s.h.
Students understand and practice the skill of writing opinion editorials aimed at improving the public's understanding of health and health care; how to effectively engage a broad, non-medical audience through writing with the goal of producing an opinion editorial piece that could be submitted for publication to a local or national newspaper.
IM:8450 Continuity of Care in Outpatient Internal Medicine 4 s.h.
Experience with longitudinal continuity of care for patients in the outpatient setting; clinical and didactic exposure to broad spectrum of general internal medicine problems. Requirements: fourth-year MD enrollment.
IM:8451 Advanced Inpatient Subinternship in Internal Medicine, Des Moines arr.
Four-week rotation at Des Moines Medical Education Consortium; experience as a subintern in general internal medicine and the ICU. Requirements: fourth-year MD enrollment.
IM:8452 Advanced Inpatient Subinternship in Internal Medicine, VA Des Moines 4 s.h.
Rotation at the Veterans Affairs Central Iowa Health Care System; subinternship on general internal medicine ward. Requirements: fourth-year MD enrollment.
IM:8453 Critical Care Rotation, IMMC, ICU, DM 4 s.h.
Subinternship on medical critical care team, with daily rounds, teaching. Requirements: fourth-year MD enrollment.
IM:8454 General Medicine Consult Service, IMMC arr.
Principles of consultative medicine provided by general internists to non-internal medicine patients; how to assess perioperative risk for patients evaluated before surgery.
IM:8455 Public Health Medicine arr.
Participation in ongoing projects related to public health issues of acute disease; training and career opportunities in public health practice.
IM:8456 Clinical Cardiology Coronary Care Experience, Iowa Methodist, Des Moines arr.
IM:8457 Clinical Nephrology, Iowa Methodist, Des Moines 2,4 s.h.
Exposure to common nephrology problems, including acute renal failure, chronic renal failure, acid-base disorders, common electrolyte disorders.
IM:8460 Transitions to Internal Medicine Residency 2 s.h.
Hands-on, specialty-specific training beyond what is offered through current Carver College of Medicine curriculum; for students who are applying to internal medicine residency or programs requiring a transitional or preliminary medicine year. Requirements: MD enrollment.
IM:8495 Internal Medicine ICU Off Campus arr.
Experience as subintern in the ICU/MICU; daily rounds and teaching with medical critical care staff.
IM:8497 Research in Internal Medicine arr.
Medical research, clinical or laboratory projects; individual study.
IM:8498 Internal Medicine On Campus arr.
IM:8499 Internal Medicine Off Campus arr.