Residency Program > State

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center Program - Internal Medicine <>

Step 1 cut-off 75
Step 2 CK cut-off: 75
Step 2 CS required: N
ECFMG Required: N
Graduated:
US Clinical Experience:
Recommendation Letters required: 3

Program Details *:

Program Type: Community hospital, university affiliated
Speciality: Internal Medicine
Participates in SF Match: No
Interview Period: 11/01 -- 01/31
Interviews conducted: 190
Total Faculty: 83 Physicians, 7 Non-physicians
Faculty to positions: 1.0 to 1
Accredited Length: 3
Average Duty Hours: 74
Preliminary: Yes

Candidate Residency Status *: Citizens, Green card, EAD, J visa
IMG Friendly: Yes
IMG's in the program: 8 %

General Review *:

The internal medicine programs at Banner Good Samaritan l Medical Center ("Good Sam") include categorical internal medicine, preliminary medicine, and combined medicine-pediatrics. Each program is fully integrated with the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Good Samaritan Hospital is a major teaching affiliate of the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Accordingly,  faculty members at Good Sam hold academic positions from the University. Approximately one-third of the University of Arizona medical students completes their core clinical and elective rotations at Good Sam. 

The program is designed to train physicians who will enter the field of general internal medicine or one of the subspecialties. Residents are exposed to patients from many different socioeconomic backgrounds who have a variety of common and uncommon medical problems. The program is designed to provide the residents with abundant elective time. This allows the house officer to explore his or her individual interests. Elective time is spent in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Required rotations include emergency medicine, neurology, geriatrics, ambulatory medicine and a research month. The program matches for 18 interns per year for a total of 54 categorical residents.

Training on the medicine wards at Good Sam/Phoenix VAMC has many advantages; rather, a “best of both worlds”, if you will. First, there is ample time at the VA, allowing for a comfortable amount of autonomy, with fellows and attendings as guidance.  Secondly, one ward team at Good Sam is reserved for admitting private physicians’ patients, thereby enabling residents to gain insight into “the real world” of medical practice.  And finally, the AMS and the hospitalist teams are in typical university fashion, with rounds on all ward patients on that service conducted by one attending/group. 

Intern Year

The majority of the first year is spent on the general internal medicine wards at Good Sam and the Phoenix VA Medical Center. Interns learn to assume primary responsibility for all patients under the direction of their supervising resident and faculty. Interns are responsible for writing all orders. They are exposed to a variety of medical illnesses in patients who come from varying economic and ethnic backgrounds. Each intern is allowed to admit up to five patients per admitting day and is responsible for no more than 12 patients at any time. All interns also participate in one half day of ambulatory continuity clinic each week under the supervision of one attending. During this experience they begin to learn the basics of outpatient medicine and efficient patient care.

Typical PGY-1 Schedule

*Vacations allowed during these months for a total of three weeks.

PGY-2 Year

During the PGY-2 year, the resident assumes primary responsibility for patient care, again under the supervision of a faculty staff member. They spend more months on elective rotations exploring their own individual interests. The required geriatric rotation is completed during this year. The residents may also rotate on the research selective. During this month, the resident designs a research project in conjunction with a faculty member after attending lectures in evidence-based medicine, clinical research design, basic medical biostatistics and epidemiology. As in the PGY-1 year, PGY-2 residents continue to spend one-half day weekly in their continuity clinic.

Typical PGY-2 Schedule

*Vacations allowed during these months for a total of three weeks.

PGY-3 Year

The responsibilities of the third year resident are similar to those of the second year. During the third year of training, the resident spends more time on electives refining their skills in office orthopedics, dermatology, gynecology, flexible sigmoidoscopy, cardiac treadmills, office ophthalmology and ENT. The research selective month must be completed if not done during the second year. Each resident spends an extra half day a week in the outpatient office setting working with a practicing internist in addition to their continuity clinic.

Typical PGY-3 Schedule

• Daily Morning Report - A combined intern/resident morning report held daily at each training site, MR is comprised of a didactic lecture followed by a presentation of an active teaching case. The didactic lectures form the basis of the program's curriculum, designed to run over a twelve month period. The curriculum covers all topics in internal medicine and the material presented in the Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program.
• Weekly Grand Rounds - Occurs on Fridays at the VA and Good Sam.  Speakers from around the country are invited to lecture on current medical topics.  
• Daily Noon Conference - Multiple topics are covered, including all internal medicine subspecialties.
• Outpatient Curriculum - Adapted from Yale University, this bi-weekly curriculum complements the monthly inpatient topic of interest. 
• Morbidity and Mortality Conference - Once a month at both the VA and Good Sam.  Intensivists provide an in depth review of previous patient encounters.
• Clinical Pathology Conference -Challenging cases are presented and discussed in this open forum including pathologists, surgeons, and oncologists. 
• Evidence Based Medicine Conference - Monthly conference in which clinical questions are researched and presented by all ward residents and reviewed by faculty.
• Research Conference - Monthly conference dedicated to senior resident research project proposals. 
• Multidisciplinary conference - Monthly conference attended by all residencies (Surgery, OB/Gyn, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Family Practice) at Good Sam encompassing topics of social and cultural awareness as well as public health issues.  Examples include domestic and gang violence, SARS, antibiotic resistance.
• EKG conference- Held monthly, interesting electrocardiograms are presented by the ward residents and reviewed by cardiologists
  Radiology conference- Held monthly, interesting imaging studies are presented by the ward residents and reviewed with a radiologist 
• Big Board - Weekly conference open to all residents.  Interesting EKG electrophysiology is reviewed by the cardiology fellowship director . 
• Teaching Seminars - These seminars are directed towards developing a personal learning and teaching style for each resident, and include "How to Be a Resident" retreat at the end of the intern year.
• Journal Club - Monthly review of the literature. Residents are required to attend 6 out of 12 meetings.  These are held on the hospital campus or at a nearby restaurant.  
• Life after Residency Seminar - Annual seminar for the senior resident that is directed towards professional development and choosing a career after residency. Topics include financial aid, contract negotiation, and billing practices.
• End of Life Seminar- A mandatory seminar for all residents that includes ethical issues, palliative care and pain managment designed to foster comfort in dealing with these situations and improve communication with families

Alan I. Leibowitz, MD,FACP, Chairman of Medicine at Good Samaritan, is the Program Director. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He was formerly the Dean for Student Affairs at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa and is currently Professor of Clinical Medicine and Associate Head, Department of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Mary Ellen Dirlam, MD, PhD, MS, serves as Director of the Internal Medicine Ambulatory Services at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, also serves as an Associate Director of Internal Medicine. She received her PhD in Biochemistry from Arizona State University and her master's degree in Clinical Research Design and Medical Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. She holds a faculty appointment at the University of Arizona as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine.

Peter P. McKellar, MD, FACP, is an Associate Director of the program.  He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease Medicine.

KeriLyn Morgan, MD, is an Associate Program Director and Director of Recruitment. Dr. Morgan graduated from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1995 and came to BGSMC where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine in 1998. Subsequently she served as Chief Resident and joined the faculty in 1999.  Dr. Morgan is the Co-Director of the Medical Student Clerkship for the University of Arizona medical students at BGSMC and also serves as Assistant Director of the Internal Medicine Clinic. She is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Arizonaand is board-certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Morgan's current interest is faculty and resident professional development, as well as creating and maintaining an excellent environment in which to learn medicine. Along with Dr. Peterson, she holds the intern retreat "How to Be a Great Resident Seminar" at her house and promotes a  balance between physical, mental and emotional health during residency.

  

Robert A. Raschke, MD, MS, Director of Critical Care Services and also serves as an Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Program. He is Director of the Resident Research Curriculum. He holds a faculty appointment at the University of Arizona as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. He too, received his master's degree from the University of Michigan in Clinical Research Design and Medical Biostatistics. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine.

Benefits

• 401(K) plan
• Malpractice insurance covered by hospital
• Free health care insurance for trainee and immediate family members
• Short-term disability coverage and long-term disability insurance
• Free life insurance equaling the amount of the annual salary for trainee
• Free parking
• Three weeks of paid vacation each year
• Meals when on call

TOTAL COMPENSATION FOR FAMILY

Benefit	Description	Effective Date	Yearly Cost paid by Banner for Family Coverage
First Year Resident Compensation	·          Compensation is determined by specialty and the department in which the resident works.  Salaries range from the low 30's to the mid 40's	1st day of work	$38,000
Medical	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family coverage ·          Non-tobacco user discount ·          Choice Plus Plan:              Triple option, point-of-service plan, must also elect pharmacy.  HMO, PPO and Indemnity coverage available in one medical plan.  "One Plan, Three options, Your Choice"	1st day of work	$9,168
Pharmacy	·          Standard Pharmacy Option ·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family coverage	1st day of work	$1,860
Dental	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family Coverage ·          Preventive plan options	1st day of work	$840
Vision	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family Coverage ·          In-network and out-of-network benefits ·          Pre- and post-tax premium options	1st day of work	$0
Life/AD & D	·          Banner provides 1x annual salary ·          Coverage available for Employee, Spouse, and Dependents ·          Buy-ups available at 2x, 3x, or 4x annual salary ·          Age rated premiums (Employee Life only) ·          First $50,000 of employee coverage pre-tax, all other coverage post-tax	1st day of work	$36
Flexible Spending Accounts	·          Health Care and Dependent Care options ·          $100 min. / $5,000 max., annual elections ·          Pre-tax	1st day of work
Legal Plan	·          Attorney available for assorted legal needs ·          Post-tax	1st day of work	$0
Short Term Disability (STD)	·          Disabled from own occupation (non-workers' comp.) < 3 years Length of Service  = 100% Eligibility for 26 weeks	1st day of work	Totally paid for by Banner
Long Term Disability (LTD)	·          Total disability ·          60% of salary after STD is used	1st of the month following 6 months of eligible service	Totally paid for by Banner
Paid Time Off (PTO)	120 hours per year (Use it or lose it.)	First pay period worked	$2,192
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)	·          Counseling for work and family issues ·          4 sessions per issue per year ·          Shared provider panel with Banner medical insurance	Upon Hire	$33
401(k)	·          Pre-tax retirement savings ·          Enroll anytime after first pay check from Banner ·          Employer  Match: $ for $ on first 4% beginning at 1 year of service ·          Immediate vesting	Upon hire	Employee defers up to lesser of 100% of annual salary or $13,000. Employer match up to 4% after 1 year of service
Home, Renters and Auto	·      Group discounted insurance ·      Payroll deduction = additional 9% discount ·      Portable	Upon hire	Employee pays full amount
Benefits	·      Yearly Cost of Benefits   ·      Monthly Cost of Benefits		$14,129/yr   $1,177.42/mo
Total Compensation	·      Total Compensation to Resident with Family		$52,129

TOTAL COMPENSATION FOR RESIDENT

  

Benefit	Description	Effective Date	Yearly Cost paid by Banner for Employee Only Coverage	Yearly Cost paid by Resident for Employee Only Coverage
First Year Resident Compensation	·         Compensation is determined by specialty and the department in which the resident works.  Salaries range from the low 30's to the mid 40's	1st day of work	$38,000	$0
Medical	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family coverage ·          Non-tobacco user discount ·          Choice Plus Plan:             Triple option, point-of-service plan, must also elect pharmacy.  HMO, PPO and Indemnity coverage available in one medical plan.  "One Plan, Three options, Your Choice"	1st day of work	$3,288	$0
Pharmacy	·          Standard Pharmacy Option ·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family coverage	1st day of work	$660	$0
Dental	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family Coverage ·          Preventive plan options	1st day of work	$216	$0
Vision	·          Employee Only, Employee + Spouse/DP, Employee + Child(ren), or Family Coverage ·          In-network and out-of-network benefits ·          Pre- and post-tax premium options	1st day of work	$0	$108
Life/AD & D	·          Banner provides 1x annual salary ·          Coverage available for Employee, Spouse, and Dependents ·          Buy-ups available at 2x, 3x, or 4x annual salary ·          Age rated premiums (Employee Life only) ·          First $50,000 of employee coverage pre-tax, all other coverage post-tax	1st day of work	$36	$0
Flexible Spending Accounts	·          Health Care and Dependent Care options ·          $100 min. / $5,000 max., annual elections ·          Pre-tax	1st day of work
Legal Plan	·          Attorney available for assorted legal needs ·          Post-tax	1st day of work	$0	$132
Short Term Disability (STD)	·          Disabled from own occupation (non-workers' comp.) < 3 years  Length of Service = 100% Eligibility for 26 weeks	1st day of work	Totally paid for by Banner	$0
Long Term Disability (LTD)	·          Total disability ·          60% of salary after STD is used	1st of the month following 6 months of eligible service	Totally paid for by Banner	$0
Paid Time Off (PTO)	120 hours per year (Use it or lose it.)	First pay period worked	$2,192	$0
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)	·          Counseling for work and family issues ·          4 sessions per issue per year ·          Shared provider panel with Banner medical insurance	Upon Hire	$33	$0
401(k)	·          Pre-tax retirement savings ·          Enroll anytime after first pay check from Banner ·          Employer  Match: $ for $ on first 4% beginning at 1 year of service ·          Immediate vesting	Upon hire	Employee defers up to lesser of 100% of annual salary or $13,000. Employer match up to 4% after 1 year of service
Home, Renters and Auto	·       Group discounted insurance ·       Payroll deduction = additional 9% discount ·       Portable	Upon hire	Employee pays full amount
Benefits