Didactic Components

Two mornings each week on the in-patient Medical Service (Monday and Thursday), the Chief of Medicine holds Intake Rounds with the prior night's on call inpatient team from 7:00 A.M to 7:45 A.M. These rounds generally comprise one case presentation of a patient admitted during that on-call shift, and include discussion of clinical and management issues, underlying pathophysiology, and treatment plan. At all times when feasible, the rounds also include bedside patient examination and evaluation.

One day a week, Tuesday morning from 10:30-12:00 A.M. there are Chief of Service Rounds where the Chief of Medicine Rounds with either Team A or Team B to discuss the service and do bedside rounding.

Morning Report is held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M. and is attended by second and third year residents, and first year residents who are able to attend. The format is that of in-depth presentation to a group of attending physicians, with resultant clinical review, case analysis, and discussion of underlying pathophysiology, diagnostic studies, and short and long-term management issues. To maximize resident exposure to the enormity of academic and clinical talent in our community, the teaching faculty at Morning Report rotate every four weeks.

Medical Grand Rounds are held weekly on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30 A.M., and comprise a compendium of distinguished invited speakers, as well as physician members of the Stamford Hospital faculty. As these programs also provide continuing medical education (CME) credit to attending physicians, topics for presentation are well thought out and cover a full spectrum of cogent and vital areas of ongoing interest and concern. Many specialties and disciplines are covered in the course of an academic year.

There is a monthly Comprehensive Clinical Case Conference (Morbidity and Mortality Conference) held from 7:30 to 8:30 A.M.

Cardiology Grand Rounds are held from 7:45 to 8:45 A.M. three Fridays each month. Selected physician members of the teaching faculty of Stamford Hospital, as well as guest physicians with expertise in particular disciplines within Cardiology, provide presentations.

Neurology Grand Rounds are held in that same time slot the fourth Friday of each month, and likewise, comprise excellent programs provided by Stamford Hospital as well as other institutional faculty. As these also provide CME credit, careful thought and physician input and evaluation goes into their preparation.

The core curriculum is covered during Noon Conference, a formal daily conference that is held from 12:30-1:30 P.M. It regularly covers, by discipline, the entire spectrum of Internal Medicine and rotationally incorporates the disciplines of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Hematology, Oncology, Neurology, Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Geriatrics and Nephrology. Contributing non-medical specialties include General Surgery and the surgical specialties (for the practicing internist), Clinical Gynecology (for the practicing internist), Adolescent medicine, Psychiatry, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Emergency Medicine.

Themes that are covered within the context of individual conferences, or as independent conferences, include practice management, screening for disease, general health maintenance, disease prevention, occupational and environmental medicine, end-of-life care, pain management, principles of managed care, substance abuse disorders, gender specific health care, sports medicine, school health, clinical ethics, quality assessment and improvement, socio-economic and cost effectiveness issues, health care policy, clinical decision analysis, clinicalepidemiology, laboratory medicine (indications for use), medical statistics, medical informatics, computer skills, physician impairment, principles of legal and governmental regulations concerning the practice of medicine, patient rights and advocacy, and informed consent.