Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program
The Medical College of Wisconsin Internal Medicine Residency Program has been continuously accredited by the ACGME since 1947. In 2011, an ACGME site visit resulted in the Internal Medicine Residency Review Committee awarding us full reaccreditation to 2021. This has since been amended to reflect full accreditation for the foreseeable future.
Reasons to live in Milwaukee
Sara Tesfatsion, MD, PGY 3
Why did you choose MCW for residency?: I wanted an academically strong program with a leadership that was approachable and resident-oriented. This program is it!
What is your favorite thing to do in Milwaukee?: The beer tours and when things open up all the festivals in the summer (Summerfest).
What is something you like about your residency colleagues?: They're approachable, willing to help, and always down for a good time.
What do you like doing in your free time?: Reading and a bit of hiking.
Welcome from the Program Director | Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Professor of Medicine
Supportive. Challenging. Friendly. Collegial. These are the words our residents use to describe our program. This is the ethos of the Medical College of Wisconsin Internal Medicine Residency Program. Our program is known for its balance of support and challenge. That means that our residents become excellent, independent internists while having a network of faculty and co-residents to guide and help them through the process. If you want to become a world-class internist, please apply here!
A little about me… I went to college in Indiana at DePauw University, which is a small liberal arts school. I went to medical school at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and then stayed at the University of Chicago for residency. After doing a chief resident year at a community hospital, I went to the University of Michigan to complete the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program. While at Michigan, I also got a Master’s in Higher Education Administration. I have been at MCW since 2003. My initial faculty appointment was as a clinician investigator; my area of research expertise is the intersection between graduate medical education and patient safety. So I have written about lots of issues that are important to running a strong residency program: duty hour rules, hand-offs, and workload. In 2017, I took over as the program director, the most rewarding job in academic medicine.
In a recent exercise that our whole residency participated in, the house staff rated the following three things as the most important principles of a high quality residency program:
- Training excellent internists
- Having passionate faculty with time to teach
- Having happy, well-balanced residents
With those principles in mind, our leadership team completely reworked the structure of our program to a 50/50 schedule we call “I’s/O’s.” “I” months are ward months, and “O” months are non-ward months in which all continuity clinics occur and weekends are free. I’s/O’s began July 1, 2020. Other things we’re proud of include our program’s wellness program, diagnostic reasoning and POCUS. MCW, the Department of Medicine and our residency program are strongly committed to antiracism.
Being a physician is a serious commitment. Patients literally trust us with their lives. Therefore, my role as the program director is to provide my residents with rich, diverse opportunities to learn from patients, faculty and each other. It is also my responsibility to provide an environment where we look out for each other, stand up for each other and challenge each other to be the best versions of ourselves.
Welcome from the Vice Chair of Education | Michael (Mike) Frank, MD, Professor of Medicine
I joined the faculty at MCW in 1999, having previously served on the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine. I went to school at the University of Wisconsin and completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Virginia. I was the internal medicine residency program director here at MCW from 2004 through 2016, and still consider it the most important and rewarding work I have done in my career. I resigned as program director in order to take over the position of Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
I have also been the Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine since 2008, and am very excited to continue in this role. As Vice Chair for Education, I have overall responsibility for all of the education missions of the department – student programs, the residency program, and all of the subspecialty fellowships within medicine. In this context, I am very active with the residency program, working closely with the program director and associate program directors, and remain very involved with residents, both in direct teaching and in advising and mentoring. This remains the part of my job I enjoy the most.
Learn more about Dr. Frank's research interests
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Medical College of Wisconsin
Hub for Collaborative Medicine
8th Floor
8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
