Overview
Thank you for considering our program. The Cleveland Clinic Florida’s Internal Medicine Residency Program’s goal is to provide uniformly excellent educational opportunities to all our trainees in a supportive yet challenging environment. We offer 9 categorical positions per year and 4 preliminary positions (2 positions reserved for neurology preliminary trainees, accepted through the neurology department) for a total number of thirty-one residents. We are not your typical “community training program.” We serve a diverse population of patients from central and south Florida, South America, and the Caribbean. Our colleagues here perform heart, liver, and kidney transplants, and advanced endoscopic and interventional bronchoscopic procedures, so we manage very sick patients. Our graduates are well-prepared to enter practice and/or fellowship training upon completion of our program.
We are part of a much larger system of graduate medical education and healthcare with locations in Ohio, Nevada, Canada, Abu Dhabi, London, and Florida. The Cleveland Clinic’s goal is to be the best place to receive care anywhere and be the best place to work in healthcare. Everywhere there is a Cleveland Clinic, we work as a team of teams, guided by our values and care priorities.
Mission
The clinic’s mission statement was recently updated to caring for life, researching for health and educating those who serve, and it is still organized around these three principles:
- A lifetime of patient care. The work we do extends beyond treating complex illness. We also strive to be lifelong partners to patients and keep them healthy.
- Research that advances health. We will continue to discover the treatments of tomorrow and innovate better ways to care for patients.
- Education rooted in service. Healthcare is the noblest profession. We educate future caregivers to fulfill our mission and do good for our global communities.
Values
Values define who we are; they’re essential to our culture. By living our values every day, in every interaction, we ensure the best possible care and service for all.
- Quality & Safety: We ensure the highest standards and excellent outcomes through effective interactions, decision-making, and actions.
- Empathy: We imagine what another person is going through, work to alleviate suffering, and create joy whenever possible.
- Teamwork: We work together to ensure the best possible care, safety, and well-being of our patients and fellow caregivers.
- Integrity: We adhere to high moral principles and professional standards by a commitment to honesty, confidentiality, trust, respect, and transparency.
- Inclusion: We intentionally create an environment of compassionate belonging where all are valued and respected.
- Innovation: We drive small and large changes to transform healthcare everywhere.
Goals
Our goals for the Cleveland Clinic Florida Internal Medicine residency program are:
- To provide residents with the skills required to generate a comprehensive diagnostic and management strategy for all medical problems within the broad scope of general internal medicine.
- To promote the delivery of healthcare in a caring, compassionate, professional, and patient-centered manner.
- To facilitate and foster the personal career development of each resident physician in the program.
- To foster the development of essential intellectual attributes which will facilitate growth and maturation throughout the graduates' careers through lifelong learning.
Program
Every resident at Cleveland Clinic Florida plays an integral role in daily patient care. Under the supervision of our world-renowned physicians, they diagnose and treat most patients that present to our facility.
Our year is divided into 26 modules, each module is 2 weeks in length. We work in a 6+2 block schedule where the + 2 is the ambulatory block. A sample three-year plan is noted below:
| Name of Rotation | Modules | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| PGY-1 | PGY-2 | PGY-3 | |
| Inpatient Internal Medicine | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Intensive Care Unit | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Ambulatory Internal Medicine | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Selective*/Elective** | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Night Float/Swing | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Consults | 2 | 2 | |
| Research | 1 | 1 | |
| Emergency Department | 1 |
Selectives
These rotations must be completed during the 3 years of training. They include: Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Pulmonary, Neurology, Geriatrics, Infectious Disease and Emergency Medicine.
Electives
These rotations are not mandatory and may be chosen to suit the resident’s individual interests and needs. They include Allergy & Immunology, GYN, Ophthalmology, ENT, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Anesthesia, Radiology, Rheumatology, Vascular Medicine, Heme/Onc, Palliative Care/Hospice, Transplant nephrology and hepatology, and Hospital medicine.
Call Frequency
Inpatient Internal Medicine teams take admissions every 3rd day until 7pm. There is no overnight call. Two ICU Day teams alternate coverage until 4 pm and 6 pm every other day. We utilize a night float system for both the inpatient service and the ICU. Every resident will have at least 1 day a week off, averaged over 4 weeks. There is no call during elective/selective or ambulatory rotations for first year residents, PGY-2s and 3s take an occasional cross cover call while on elective.
Continuity Clinic
The +2 ambulatory block allows for ongoing care in both our primary care clinic as well as in our specialty clinics. We encourage residents to build their patient panels starting in their intern year. Residents follow their patients through completion of their residency. This provides exposure to long-term care issues that are only encountered in the ambulatory setting.
Didactic Curriculum
Our program prides itself on our clinical diversity and acuity as well as our extensive didactic education. We deliver a wide variety of conferences and board review opportunities.
Noon Conference
These conferences cover a broad range of topics and include our core curriculum, procedural course, and pertinent internal medicine topics from the perspective of our diverse specialty faculty and fellows. Grand Rounds are held weekly during our noon conference.
Teaching Rounds
Our version of morning report occurs 3x weekly. The main emphases of these conferences are clinical signs interpretation, differential diagnosis, and management. Cases include attempts to “stump our Master”, during which we present cases to our emeritus program director and learn as he works through his diagnostic reasoning; classic morning report discussions about work-up and management of a new admission; and cases encountered primarily in the outpatient setting in which we role play difficult conversations in a safe environment.
Simulation curriculum
The Mangurian Foundation Simulation Center provides an exceptional setting for our ever-evolving simulation curriculum. There is a skills lab to practice the technical skills needed to insert central venous catheters and arterial lines, and to perform lumbar punctures, thoracenteses, and paracenteses. There is a fully functional mock-up hospital room that houses 2 SimMan 3G patients, and a fully functional simulated operating room. These settings provide opportunities to practice various patient situations including mock codes, rapid responses, difficult conversations, and diagnostic interviews.
Visits to the sim center take place during the ambulatory block, or during teaching rounds. The environment provides an excellent opportunity for our junior learners to practice basic skills, and for our more senior learners to practice more advanced skills, as well as, to practice providing feedback and education to our junior learners, all while being directly supervised by our faculty. We are developing our POCUS curriculum, led by one of our POCUS fellowship-trained ED physicians and our radiologists.
Board Review
This is an optional conference led by our emeritus program director. This MKSAP reading and question session is an excellent resource for ABIM exam preparation. These conferences are held daily at 7am.
In addition, each spring, we host the Cleveland Clinic Florida Board Review Course, currently in its 15th year. This is a 5-day comprehensive review course. Our 3rd year residents are required to attend.
Other Conferences
Journal Clubs are held monthly. Residents discuss and debate timely journal articles and their implications to our patients. Morbidity and Mortality cases are presented by Third year residents. Our intensive care colleagues join us twice monthly for ICU teaching rounds and for ICU M & M discussions.
Educational Resources
All Residents receive the MKSAP Board Review course material during their intern year and have access to the Decker curriculum and question bank. Residents also have in-person and online access to the Goldblatt Medical Library, 24 hours a day. All the computers at Cleveland Clinic Florida, as well as the provided iPhone, have internet access which allows access to UpToDate, MDConsult, Access Medicine, PubMed, etc., as well as a variety of full text resources.
Board Pass Rate
Our residents at Cleveland Clinic Florida have proven to be among the best physicians in the country. Our overall ABIM exam-passing rate is 100% for the last 9 years, and our residents consistently score in the top 80% nationally on the ACP In-Training Exam.
Applications
All applications are processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). We consider applicants with USMLE scores of 220 and above or COMLEX scores of 550 and above. All applicants are encouraged to rotate in our facility, either in internal medicine or in a medicine subspecialty.
We participate in the National Residency Matching Program, and we do not accept any applicants outside of the Match. We offer the Categorical Internal Medicine, Preliminary Medicine, and Neurology Preliminary Training Programs:
Cleveland Clinic Florida Internal Medicine - Categorical
NRMP # 1383140C0 ACGME ID # 1401121528 (9 Positions)
Cleveland Clinic Florida Internal Medicine - Preliminary
NRMP # 1383140P1 ACGME ID # 1401121528 (2 Positions)
Cleveland Clinic Florida - Neurology Preliminary
NRMP # 1383140P0 - ACGME ID # (2 Positions)
We strongly encourage applicants interested in internal medicine training to apply to our programs and learn their unique features through the interview process.
Our Categorical Residency Program provides outstanding clinical training and academic opportunities for physicians interested in a career in internal medicine, whether it is as a practicing or academic General Internist/hospitalist/PCP or a fellowship candidate.
To learn the unique features of our program, applicants selected for interviews will participate virtually for the 2023-2024 Match cycle.
Application Requirements
Applications will only be accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). We do not accept applications via FAX, email, or postal services.
- ERAS Common Application Form
- Curriculum Vitae
- Dean’s Letter (MSPE)
- A minimum of three (3) Letters of Recommendation; Department letter is optional
- Personal Statement
- Medical School Transcripts
- USMLE Transcripts and/or COMLEX Transcripts
Osteopathic Medicine Graduates
Applicants from AOA-approved osteopathic medical schools are encouraged to apply. Any resident selected will be allowed to fulfill AOA requirements for licensure.
IMG Applicant Requirements
A minimum of 6 months of hands-on direct clinical experience in a US or Canadian accredited teaching hospital is required. We will not interview candidates who have not obtained this required clinical experience. Observerships, without direct clinical responsibility, do not meet these criteria.
Visas
- All matched applicants must obtain a valid visa prior to intern orientation, typically the last week of June. Please contact the GME office for further information regarding Visas.
- To be considered for a position in our program, applicants from medical schools located outside the US and Canada MUST have graduated from medical school in the last 5 years.
- Passed USMLE Step I & II Knowledge test on the first attempt. SMLE Step 3 is not required to apply.
- Fluent in spoken and written English.
- You must be eligible for an ECFMG Certificate in order to apply. We require that you submit your ECFMG eligibility through ERAS before February 1. We are required to have an ECFMG certificate on file for every IMG intern who matches into our training program.
Application Review and Interview Selection Procedures
- We only accept application materials through ERAS (see application requirements).
- Mid-October is the application deadline. We strongly encourage applicants to submit their applications ASAP due to number of available interview slots.
- Invitations to interview are sent via Thalamus, the platform used for interviewing.
- Interviews will be done virtually and will take place from October through February.
- If invited to interview and you accept our invitation within 2 weeks, we guarantee an interview appointment. We cannot guarantee an interview slot if you accept the invitation after the 2-week deadline.
- We will be unable to interview applicants without an interview appointment.
General Information About ERAS
If you are graduating or have graduated from a U.S. medical school, you must contact your medical school's student affairs office or other designated dean’s office. Your dean’s office will provide you with the information and the software for ERAS. If you are graduating or have graduated from a Canadian medical school, please contact the Canadian Resident Matching Service, phone 613.237.0075, for ERAS processing information, or write to:
Canadian Resident Matching Service
151 Slater Street, Suite 802
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P-5H3
Canada
If you are graduating or have graduated from an International medical school, you must contact the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) for application materials and eligibility requirement. Write to:
ECFMG-ERAS Program
P.O. Box 13467
Philadelphia PA 19104-3467
U.S.A.
Location
All of our applicant visitations and interviews will be done virtually for the 2023–2024 application cycle.
Contact Us
Safiya Deen
Program Coordinator
deens@ccf.org
954.659.5884
Allison Perez
Senior Office Coordinator
pereza21@ccf.org
954.659.6161
Benefits
Salary
Please refer to the Cleveland Clinic GME website for most up-to-date GME salaries by training level.
2023 - 2024 Resident Salaries
| Level of Training | Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| PGY-1 | $58,413 |
| PGY-2 | $60,694 |
| PGY-3 | $62,860 |
On-Call Meals
Residents are provided a meal allowance based on their call schedule.
Paid Time Away
- Vacation – 3 weeks (15 working days) provided each academic year; this does not roll over.
- Maternity – 12 weeks paid leave for childbirth or adoption.
- Paternity – 8 weeks paid leave. Additional time off unpaid up to a maximum of 12 weeks under the Family Medical Leave Act.
- Extended leave may affect training completion time.
Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision, etc.)
- Healthcare – Cleveland Clinic Florida offers a comprehensive health plan that covers residents and fellows, as well as your immediate family members (spouse and eligible children), at 50 percent of the healthcare premium that all other Cleveland Clinic caregivers pay. This is effective on the first day of training with no waiting period.
- Maternity Care – Coverage is provided through the health care plan that you select within the plan’s guidelines.
- Pharmaceuticals – Coverage as outlined by the Cleveland Clinic Florida Health Plan.
- Malpractice – Paid by the Cleveland Clinic Educational Foundation/Cleveland Clinic Florida. Limited to activities within the training program.
- Life Insurance – $25,000 term group policy.
Travel Privileges & Education Activities
PGY 2s and 3s, who meet eligibly criteria as outlined in the Graduate Physicians Manual, may be approved to attend one academic meeting per year for the purpose of presenting research or engaging in leadership roles within national societies. They will be eligible up to 5 days per academic year with a maximum reimbursement of $1,200 per academic year.
Our Team
Leadership Team
Darby Sider, Darby Sider, MD, MEd, FACP, FAAP
Program Director
Kristen Hagar, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director
Population Health Patient Experience Officer
Jared Piotrkowski, MD
Associate Program Director
Lead Hospitalist
Jose Muniz, MD, MACP
Emeritus Program Director
Core Faculty
Ihab Alshelli, MD, MBChB
Interventional Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care
Kevin Perry, MD
Hospital Medicine
Asad Ur Rahman, MD
Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
David Snipelisky, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
Hospital Medicine
Alumni
| 2023 | Institution | Program/Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Sadaf Afraz, DO | University of Florida Jacksonville | Academic Hospitalist |
| Akhil Khan, MD | Kaiser Permanente | Primary Care |
| Shayan Mahapatra, MD | Aiken Regional Medical Center | Hospitalist |
| Jose Rivera, MD | Baylor University Medical Center | PCCM Fellowship |
| Monica Segura, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Academic Hospitalist |
| Amy Van, MD | Baylor Scott & White | PCCM Fellowship |
| Denisse Viamonte, MD | Baptist Health | Hospitalist |
| Yim June Yunjoo, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Chief Resident |
| 2022 | Institution | Program/Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Mileydis Alonso, DO | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Cardiology Fellowship |
| Christopher Bodden, MD | SUNY Buffalo | Academic Hospitalist |
| Andrea Calderon, MD | Cleveland Clinic Ohio | Infectious Disease Fellowship |
| Chinwe Anekwe, MD | Westchester Medical Center | Infectious Disease Fellowship |
| Christina Girard, MD | Cleveland Clinic Ohio | PCCM Fellowship |
| Sikandar Khan, MD | Naples Community Hospital; Cleveland Clinic Florida | Chief Resident; PCCM Fellowship |
| Allen Laviña, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida; Oregon Health & Science Univ. | Chief Resident; Critical Care Fellowship |
| Rafael Miret, DO | Aventura Hospital | PCCM Fellowship |
| Gilda Portalatin, MD | Vanderbilt University | Nephrology Fellowship |
| Amir Riaz, MD | Larkin Hospital | Gastroenterology Fellowship |
| 2021 | Institution | Program/Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Astrid Carrion Rodriguez, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida; UCLA; UC-Irvine | Chief Resident; Sleep Fellowship; PCCM Fellowship |
| Avery Carter, MD | Baylor Scott & White | Cardiology Fellowship |
| Antonio Lewis, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Cardiology Fellowship |
| Schella Derosier, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Academic Hospitalist |
| Jerry Dev, MD | Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital | Hospitalist |
| Miquel Gonzalez, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | PCCM Fellowship |
| Rajaganesh Raj, MD | Orlando Health | PCCM Fellowship |
| Yelenis Seijo, MD | Cleveland Clinic Florida | Cardiology Fellowship |
FAQ's
What is the application deadline?
October 21 is our application deadline. We strongly encourage applicants to submit their applications by early October because our interview days fill very quickly.
When do you notify applicants if they will be invited for an interview?
We review complete applications as received via ERAS on a rolling basis and will notify applicants of interview offers as the applications are reviewed.
When do you begin reviewing applications?
ERAS opens October 21 and our Selection Committee will begin reviewing applications at that time. We will begin inviting applicants for interviews (via email) through November.
Do you waitlist invited applicants for the interview days that are filled?
Yes, we will waitlist.
I'm scheduled to interview for a PGY-2 position with another department at Cleveland Clinic Florida. Can I interview for my preliminary internal medicine internship on the same day?
We DO NOT interview the preliminary candidates for the Neurology Residency Program. This is done by the Department of Neurology.
Should I apply to both the Preliminary and Categorical Programs?
It is preferred that an applicant applies to EITHER a preliminary position OR a categorical position, not to both.
Is there a medical school graduation cutoff date?
In order to be considered for a position in our program, we prefer that applicants have graduated from medical school no longer than 3 years from the date of application.
Is there a minimum USMLE Step 1 score?
Applicants must pass USMLE Step 1 on the first attempt. Most of our applicants have USMLE scores of at least 220. However, we do not specifically exclude applicants based on the USMLE score as we carefully consider the entire application and encourage all interested students to submit applications to our residency programs.
Is there a minimum USMLE Step 2 CK score?
Applicants must pass USMLE Step 2 CK on the first attempt. Most of our applicants have USMLE scores of 240 or higher. However, we do not specifically exclude applicants based on the USMLE score as we carefully consider the entire application and encourage all interested students to submit applications to our residency programs.
Do I have to pass USMLE Step 2 CS?
Applicants must pass USMLE Step 2 CS on the first attempt or receive a COVID-related waiver this year.
Do I have to take USMLE Step 3?
USMLE Step 3 is not required to apply.
Do I have to submit both Step 1 and Step 2 before you consider my application for interview?
Yes, we need Step 1 and Step 2 CK prior to interview
What are the minimum COMLEX score requirements for graduates of Osteopathic Medical Schools?
Applicants must pass COMLEX step 1 and step 2 on the first attempt. Most of our applicants have COMLEX scores in the top 20th percentile or three digit score of 550+.
Is US Clinical experience required for IMG’s?
Yes, a minimum of 6 months of hands-on direct clinical experience in a US or Canadian accredited teaching hospital is required. We will not interview candidates who have not obtained this required clinical experience. An observership without direct clinical responsibility does not meet these criteria.
Visas
Do you sponsor H1-b Visas?
Matched applicants will be advised as to which visa, they are eligible for by the Graduate Medical Education Department. The GME office will notify you with the necessary paperwork.
Do you require an ECFMG certificate when I apply to your training program?
You must be eligible for an ECFMG Certificate in order to apply. We require that you submit your ECFMG certificate through ERAS BEFORE February 1. We are required to have an ECFMG certificate on file for every IMG intern who matches with our training program.
How many total residents in your training programs?
We have 1 Internal Medicine Residency Training Program. During the academic year we have a total of 31 interns and residents.
- Internal Medicine Residency: 9 categorical residents per year
- Internal Medicine Preliminary: 2 interns
- Internal Medicine Preliminary (Neurology): 2 interns
If you have questions about the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program, please contact:
Safiya Deen
Program Coordinator
Phone: 954.659.5884
Email: deens@ccf.org
Program Wellness
We have had the wonderful support of Robert and Lila Tickman, who have generously donated to a wellness fund for our program. This allows us to host monthly activities to promote wellness and resiliency amongst our residents. Activities to date have included yoga, guided meditation, ice cream socials, pizza parties, team building sessions and monthly house-staff meetings. This is a great opportunity to unwind from work and get to know everyone in the program.
Graduation Ceremony & Senior Resident Dinner
The successful completion of Internal Medicine residency training is an accomplishment worthy of celebration. Each May, residents, their guests and staff gather for an evening to acknowledge this milestone. Highlights of the festivities include a look ahead at the future plans of graduates as they receive their training certificates and a comedic look back on residency training created by the graduates themselves.
Welcome Evening for New Interns
As part of a two-week orientation for new interns, we host an Evening event to provide an informal opportunity for the “freshman” class and their families to get to know one another. Senior residents, and staff who act as advisors for the program’s residents also attend with their families.
Wellness Luncheon
The program sponsors a Luncheon for all residents where they get to meet with residents from all classes at the monthly housestaff meeting. This is a great opportunity to unwind from work and get to know everyone in the program.
Social Events
GME hosts a weeklong celebration of our training programs for all programs in Cleveland Clinic and this is so much fun to attend and participate.
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Internal Medicine Residency Program
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