Additional formal and informal consultative services are readily available from all subspecialties. Because there are no private patients, the ward team undertakes autonomous responsibility for patient care decisions. Again, a broad range of contrasting inpatient experiences are available as electives at Presbyterian Hospital. Long call is every fourth night, with a night float system in place seven days a week. On-call residents may go home when work is complete.
Conferences designed for resident teaching occur at least once daily, and frequently twice.
A core curriculum of conferences stresses relevant topics in primary care, with attention to the developing central role of primary care in the American healthcare system. Thus, there is equal emphasis on ambulatory and inpatient medicine, including Behavioral Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Community Medicine. In addition, some discussions introduce the resident to methods of improving access and quality of existing health care systems. The facilities of the Bassett Research Institute are available for pursuit of a broad range of opportunities, from basic science to epidemiology to outcomes research to public health. Residents in the primary care program frequently supervise third and fourth year students participating in required rotations under our medical school affiliations with Columbia, Dartmouth, Albany and Rochester.