The interns' patients are given the opportunity to follow the interns to their local community based clinic for the subsequent three years. The goal is that this diverse continuity clinic experience will provide comprehensive education for residents whether they pursue academic primary care, private practice, public health or subspecialty careers. Most medicine-pediatrics residents find the program more stimulating as well as more demanding than either categorical program. The combined program residents function at the same level as their peers in the categorical medicine and pediatrics programs. Medicine-pediatrics residents also complete an additional fourth year of residency.
Residents enjoy caring for patients of all ages.
Most find that there is a knowledge overlap between adult and pediatric disciplines, allowing them to acquire a unique perspective by learning about the spectrum of health and illnesses at different ages. Because medicine-pediatrics residents provide care in a variety of settings, they develop a strong sense of the cultural and social factors that influence health and disease in the community. They bring a special fund of knowledge to both departments, and their expertise is valued. We think there are several special attributes of the medicine-pediatrics program at Chapel Hill. The Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics cooperate in several ways that enhance the training of combined program residents.