There are four ward teams, each comprising an average of 10-15 patients. There are no separate services for Cardiology, Oncology, or HIV and these patients are cared for by the general medical ward teams. Ward teams are lead by an R2 or R3 and contain two R1s, one 4th year medical student and one third year medical student. An evidence-based medicine approach is incorporated by all UCSF Mount Zion faculty. The intensive and cardiac care units are staffed by two medical residents and two interns and one or two fourth year medical students.
Residents have primary responsibilities for all patients admitted to the critical care units.
The units are supervised by UCSF attending physicians with special skills in critical care. A critical care fellow is also assigned each month. Bedside rounds, critical care conferences, ethics discussions, and the noontime conferences are all part of the ICU curriculum. Faculty internists, residents, nurse practitioners, and medical students work together providing continuity care for patients from many different socioeconomic backgrounds. The Practice is designed to provide high-quality patient care and to give the residents an experience similar to what they would encounter in the practice of medicine outside of a teaching institution.