General Medicine Services

General internal medicine services form the foundation of training for our preliminary medicine residents. Twenty-four hour patient care is ensured by a division of services between general medical wards, consultative, admitting, and night float services.

With the elimination of the traditional call system, interns are assigned either to admitting rotations to admit new patients or provide cross-cover or ward rotations to follow up and manage patients up through discharge. Individual work hours are therefore more evenly spaced without excessively long days. Patient census on ward teams average 6-8 patients per intern daily, with physician assistants helping to manage the overall workload.

Ward and admitting rotations are dedicated to maximize direct patient care. Mercy boasts advanced diagnostic facilities, a fully electronic medical record, a vast library of online medical resources, and an envious array of ancillary services, including rehabilitation therapy, case management, and social work services for facilitating post-discharge care. The work environment is helpful and friendly. Patients present with both breadth and complexity in their diagnoses. Care is taken to maintain an appropriate balance between primary patient responsibility and thoughtful supervision by the attending staff.