Survey of combined residency programs in internal medicine and pediatrics on curricula

Combined residency programs in internal medicine and pediatrics began to emerge during the past decade. Combined programs provide four years of training that leads to board eligibility in both disciplines. To learn more about the curricula of these programs, the authors sent a questionnaire to the directors of the 81 known combined programs. Sixty-eight such programs were active as of July 1986. Of these, 54 had been active in the 1985-86 academic year and had a total enrollment of 390 residents, an average of 7.2 residents per program. Fourteen new programs were activated in July 1986 and enrolled 46 residents, with an average of 3.3 residents per program. Virtually all the programs emphasized training in primary care and included the use of outpatient clinics where residents often work with nonphysician health-care providers. Many programs provided instruction in the use of community resources, preceptorships, and outpatient-oriented conferences and emphasized data-gathering skills. Areas that need to be addressed by program directors and the accrediting organizations are discussed by the authors.