Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Program

Program Identity & Fit

VCU's combined EM/IM residency is a five-year, two-resident-per-year program based at a high-acuity, safety-net academic medical center serving a predominantly underserved population, with additional training at the Richmond VA and community/pediatric sites. The curriculum alternates block rotations between EM and IM throughout training, culminating in 20 weeks of PGY-4/5 "track time" that residents customize with faculty mentors around interests such as observation medicine, ultrasound, resource-limited medicine, global health, or addiction medicine. The department maintains an active clinical research infrastructure (NIH-funded networks including SIREN, ICECAP, BOOST3) and a structured resident/student research mentorship pipeline (REM Cycle), though the program frames itself as producing broadly capable dual-trained clinicians for EDs, inpatient medicine, primary care, observation units, rural/critical access practice, or subspecialty fellowship rather than pushing a single career path. The program emphasizes flexibility, individualized career-shaping over rigid tracks, and a small, tight-knit combined-training community built around shared cross-departmental activities.