University of Iowa Des Moines Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a university-affiliated, community-based Internal Medicine program training 11 categorical residents per year across three distinct sites - Iowa Methodist Medical Center (a Level 1 trauma and academic medical center), the Des Moines VA, and Broadlawns county hospital - giving residents broad exposure to diverse socioeconomic and payer populations rather than a single tertiary quaternary-care population. The curriculum uses a 4-week inpatient/2-week ambulatory block structure with heavy procedural emphasis (central lines, thoracentesis, paracentesis, arthrocentesis, lumbar puncture, intubation) taught with close one-on-one faculty supervision and graduated autonomy. Research is supported but not the program's core identity - there is a dedicated research coordinator, an annual "Research in Des Moines" grand rounds, and university collaborations, but the program frames itself around clinical and procedural competence and produces both fellowship-bound graduates (over one-third, largely into pulmonary/critical care, with a high match rate) and hospitalist/generalist-track graduates who cite the program's critical care training as strong preparation for that path. The program values residents who can function with early responsibility (writing all orders, one-on-one attending supervision) and who engage in teaching and quality-improvement activities via structures like the Resident Quality Council.