Virginia Mason Franciscan Health-St Joseph's Hospital Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a newly established (recently ACGME-accredited, first class graduated 2026), community-based university-unaffiliated internal medicine program anchored at St. Joseph Medical Center, a 374-bed Tacoma hospital with level II trauma, comprehensive stroke, and heart failure institute designations. Its identity centers on primary care access for the greater Tacoma community, structured board-focused didactics (Parker Power Hour, Operation Launch, Resident Academy), and quality improvement/scholarly activity presented at regional and national ACP, ACC, ACG, and ATS meetings rather than a laboratory-research pipeline. A dedicated IMPACT Track supports residents pursuing academic medicine or clinical teaching, while ICU "mini-fellowship" and addiction medicine electives support fellowship-track interests, alongside a weekly Nativity House homeless shelter clinic reflecting a service-and-underserved-care orientation. As an inaugural-class program, it explicitly values residents willing to help build program culture, engage in QI and resilience/wellness initiatives, and contribute as committee-forming, community-oriented team members rather than passive trainees.