Scripps Mercy Hospital Program

Transitional Year Analyst Verified · Aug 30, 2026

Scripps Mercy Hospital Program

Scripps Mercy Hospital Program is a residency program specializing in Transitional Year, located in San Diego, California, directed by Karen Jamison, MD and coordinated by Michelle Le. The program accepts applications through December 12, 2026 and holds an accreditation status of Continued. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at [email protected] or (619) 260-7220. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

Scripps Mercy San Diego's Transitional Year program is an academic, community-embedded internship built on a 750-bed safety-net teaching hospital that serves one of San Diego's most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse patient populations, integrated tightly with the Categorical Internal Medicine program and a Level 1 trauma/tertiary ICU/STEMI/stroke infrastructure. The program offers three distinct tracks (broad-based TY, TY-Anesthesia with UCSD, and TY-Ophthalmology with UCSD), reflecting its function as a launching pad for residents who have already matched into procedurally- or subspecialty-oriented PGY-2 programs elsewhere. Distinctive features include an early and well-established point-of-care ultrasound curriculum, broad procedural exposure (central lines, arterial lines, LP, paracentesis, arthrocentesis), and a resident clinic co-located with Family Health Centers of San Diego, all delivered within a "Mercy Style of Care" culture emphasizing professionalism and humanism over research output. The program values clinical versatility, investment in patient care, and readiness to transition smoothly into anesthesiology, ophthalmology, or other specialty PGY-2 training rather than positioning residents for independent scholarly careers.

Who it fits

Best suited to an applicant who has already secured or is pursuing a PGY-2 match in anesthesiology, ophthalmology, or another specialty requiring a preliminary/transitional year, and whose ERAS narrative emphasizes broad clinical competence, procedural comfort, and adaptability within a high-acuity, safety-net teaching environment rather than a research-driven trajectory.

Research intensity

Low - research is available through the broader Scripps system but is not emphasized or structured within the TY curriculum itself.

Career orientation

Other - the program functions as a bridge year preparing residents for advanced specialty training (anesthesiology, ophthalmology, or other PGY-2 fields) rather than orienting them toward a specific career category itself.

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