Sutter Health-Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Program

Transitional Year Analyst Verified · Sep 15, 2026

Sutter Health-Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Program

Sutter Health-Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Program is a residency program specializing in Transitional Year, located in Oakland, California, directed by Aurelia Cheng, MD and coordinated by Serena Smith.. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at Serena.Smith2@sutterhealth.org or (510) 869-8751. 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

This is a newly launched (2025), community-based Transitional Year program embedded in Sutter Health's Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, a not-for-profit, community-oriented health system rather than a research-driven academic powerhouse. The curriculum is broad and foundational, combining inpatient internal medicine, critical care, emergency medicine, general surgery, and ambulatory/OB-GYN blocks with a generous 14-20 weeks of electives (anesthesiology, neurology, radiology, PM&R, integrative medicine), designed to prepare residents entering a wide range of advanced specialties. Residents train alongside categorical IM, EM, and surgery residents, suggesting integration into a functioning multi-specialty house staff rather than an isolated TY cohort. The program explicitly frames itself around Sutter's mission of compassionate, community-serving care and states it seeks applicants whose conduct reflects those institutional values, indicating a fit-and-professionalism emphasis over research or subspecialty pedigree.

Who it fits

An applicant who has secured or is pursuing an advanced position in a specialty requiring a preliminary/transitional year (such as radiology, anesthesiology, dermatology, PM&R, or ophthalmology) and wants a flexible, broad clinical foundation year within a mission-driven community health system rather than a research-intensive academic environment.

Research intensity

Low - research is not featured in the TY curriculum or program messaging; Sutter's system-wide research infrastructure exists but is not integrated into this program's training.

Career orientation

Other - preparatory year for advanced specialty training, not itself oriented toward a terminal career path.

Important

The program states it seeks applicants whose conduct reflects Sutter Health's mission and core values both at work and outside of work, and requires that the applicant's medical school be recognized by the Medical Board of California.

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Transitional Year

Deadline

Accreditation Status N/A NEW

SCORE

USMLE STEP 1

USMLE STEP 2

SCORE NOTES

VISA POLICY

VISA

GRADUATION CUT OFF

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

ECFMG CERTIFICATE

PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT

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CURRENT RESIDENTS