BWH Internal Medicine Residency

Overview

Thank you for your interest in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. We are dedicated to providing outstanding clinical training and individualized mentorship to enable our residents to become excellent clinicians and leaders in medicine. With our rich academic environment, we are committed to advancing health equity, fostering creativity and innovation, pursuing new medical knowledge through research and discovery, and cultivating humanism in medicine. Our program’s culture and leadership support each of our residents to achieve their goals while belonging to a vibrant and supportive community.

For the 2026 to 2027 recruitment season, we will be conducting all residency interviews virtually. We are committed to doing so in a way that ensures equitable access for applicants from across the country and world, regardless of whether or not you have had a chance to rotate at or visit the Brigham.

We hope that you will have the opportunity to explore our training program through our online resources and to appreciate our dedication to patient care, education, research, and commitment to each other’s professional and personal goals.

Innovation in the Residency

Our internal medicine residency program does not rest on our laurels. While we have a tradition of excellence, we are always looking for ways to improve. Programmatic change is steered by grass-roots resident involvement supported by attentive faculty leaders and a generous Department budget for innovation. Below are a few examples of the many innovative programs our residents and faculty have prioritized:

Health Equity
Our residents champion our deeply held view of health as a human right, and advocate, educate, and mobilize around health equity issues. We employ a multi-pronged approach to advance this mission, including: 1) advocacy work to affect policy change in the hospital as well as locally; 2) curriculum redesign to incorporate health equity tenets into our education; and 3) community outreach including a close association with the Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester. We also ally closely with the Department of Medicine Health Equity Committee. We welcome input and alliance from those of all backgrounds to advance these causes. Health equity threads are woven throughout the residency with many different touchpoints.

Innovation in Primary Care
The Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care (PJC) has created an innovative model for team-based care, the Physician Assistant (PA)/Internal Medicine Resident Co-Management Program in which PAs collaborate with resident PCPs in caring for their primary care patients. During the residents’ inpatient rotations, the PAs address the patient clinical messages and conduct visits for urgent and chronic illness management. This program has been extremely well-received by our residents. Additionally, the PJC Resident Operations Committee (a group of residents who have their clinic at PJC) provides ongoing perspective on PJC operations and policies, as they pertain to the resident experience. For example, the PJC Ops Committee has rolled out a new dot phrase to help ensure optimal patient re-scheduling and follow-up, contributed to reevaluation of resident panel sizes and composition, and created bimonthly PJC Updates for residents on their ambulatory rotations.

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
To facilitate the adoption of bedside ultrasound into routine clinical use, a Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum has been integrated into various rotations. Residents can learn about the basics of bedside ultrasound and their clinical applications while rotating in the Integrated Teaching Unit, in Cardiology, in the Intensive Care Units, or in the Procedure Elective (below). Over a dozen bedside ultrasound devices, ranging from Sonosite units with multiple transducers to ultraportable Butterfly probes, are available for focused clinical assessments or for procedure guidance. A vibrant POCUS Interest Group is now working on the expansion of the scope and reach of the POCUS curriculum together with our POCUS faculty leaders.

Elective Training for Proficiency in Medical Procedures
Our internal medicine residents come with diverse aptitudes and career trajectories, some of which make procedural training highly desirable. The Bedside Procedure Service was established in 2019 and allows elective residents to receive hands on experience and outstanding coaching on medical procedures from expert faculty including didactics and simulation, close supervision, and actionable feedback. This popular rotation provides a robust foundation in both theoretical and practical aspects of common medical procedures including diagnostic lumbar puncture, paracentesis, thoracentesis, and central venous catheter placement.

Longitudinal Subspecialty Clinic
To enrich residents’ ambulatory options, junior and senior residents can elect to add an optional second, once-monthly longitudinal clinic in a subspecialty of their choice. Current longitudinal clinics include (but are not limited to) the following subspecialties: cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, genetics, infectious diseases, pulmonology and oncology. Residents have also used this opportunity to explore other areas of medicine including integrative medicine, care of people experiencing homelessness, carceral health, and the care of substance use disorders.

Integrated Teaching Unit
The Integrated Teaching Unit (ITU) serves as a platform for piloting and studying innovations in medical education and clinical operations. The “Museum of Fine Arts” night at the Boston MFA is an example of one innovation that has now become an integral part of the rotation – every team is covered for one evening so that they can participate in facilitated teambuilding exercises at the museum and share a meal together. Other recently piloted programs include urine sediment “spin rounds” and a longitudinal, experiential point-of-care ultrasound curriculum that builds on ultrasound skills over the course of the month-long rotation.

Brigopedia
Our residency intranet is Brigopedia, a MediaWiki-based platform developed internally by former Brigham residents. Continuously maintained and updated by the chiefs and current housestaff, Brigopedia is a living repository for all things residency-related, including resources on medical education, scheduling and rotation information, management protocols and clinical guides, and resident life and wellness. Slides and video recordings from morning reports and noon conference are also uploaded to Brigopedia for offline viewing and review, in partnership with BWH AV services.

Career Building

The Brigham Medicine Internship and Residency provide the clinical excellence, collaborative environment, and rich resources necessary to assemble the foundation for a productive and satisfying career in academic medicine. The ingredients of our multidimensional Mentoring Program, include individualized career advising, devoted faculty mentors, paired senior resident “Big Sibs,” exceptional local educational and research partners, and flexible electives to explore clinical, educational health policy, and investigative careers. Not surprisingly, BWH graduates have gone on to establish innovative academic niches, including medical anthropology, medical management, medical editing/journalism, and medical economics, among other hybrid fields. Please feel free to explore the links below to learn more.

Office of Clinical Research

How to Apply

Internship and residency applications are only accepted and reviewed through ERAS.

Application to the program should be made no later than October 1st. For applications submitted on time, letters can be added until November 1st. Applications must include the following in order to be considered complete:

• Application form
• CV
• Personal statement
• Dean’s letter (MSPE)
• Medical school transcript
• Three letters of recommendation
• USMLE transcript (Step 1)

Massachusetts State STEP 2 Requirement: Please note that prior to enrollment in any Massachusetts residency program, all interns are required to have passed USMLE Step 2 CK by the time they apply for their limited license (i.e. in Spring of the match year). Our strong suggestion is that all of your exams be completed and available for review by the date match lists are submitted. Please be aware of this requirement and plan your exams accordingly.

Primary Care Candidates
Candidates applying to our Primary Care tracks must apply to both the DGM and/or HVMA programs as well as the Categorical program. All applicants selected to interview on a Primary Care interview day will also be scheduled to interview on a Categorical interview day (generally done on two adjacent days).

Physician Scientist Candidates
Candidates applying to our Physician Scientist ABIM Research pathway (“short-tracking”) must apply to both the Physician Scientist program (PSTP) and the Categorical program. All applicants selected to interview on a Physician-Scientist interview day will also be scheduled to interview on a Categorical interview day.

Neuro-Preliminary Candidates
Neurology candidates applying for a preliminary year in medicine who are selected for an interview will receive an invitation through the BWH/MGH Harvard Neurology Residency Program. Interviews through Neurology qualify for ranking on our program’s Preliminary rank list. Candidates do not need to interview for the Preliminary track in addition to the Neurology interview.

International Medical Graduates
All applications are judged equally without regard to the nation of medical training. International Medical Graduates must have ECFMG certification and a completed ERAS application. Historically, successful applicants have USMLE (Steps 1 & 2) scores of above 260 and documentation of prior clinical training in the US or Canada. On average, IMGs with extraordinary qualifications make up 1-3 interns per year. If accepted, BWH will sponsor either an H-1 or J-1 visa.

Residency Interviews
Invitations for interviews are issued only after the applicant’s file is completed and reviewed by members of the Internship Selection Committee. If special personal or financial circumstances arise requiring early notification with regard to an interview, an applicant may contact the Medicine Residency Office to request early application review.

Signaling
Our Internal Medicine Residency will be participating in this year’s program signaling process. We encourage applicants who are excited about our program to apply and signal their interest.

Second Looks & List Lock
In partnership with several of our peer programs, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program has decided not to participate in the NRMP list lock pilot and will not be offering in-person second looks for the 2026-2027 season. We hope this decision helps to ease financial and logistical burdens for the applicants during the recruitment process.

NRMP Codes

• Categorial: 1265140C0
• Physician Scientist (PSTP): 1265140C1
• DGM Primary Care: 1265140M0
• HVMA Primary Care: 1265140M1
• Preliminary: 126540P0
• Preliminary – Neurology: 1265140P1
• Medicine – Pediatrics: 1265700C0
• Medicine – Dermatology: 1261785C0

Medicine Residency Office Staff

Nicole Casey – Senior Director, Education Administration
Lauren McIsaac – Manager, Education Operations
Tasya Rakasiwi – Manager, Education Finance
Cameron Walker – Manager, Education Scheduling & Assessment
Vanessa Chai – Education Program Coordinator
Deborah Handsom – Senior Administrative Assistant
Leslie Kulakowski – Senior Education Program Coordinator
John Lomartire – Senior Administrative Assistant
Eliza Mojica – Education Program Coordinator, Medicine Clerkship
Carine Parrilla – Education Program Coordinator