During the Y-week, our residents learn the key skills of taking care of patients in the outpatient setting. Residents participate 5 half days of Continuity of Care Clinic, 2 half days in a subspecialty clinic, 1 half day dedicated to working on their quality improvement curriculum, 1 half day of administrative time, and 1 academic half day dedicated to resident education.
Continuity of Care (COC) Clinic
Residents spend five half days in their Continuity of Care (COC) Clinic at the VA or IRL. This clinic presents an opportunity to build personal panel of patients over 3 years of residency. Residents are responsible for acute clinic problems, chronic disease management, and preventative care.
Residents can also elect to spend a half day in the Iowa City Free medical clinic or the LGBTQ clinic as one of their 5 COC clinic days.
Specialty clinic
Residents rotate in 2 different subspecialties. Subspecialities that match the residents career goals and interests are prioritized. Residents often work with the same staff during their Y-week specialty clinic, which allows for the development of a mentor-mentee relationship between staff and residents. Residents interested in research often end up doing research with their Y-week subspecialty staff or end up being connect to a research project by their Y-week subspecialty staff.
Quality Improvement half day
Every resident participates in a group QI project. The group that you work with is your Y-week cohort. During each Y-week, there is a half day scheduled for the resident to work on tasks related to their QI project.
Administrative half day
This is time set aside in your schedule to catch up on the administrative tasks of being in clinic. Residents use this time to finish up notes and call patients with results. Many residents also use this time to catch up on things outside the hospital like haircuts, dental appointments, and going to see their own doctor.
Academic half day
This is when residents participate in Ultrasound Curriculum, Quality Improvement, Resident Teaching Skills Curriculum, Board Review Curriculum, RRT/Code Blue Simulation, and Ambulatory Workshops.
It’s also a great time to spend time with your co-residents.
For more information about the education half day or the curriculum mentioned above, please visit the Residents as Learners section.