Internal Medicine/Pediatrics

Welcome to the Penn State College of Medicine Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency!

Our program is built for physicians who want to master the full spectrum of care—providing exceptional treatment for patients from newborns to older adults, across every setting. We believe Med/Peds physicians are uniquely positioned to lead in patient care, education, and innovation, and our mission is to prepare you for a career that is as diverse and dynamic as the patients you serve.

A Training Experience That is Purposefully Broad

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to give you rich, varied experiences that prepare you for any career path—primary care, hospital medicine, fellowship training, global health, or academic leadership.

You will train primarily at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Health Children's Hospital, our academic flagships. Your continuity clinic home will be the Rose Garden Building in downtown Harrisburg, where you will care for a wide range of patients, including underserved populations and individuals with complex chronic conditions.

You will also gain valuable perspectives in different practice environments through rotations at:

• Lebanon VA Medical Center – caring for our nation’s veterans

• Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital – adult community inpatient care

• Penn State Lancaster Outpatient Center – ambulatory specialty experience

Our program also offers:

• Away electives—national or international—tailored to your interests

• Joint subspecialty rotations in areas such as advocacy, allergy, dermatology, endocrinology, and rheumatology

• Specialty continuity clinics for fellowship-bound residents to deepen skills and forge faculty connections

Our Residents: The Core of Our Program

We are proud of our residents—a diverse, motivated, and collaborative group who bring curiosity, compassion, and commitment to everything they do. They are leaders in clinical care, advocates for patients, and active contributors to medical education and research.

Who Thrives Here

We seek residents who:

• Have strong academic foundations and a passion for lifelong learning

• Excel in teamwork and communication

• Are dedicated to serving both adult and pediatric patients in all settings

If you are ready for a program that challenges you, supports you, and prepares you to make a lasting impact, we invite you to explore Penn State Med/Peds.

Please feel free to contact me directly at rwilliams@pennstatehealth.psu.edu with any questions about our program or the application process.

Ronald J. Williams, MD
Program Director, Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency

Aims

Our program is dedicated to fostering a supportive and personalized learning environment in which each resident:

• Graduates as a well-balanced, well-trained internist and pediatrician prepared for the next step in their chosen career path

• Pursues diverse career interests with individualized faculty and peer mentorship

• Excels in transitions-of-care through a dedicated curriculum

• Builds expertise in medical education and quality improvement

• Maintains a strong Med/Peds identity while cultivating excellent relationships with the categorical Pediatric and Internal Medicine residencies

• Feels empowered to shape and improve the residency program through active participation and feedback

General Application Information

All applicants must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) by Dec. 1 and must register for a PL-1 position through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

Applications are considered without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin. Only J-1 visas are sponsored.

Applicants who are offered interviews, match into the Med-Peds residency program, and successfully complete the residency, will be able to apply for admission to the certification process of both the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Internal Medicine. Please refer to the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Internal Medicine websites for additional information.

Application Requirements

• Personal statement

• MSPE (dean’s letter)

• Medical school transcript

• USMLE or COMLEX scores

• Three to four letters of recommendation from faculty members with whom the applicant has worked

The program does not require a letter from the applicant’s department chair.

Virtual Interview Process

Virtual Interviews are by invitation only and will be conducted from late-October through January. Those who are invited for an interview will be notified by email and are asked to respond within 72 business hours so the program can best accommodate scheduling needs.

Each year, our residency interviews for four PGY-1 positions. Please be thorough in your application as we have limited spots available.

Wellness in the Med/Peds Residency

At Penn State’s Med/Peds Residency, wellness is not an afterthought—it is built into everything we do. We know that every resident’s needs are unique, so our program offers individualized support, resources, and opportunities to help you thrive—professionally and personally—throughout your training.

Wellness at a Glance

We support all eight domains of wellness with targeted programs and resources:

• Environmental – Connected adult and children’s hospitals, safe campus walking paths, shuttle service, Zen Den meditation space, outdoor seating for “sunshine rounds,” and a wellness activities guide covering fitness, arts, and local attractions.

• Emotional – Debriefing sessions, trauma psychology education, Schwartz Rounds, and an Office for Professional Mental Health with confidential check-ins.

• Vocational – Individualized electives, Med/Peds noon conferences, professional coaches, formal goal-setting curriculum, and recognition programs like PAWS UP.

• Physical – On-campus fitness center, bike share, gym access program, 30-day activity challenges, Appalachian Trail access, and local farmers’ markets.

• Financial – Personal finance lectures, student loan counseling, education stipends, and travel reimbursement.

• Spiritual – Multi-faith worship space, chaplain-led programs, weekly services, and guided meditation sessions.

• Intellectual – Research mentorship, dedicated library services, Physician Writers’ Group, and leadership development workshops.

• Social – Quarterly class wellness nights, retreats, Big/Little mentorship program, pediatric wellness sessions, and volunteer opportunities at local camps and community programs.

Signature Wellness Features

• Confidential mental health check-ins—scheduled at times that fit your rotation schedule

• Zen Den—24/7 meditation room and garden

• Big/Little mentorship—built-in peer support from day one

• PAWS UP program—celebrating and recognizing residents and team members

• Wellness Led Initiatives and Education —residents and faculty shaping our wellness curriculum together

Department of Pediatrics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council

The Department of Pediatrics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) council is led by the vice chair of DEI, Ashutosh Kumar, MD, and is composed of physicians (including residents) and nurses from across the Department of Pediatrics. The council’s mission is to continually improve the inclusivity and equity with which the Penn State College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics provides healthcare, medical training, and advances medical science by:

• Providing pediatric patients and their families with excellent, compassionate, culturally responsive and equitable care.

• Supporting the department in recruiting, hiring and retaining a group of diverse faculty, trainees and staff, while equipping Department members to provide culturally responsive and equitable care.

• Ensuring that scholarly pursuits account for, evaluate and address potential social determinants of health beyond race and ethnicity, and that our research reflects a diverse and representative population.

• Striving to ensure our educational experiences foster and value equity, inclusivity, cultural competency and the needs of a diverse population.

Anti-Bias Policy

Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine celebrate, embrace and support the diversity of all patients, faculty, staff, students and trainees. Beginning in May 2017, Penn State Health’s Patient's Rights and Responsibility Policy was updated to include a section stating that patients cannot decline the care of a provider based on the provider’s race, religion, gender, age or sexual orientation. Penn State Health became one of the first health care systems nationwide to establish an official anti-bias policy that protects providers when such cases arise.

Resident Spotlight

"A highlight for me as a resident physician is the opportunity to work directly with Penn State College of Medicine's local Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter. SNMA is an organization that was founded in 1964 at my alma mater, Howard University College of Medicine, as a subdivision of the National Medical Association (NMA), to support current and future underrepresented medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians."

- Monica Adedeji, MD Former Resident

Resident Perks – More Than Just the Basics

We believe residency should be challenging, rewarding, and well-supported — so we make sure our residents have the tools, resources, and extras to thrive both in and out of the hospital.

Highlights

• Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a large, academic tertiary and quaternary referral center, with Penn State Health Children's Hospital right next door (attached)

• Offers experience in the highest-level NICU, PICU and medical ICU, in one place

• Balanced Medicine/Pediatrics residency program

• Global Health opportunities including institution-wide affiliation with Ghana

• Diversity and inclusion lecture series

• Residents as educators curriculum

• Medical education elective

• Woodward Center sessions and teaching champion retreats

• Medicine/Pediatrics resident-created simulation sessions to practice rapid responses/code situations offered monthly

• Combined Medicine/Pediatrics continuity clinic

• Health System Science, QI and Transition education

Overview

Since its inception in 1988, the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency has trained well-balanced medicine/pediatrics physicians who excel in patient care, leadership and education. The success of the program begins with the dedicated residents who are integral in the formulation of the diverse experiences that are offered. Due to the varied experiences, residents can explore their interests during training and are well-equipped to pursue any medical specialty career path they wish.

The program allows residents to participate in a variety of rotations to help shape their future medical careers. Interns rotate for 16 months – eight months in medicine and eight months in pediatrics. This rotation helps build a strong foundation of knowledge and confidence prior to starting the senior resident-level rotations. Residents rotate every two to four weeks, alternating between medicine and pediatrics approximately every four months.

Additional rotations are available to help residents tailor their education to fit with their interests, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Caring for the underserved population (various locations)

• Milton Hershey School (cost-free private residential school for children from low-income families)

• Emergency medicine; residents participate as first responders with Penn State Life Lion critical care and emergency medicine services.

• Global health

• Hospitalist (for both adult and pediatric care)

• Education elective

• Create your own!

Standing Med/Peds Weekly Conferences – Tuesdays at noon

Each week, a member of the Med/Peds resident team presents a topic typically related to care in the outpatient setting. These conferences are an hour long and allow residents to polish their presentation skills and provide useful medical updates and clinical information. The Med/Peds faculty team members frequently attend and offer valuable information on how the topic relates to their respective specialty. Additionally, residents commit to an “academic half-day” on Thursdays, to dedicate a block of time to focus on core internal medicine and pediatric topics.

Med/Peds Continuity Clinic

The continuity clinic, located in downtown Harrisburg, allows residents the opportunity to work closely with an underserved patient population. The clinic serves adults and children with varying medical and health-related needs, from “bread and butter” to complex chronic medical conditions, gender identity, HIV, social concerns and substance abuse. Residents work exclusively with Med/Peds faculty to see a variety of patients for both annual physical exam and acute visits. They serve as the primary care providers for these patients.

The continuity clinic is part of the Reach Out and Read Program that provides books for infants and children during well-child visits, as a way to encourage literacy. The clinic also provides access to a Penn State Health social worker to help patients with a wide array of social concerns that may impact their care and well-being. A substance abuse clinic is also available on-site to help reduce barriers to medical care for those with addictions.

Quality Improvement Projects

Quality improvement (QI) is an important aspect of the Medicine/Pediatrics residency, with residents often involved in medicine and pediatrics QI projects and as resident representatives on unit-based quality committees. A detailed QI curriculum provides resources, education and experiences to help each resident create their own project prior to graduation or participate in our Med/Peds QI projects in the clinic. There are also opportunities for more education in this area with Penn State College of Medicine’s .

Transitional Care Curriculum

The Medicine/Pediatrics residents have created a transitional care program to educate adolescents and their parents on the process of transitioning medical care from pediatricians and pediatric specialty providers to adult providers and specialists. Residents help integrate the transitional care concepts into the pediatric specialty clinics and the well-child checkups in the pediatric clinics. The program has incorporated these concepts into the pediatric and internal medicine residency academic half-day curriculum to help teach these concepts to the categorical residents.

Supportive Learning Environment with Professional Coaching

There are 23 Medicine/Pediatrics Residency faculty members, all of whom have been trained in both medicine and pediatrics, and are actively involved in various aspects of the residency. Each member of the faculty is approachable and willing to provide advice and guidance to the residents. In addition, each resident is assigned a physician coach for professional development advice and encouragement throughout the four years of residency. The program also encourages you to find several mentors to help you reach your career goals.

Educational Resources

To support individual learning, residents are provided with memberships in the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Med-Peds Residents’ Association (NMPRA), as well as $600 for books and educational expenses per year.

The AAP membership also provides access to Pedialink online learning center, Pediatrics and Peds in Review. The ACP membership includes a subscription to the Annals of Internal Medicine. In addition, subscriptions to the Yale Pediatric and Internal Medicine Outpatient Curriculum are provided.

Ongoing board review occurs throughout the four years of residency, with residents attending a board review course at the end of training.

Residents as Educators

The Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education is designed to cultivate excellence in health sciences education. Longitudinal didactics on multiple aspects of teaching, evaluation and feedback and goal-setting are offered. The Woodward Center provides programs such as Stanford Clinical Teaching Skills workshops and the Woodward Scholars program.

There are extra opportunities for education such as the Medical Education quarterly retreats, the Medical Education two-week elective, the Medical Education Track and many others. The program also offers a Health Systems Scholar position each year. You also have the opportunity to become an Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholar.

(Starting on internal medicine)

• Adult cardiology inpatient – four weeks

• Adult hematology/oncology inpatient – four weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Medicine elective – two weeks

• General medicine inpatient (Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center) – four weeks

• General medicine inpatient (Lebanon VA Hospital) – four weeks

• Pediatric acute care clinic – four weeks

• General pediatric inpatient – four weeks

• Pulmonary pediatric inpatient – two weeks

• Pediatric gastroenterology/cardiology/nephrology inpatient – two weeks

• Pediatric night float – two weeks

• Vacation - two weeks

• Newborn nursery – two weeks

• Pediatric elective – two weeks

• Medicine night float – two weeks

• Medicine elective – two weeks

• Medical intensive care unit – four weeks

• Adult emergency medicine – four weeks

• Pediatric elective – two weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Development – four weeks

• Underserved rotation – four weeks

• Neonatal intensive care unit – four weeks

• Adult ambulatory – four weeks

• Adult nephrology – four weeks

• General medicine inpatient senior – four weeks

• Medicine elective – two weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Medicine elective – four weeks

• Pediatric critical care unit – four weeks

• Adolescent – four weeks

• Pediatric emergency medicine – two weeks

• Neonatal intensive care unit – four weeks

• Medicine elective – four weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Hepatology – two weeks

• Medicine elective – four weeks

• General medicine inpatient senior (Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center or Lebanon VA Hospital) – four weeks

• Pediatric elective – four weeks

• Pediatric hematology/oncology inpatient – four weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Pediatric night float senior – two weeks

• Pediatric emergency department consult – two weeks

• Pediatric elective – two weeks

• Pediatric emergency medicine – four weeks

• Geriatrics – four weeks

• Adult cardiology inpatient senior – four weeks

• Medicine elective – four weeks

• Medical intensive care unit senior – four weeks

• Pediatric pulmonary inpatient senior – two weeks

• Pediatric gastroenterology/cardiology/nephrology inpatient senior – two weeks

• Newborn nursery senior – two weeks

• General pediatric inpatient senior – four weeks

• Pediatric elective (individualized curriculum) – four weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Medicine elective (individualized curriculum) – four weeks

• General medicine inpatient senior (Lebanon VA Hospital) – four weeks

• General medicine inpatient consult senior – two weeks

• Vacation – two weeks

• Medicine night house officer (senior) – two weeks

• Medicine elective – two weeks

• Medicine elective – four weeks

• Pediatric elective – four weeks

• Pediatric acute care clinic senior – four weeks

• Pediatric emergency medicine – two weeks

• Pediatric elective – four weeks

• Pediatric elective – two weeks

The multifaceted Clinical Simulation Center is a 9,500-square-foot space including some small encounter rooms, three larger bays, skills training areas and rooms for debriefing purposes. Many educational opportunities are provided here, including a simulation instructor course (resulting in a certificate in simulation education), the Resuscitation Sciences Training Center and a standardized patient program. Along with full-bodied manikins of all ages, there are many types of clinical equipment in order to practice clinical diagnosis and treatment, as well as simulation scenarios such as procedures, surgery and trauma. The Clinical Simulation Center is staffed for a majority of the day each weekday. The Pediatric Residency incorporates simulation lab didactics during one academic half-day each quarter. Learn more about the Simulation Center

Pediatrics SIM Curriculum

Situ simulation sessions are focused on improving resident self-efficacy in assessment and stabilization of critically ill children. Sessions are run by chief residents solely for pediatric residents to provide protected educational space for targeted teaching of knowledge and skills.

Residents interested in global health have multiple opportunities at Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine, including international travel electives and virtual self-directed rotations.

The most popular affiliation/elective is to Ghana.

When: January or February

Duration: Four weeks

About the facility: The program takes place with Penn State Health Children’s Hospital’s clinical partner, Eastern Regional Hospital, a 429-bed hospital that serves as the primary care center for the local community and is the referral hospital for 16 district hospitals in the region. It includes a six-bed intensive care unit, lab, CT scan and X-ray. Many specialties are housed here.

Rotation details: Experiences in NICU, pediatrics floors and pediatric outpatient clinics. The department funds a significant portion of the trip for multiple residents each year, and upon their return, participant experiences are shared during a Grand Rounds presentation.

Pediatric residents join staff at the Community Base Health Planning & Services in Ghana.

Pediatric residents exploring the Kakum National Forest.

The Med/Peds residency program is partnering with Penn State Health’s Global Health Center hosting a series of global health lectures taking place during the weekly noon conference. Lecture topics include:

• GH Scholars Program Overview and GH Scholars’ Perspectives on HIV Around the Globe

• Adaptations to Care and Evidence Based Care in LMIC Settings

• Poverty and Health

• Pediatrics and Ped Surgery in Rural Malawi

• Vulnerable Populations and HealthCare Systems Around the Globe

• Healthcare in War Times: War Related Injuries

• Global Mental Health

• Vulnerable Populations: The Rural Health Crisis

Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award. The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. See more about the award here.

Recent Nominees

December 2024: Kelsey Yamada, MD, PhD

• Nominator Statement From the first day on my Medicine A rotation, Dr. Yamada immediately integrated me into the team and allowed me to be involved in all aspects of patient care. He took time each day to teach the team and constantly encouraged me to create assessments and plans on my own, which only strengthened my clinical knowledge as a student and learner. Each day, Dr. Yamada fostered an environment of curiosity, encouraging questions, promoting critical thinking, and ensuring that every learner feels heard and supported. He allowed me to care for multiple patients and pushed me to think about my plan for every aspect of their care. He was an incredible role model for the kind of physician I strive to become one day, as I hope to be as patient, knowledgeable, and understanding as he is. I am incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Yamada, and am looking forward to building upon the foundation of clinical knowledge he has given me. I began this rotation unsure of my residency speciality; however, Dr. Yamada has helped me understand how fulfilling and exciting a career in IM is and he is one of the main reasons I will ultimately be leaving this rotation with Internal Medicine as my top choice.

November 2024: Shane Stone, DO

• Nominator Statement Dr. Stone was a phenomenal mentor and teacher during my Internal Medicine rotation at the VA. He consistently took any opportunity to teach me topics relevant to our patients and offered validating and supportive feedback, which made it a very positive learning experience. It was apparent that he genuinely cared for his patients and demonstrated thorough patient care. He also led the team in a composed and confident way, delegating tasks to ensure we worked efficiently. Overall, Dr. Stone was one of the best physicians I have worked with in my nine months of rotations, and he served as a great example for the type of physician I aspire to be. Thank you Dr. Stone for a great experience!

January 2023: Kurestin Miller, MD

• Nominator Statement Kurestin went above and beyond to make my pediatric rotation meaningful and educational. She consistently took the time to teach me about topics relevant to patients on our list and more importantly taught me about why she was doing specific parts of the physical exam and debrief after on why she was asking important questions of the history.

December 2022: Robert Mullin, DO

• Nominator Statement I had the privilege of working with Dr. Mullin during my 4 week internal medicine rotation. Dr. Mullin deserves recognition for the way he leads his medicine team, engages students, and cares for patients. Dr. Mullin was always quick to step in an help team members, no matter what the task. Despite being busy running the team as chief resident, he also took the time to teach students boards-relevant topics and helped us get involved in the service and take ownership of our patients' care. Lastly, I will never forget when Dr. Mullin took hours out of his day to advocate on behalf of a patient who was presenting with symptoms concerning for a severe condition that was not being included in the primary team's differential. Dr. Mullin took it upon himself to pursue the matter and obtain further imaging and workup, ultimately leading to a diagnosis concerning for cancer. His effort, going above and beyond the call of an already demanding duty, prevented a patient from being discharged before they received this crucial diagnosis and the treatment it required.

August 2022: Robert Mullin, DO

• Nominator Statement Bobby is hands down the best resident that I have ever worked with! Bobby was fantastic at leading our team, effortlessly balancing the needs of the interns, providing excellent care to all patients, maintaining a professional and working relationship with the attendings, and creating an effective learning environment for medical students. Bobby daily would take the medical students aside to teach and tailored the learning to what we requested. For example, I requested to learn about heart murmurs and he printed out a packet on heart murmurs and spent over an hour explaining the concepts and answering my questions about it. He also did this with arterial blood gas and many other difficult topics for medical students to manage. For all of these difficult topics he easily explained the concepts in a palatable way that made sense to all of the medical students. Bobby was also great at using questions to further my understanding. Daily he would ask me questions, often described as "pimping" though he did it in a way that was supportive and allowed me to further learn. If I did not know the answer to the question he would ask another question to try and help me get to the right answer and I always felt supported. He never once made me feel dumb or stupid for not knowing the answer to his questions. I always was able to ask him questions and knew that he would provide me with an easy to understand answer. Bobby was also great at leading. I was daily impressed by his ability to manage residents, excellent patient care, attendings, care coordination rounds, and medical students. He never once pushed the medical students aside and always brought us into the team. He stood up for medical students learning and made sure that we had patients in which we could effectively learn. Bobby also would assign me and the rest of the medical students topics to teach each other each day. This was super helpful in my learning as it allowed me to understand a concept well, teach it, and hear about what the other medical students were teaching on. During these mini learning session he would further ask questions to help solidify concepts and continually draw connections to STEP questions or patients that we were seeing. I also really appreciated how during rounds he would ask questions to further our understanding of the various disease processes that the patients we were caring for had. He would made connections to STEP questions, previous topics we had talked about, or other resource material that we were familiar with. I learned SO much with Bobby as my senior! He was a fantastic educator and constantly maintained a professional, safe, and effective learning environment for me and the rest of the medical students. Penn State would be lucky to have Bobby as an attending in the future and any student that gets to work with him is truly lucky!

August 2022: Robert Mullin, DO

• Nominator Statement Dr. Mullin is an excellent teacher and model physician. I never learned so much on a rotation as I did while working with him. Excellent example of good patient care as well as team leadership -- always available to help others and the team. He would assign daily topics for our student team to discuss in the afternoons -- he always made student learning a priority. He demonstrated quality patient care, and I was able to witness him in several Goals of Care conversations, where I was blown away by his patience and his ability to speak and reason with families. I believe that if anyone deserves a nomination for Excellent Teaching, it's him.

July 2022: Robert Mullin, DO

• Nominator Statement Dr. Mullin was the senior resident on my team during my internal medicine inpatient rotation. He was extremely passionate and enthusiastic about teaching, even with a busy clinical schedule. I appreciated that each afternoon, he took time out of his day to provide a mini lesson on a topic that we wanted to learn more about. He also went out of his way to create learning resources and handouts for us. For example, he created several handouts on EKG interpretation and walked us through EKG interpretation. Overall, he made the rotation incredibly educational and enjoyable!

July 2022: Shane Stone, DO

• Nominator Statement Dr. Stone treated me with complete respect and fully incorporated me as part of the care team during my week with Acute Outpatient Pediatrics. He challenged me to see patients on my own and come up with differential diagnoses and plans, and he spent much time teaching me. His warm, supportive demeanor made me feel comfortable interacting with the team in a new clinical setting.

The annual Resident/Fellow Research Day is held each year (with exception of during the COVID-19 pandemic) on and around the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus. The intent of the event is to provide an opportunity for residents and fellows to showcase their research accomplishments to their peers in other clinical departments, as well as their colleagues in the basic sciences. .