The goal of the core Internal Medicine (IM) residency is to educate physicians in the prevention, diagnosis, and non-surgical treatment of a wide variety of diseases of adults.  In addition, residents must acquire expertise in the assessment, diagnosis and management of patients with:

• Common and uncommon disorders in the emergency, inpatient and ambulatory clinic settings
• Multi-system and/or undifferentiated disease
• Peri-operative care
• Issues related to health maintenance and disease prevention.

Beyond the three years of core IM residency, further education is required for the acquisition of extensive expertise in selected areas (i.e. subspecialties including General Internal Medicine) and to refine the consultancy and professional attributes required to practice as an effective and efficient specialist.  Nonetheless the basic skills to be a competent internist should be mastered by the completion of the core IM residency. 

The General Objectives of the University of Calgary Core IM Residency Program incorporate those outlined in the RCPSC Policy document “Objectives of Training and Specialty Training Requirements in Internal Medicine”.  That document categorizes its Objectives according to the CanMEDS  seven competencies for specialists. This format is retained and expanded for the University of Calgary General Objectives.

• Medical Expert
• Communicator
• Collaborator
• Manager
• Health Advocate
• Scholar
• Professional