About the Department of Medicine

The Department of Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is comprised of 85 full-time faculty, all of whom hold appointments at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Fourteen are Professors, 15 are Associate Professors, and the remainder are Assistant Professors/Instructors. In addition, 11 basic and clinical scientists have appointments in the Department of Medicine. Each
Internal Medicine subspecialty is represented.

The Department of Medicine has an inpatient service of approximately 100 beds for its nearly 650 monthly admissions. With a Department of Medicine average length of in-hospital stay of under 4.0 days per admission, HCMC is one of the most efficient Public Teaching Hospitals in the United States. Coupled with continued upgrading of radiological, cardiological, gastroenterological and other subspecialty facilities and equipment, state-of-the-art care is provided not only to the medically vulnerable patients, but also to the greater community of Minneapolis.

With a growing emphasis on ambulatory care, we have structured new delivery systems for the elderly, as well as for patients with cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, HIV,cancer and diabetes mellitus. With a team approach to the care of our sickest patients in our critical care units, our clinical outcomes have exceeded national benchmark experiences by 40-50%. It is in this context that you have an ideal opportunity to experience and learn a clinical approach to patient care that will be the foundation for all of your future learning.

Education has long been a paramount goal of the Department of Medicine and every year more than
300 University of Minnesota medical students experience Internal Medicine in our department. Whether on the wards or in the clinics, the student experience at HCMC has been considered excellent. The Department has focused on both undergraduate and graduate medical education and has provided considerable faculty resources under the leadership of Drs. Anne Pereira and M. Thomas Stillman. As
the Director of Undergraduate Education, Dr. Stillman was named the winner of the Minnesota Medical Foundation's (MMF) Distinguished Teaching Award for the third year in a row. This award is based on votes cast by third and fourth year University of Minnesota medical students. In addition, Dr. Stillman
won the 1998 MMF's Outstanding Medical Teacher Award. This award is voted on by faculty serving on the Honors and Awards Committee at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

To effectively educate and provide state-of-the-art care, a department must be involved in ongoing cutting-edge research. This Department of Medicine has long had a tradition of investigation. This has involved bench research with direct clinical applicability. In addition, clinical science involving both prospective, hypotheses-driven clinical trials as well as outcome-based clinical investigations has
become a readily identifiable strength of our department. Some of the largest clinical databases are available for medical student and house officer research projects with our faculty, and these have given rise to publications for our trainees during the past years. Research support has been growing in the Department, and in 1997, we were awarded nearly $8 million for these activities. Over 70% of that amount came from the National Institutes of Health. We are one of two centers in the United States supported by the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the roles of Complementary Medicine in the treatment of various patient syndromes and symptoms. The availability of a strong research group in
this area should provide needed information regarding the value of these alternative and complementary therapies.

Our goal in the Department of Medicine at HCMC is to provide you with the necessary tools and clinical experiences to allow you to develop into an effective and well-trained internist. The dedication and consistency of our faculty provide you a unique venue to attain your educational goals.