About the Program
There is a long-standing, strong commitment to physician-scientist training at the University of California, San Diego. Physician-scientist training has also recently assumed renewed importance nationally, at the National Institutes of Health, and at UCSD School of Medicine. It is a particular emphasis of our Medical School Dean, Dr. David Brenner, Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Education, Dr. Ajit Varki, and our Chair of Medicine, Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky. Our Physician-Scientist Training Pathway in Internal Medicine is intended for individuals with a strong commitment to an academic investigative career. The PSTP at UCSD conforms to the ABIM guidelines for Research Residencies.
The University of California, San Diego is a rich and productive biomedical science research community. The research portion of the program consists of mentored research training in leading laboratories in the Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine and various other departments in the University. We suggest that you review the University websites for the Department of Medicine, the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and the Cancer Center as this will provide further details of the vast research community assessable at UCSD. In addition, opportunities are available at the Burnham Institute, the Salk Institute, and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology. Additionally, viewing the Medical Scientist Training Program and the main UCSD website will also provide you with information about the broad range of research opportunities reaching throughout the UCSD community.
Program Design
All PSTP trainees are assigned to a senior investigator who serves throughout the entire training period as an advisor. The advisor will provide individual academic and career counseling and will assist the trainee in selecting scientific mentors. Trainees may elect to follow one of two tracks in preparation for faculty positions.
General Internal Medicine Track
The Physician-Scientist Training Pathway in General Internal Medicine consists of 5 years of training. Two years are clinical and three are research. In this program the residents do an internship and one year of residency. PSTP residents receive identical training opportunities to the categorical residents during the first two clinical years. They enter the research segment of the program following successful completion of the clinical years.
Subspecialty Track
The PSTP program can be advantageously combined with most of our subspecialty fellowships. If an applicant has decided on a specific subspecialty, in many cases the application to the PSTP program can be combined with early admission to the subspecialty fellowship. The participating subspecialties have agreed to provide preferential acceptance of qualified PSTP trainees who are committed to a career in academic medicine and complete their clinical training successfully. Applicants who wish to combine early acceptance to subspecialty fellowship must meet with the Fellowship Director or their representative of the subspecialty they are interested during their interview here. In order to ensure this we must be informed of the subspecialty direction early in the application process to allow adequate time to coordinate that interview. Applicants who are interested in one or more potential subspecialties should also indicate their interest in their application and we will try to include a meeting with the Fellowship Directors from each division of interest. For applicants undecided at the time of applying to the PSTP, application for the subspecialty program must be initiated by October of the the first year of training. Because the clinical medicine training is a short track (2 years) and some of the research requirements for the PSTP and fellowship can be shared, the trainee can quickly be prepared for a faculty position. If desired, the clinical subspecialty fellowship training can follow the clinical residency training, prior to commencement of the laboratory training.
Evaluations During Training
Objectives of Training
The objectives of the PSTP are to provide residents with outstanding opportunities for training in investigative medicine and to prepare them for future careers at the cutting edge of biomedical research. Additional goals are to train and develop the next generation of leaders of academic medicine preparing them for faculty positions at leading universities, including UCSD.
Evaluation of Clinical Performance
Evaluation of clinical performance of PSTP trainees will be identical to that for the categorical program trainees. Research performance will be evaluated by the research mentor on a quarterly basis and reviewed by the program leadership. Feedback will be provided to the trainee. The trainees will be evaluated on their research methods, study design, data analysis, critical evaluation of the scientific literature, and research ethics. Periodic written reports will be required of the trainee and reviewed by the mentor before forwarding to the program leadership. The trainee will also be required to evaluate the mentor and the quality of the training program.
Contact Information
For additional information please feel free to contact:
Allison Reinhardt, PSTP Coordinator, areinhardt@ucsd.edu
Mark Ginsberg, M.D., Director, UCSD PSTP Program, mhginsberg@ucsd.edu
Joseph Vinetz, M.D., Associate Director, UCSD PSTP Program, jvinetz@ucsd.edu