Transitional Year Residency

Transitional Year Program Receives ACGME 5 Year Accreditation!

Gary H. Tabas, MD, FACP
Director, Transitional Year Residency Program

*Click Here for Transitional Year Application Requirements

Thank you for your interest in the UPMC Shadyside Transitional Year program. Our program is described on this Web page, but I invite you to look also at information about the UPMC Shadyside Internal Medicine program, as it will provide many additional details regarding the city of Pittsburgh, our hospital and its faculty, and the internal medicine curriculum into which the Transitional Year program is integrated.

The Transitional Year program at UPMC Shadyside is a one-year program that has grown increasingly since its inception in the mid-1970s. One of the main reasons for its popularity is that the year focuses on broad-based general medicine training so that residents feel very well prepared for their future subspecialty. Many medical students see the program as an opportunity to define interests and aptitudes better and to get some solid hands-on experience before committing to a specific program.

Students who have not yet made a career choice or specialty selection, or who are planning to serve in organizations such as the public health service, should also consider the Transitional Year Residency Program. Over the course of the year, the transitional resident gains exposure to a variety specialties and, at the same time, acquires the preparatory skills and knowledge vital to success in future clinical activities.

Although the Transitional Year Residency qualifies for the first postgraduate year as defined by the American Medical Association, it is not intended to be a complete graduate education for the practice of medicine but as an entry into further specialization, including internal medicine and family practice.

Unlike preliminary year medicine, the transitional year is fully funded by the government as a separate year and does not decrease funding to the subsequently chosen subspecialty institution. In this time of increasing fiscal concern among training institutions, this funding advantage for the transitional year is particularly important to the subspecialty programs where residents train after their transitional year. More important, only the transitional year is accredited by a separate resident review committee, insuring high standards for those programs meeting the requirements.

New Interns

New Interns for 2009-2010 Year
Gregory Gan gangn@upmc.edu University of Pittsburgh	Career Goals: I am going to pursue Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado, Denver. Why I Chose UPMC Shadyside: I chose UPMC Shadyside because of its affiliation with Hillman Cancer Center, an NCI recognized Comprehensive Cancer Center. The opportunities, the patients I would see and take care of and the large number of surgical, medical and radiation oncology faculty here made it the perfect choice for me to do my transition year.
Nicholas Milanovich milanovichnj@upmc.edu University of North Dakota	Career Goals: Following my transitional year, I will be completing a Radiology Residency at UPMC. Why I Chose UPMC Shadyside: I wanted to complete my transitional year in Pittsburgh. Shadyside seemed to offer a nice mix of community and academic medicine, as well as a group of residents and faculty who appeared enjoyable to work with.
Matthew Morgan morganma3@upmc.edu Medical College of Virginia	Career Goals: After my Transitional Year here in UPMC Shadyside, I will be traveling out to Seattle to begin my residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the Virginia Mason Medical Center. I plan on pursuing a fellowship afterward in Interventional Radiology. Why I Chose UPMC Shadyside: I chose UPMC Shadyside because it seemed to me to contain the best mix of qualities from all the Transitional Year programs I was considering. UPMC Shadyside offers a mix of academic and community medicine, allows a great deal of freedom with its electives, and is filled with attendings and residents who are concerned with your education and clinical experience...and when there's some time off, there's always somewhere to go or something to explore in Pittsburgh.
Sanjay Paidisetty paidisettys@upmc.edu University of Pittsburgh	Career Goals: After completion of my transitional year at Shadyside, I will be heading back home to Milwaukee, WI, to start a radiology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Why I Chose UPMC Shadyside: As a former University of Pittsburgh medical student, I was well aware of the great faculty, staff, and clinical experiences that Shadyside offered. This in combination with rotations through UPMC Presbyterian, allows the program to offer all of its residents exposure to prestigious community and academic environments. After matching at UPMC Shadyside, I was very confident that I would develop a solid medical foundation for my future career in radiology.
Brendan Pillemer pillemerbb@upmc.edu University of Pittsburgh	Career Goals: After completion of my transitional year at Shadyside, I will be starting my dermatology residency here at UPMC. I plan to do research in vaccine development and see patients.
Eira S. Roth rothes@upmc.edu University of Texas MD School of Houston	Career Goals: After completing my TY year at Shadyside I will continue my training at UPMC Presbyterian for radiology. My long-term aspiration is to specialize in musculoskeletal radiology. Why I Chose UPMC Shadyside: UPMC Shadyside was a top choice for my transitional year for a multitude of reasons. But above all, I was impressed by the atmosphere at Shadyside. The people were knowledgeable but also friendly and appeared to be enjoying their training to an extent unmatched by most programs.

Curriculum

Our program prepares residents for further training in any one of a number of subspecialties, including but not limited to neurology, anesthesiology, ophthalmology, radiology, emergency medicine, dermatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and internal medicine and family practice. The Program is co-sponsored by the departments of Medicine and Family Practice. Transitional Year residents are integrated into core rotations and electives with internal medicine categorical residents.

The Transitional Year is designed to provide a broad experience in general medicine, in both the inpatient and ambulatory settings. Transitional residents receive four months of general medicine inpatient training within the Department of Medicine.

The year also includes a month each of emergency medicine and intensive care, providing experience in the management of acute illness.

Ambulatory experience consists of a one-month block rotation in an internist's office.

The remaining months are elective and can be taken in medical or nonmedical subspecialties at UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Montefiore, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, or other UPMC hospitals. One elective can be a nonclinical research month.

A special Transitional Year Conference is held every two months to discuss residency-related issues as well as academic topics of interest to Transitional Year residents.

Electives:

Electives include but are not limited to the following:

At least one elective must be in a medical subspecialty

If you have questions, call or write our program at:

Transitional Year Residency
Department of Medicine
UPMC Shadyside
5230 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Telephone: 412-623-2465
Fax: 412-623-3592
e-mail: ty@upmc.edu