Program Design
Program Aims
The PSTP aims to provide:
- Intensive mentorship — including a special PSTP faculty advisor throughout the training period, who will provide individual academic and career counseling and assist the trainee in selecting scientific mentors. Peer mentorship is encouraged among fellows, residents, and MD/PhD students.
- Membership in a strong community of physician-scientists — which promotes scientific development through exposure to PhD, MD/PhD, and MD scientists throughout UC San Diego and the surrounding Scientific Institutes. Community building occurs through social events, specialized lectures, and quarterly meetings.
- Combination of vigorous clinical and scientific training — with early admission to a subspecialty fellowship program and exposure to research opportunities.
- Early involvement in research - the Research-in-Residency model of the program gives protected research time within a three year internal medicine residency program which allows trainees to start their research program earlier into their postgraduate training.
- Protected research time—All PSTP trainees are provided protected research time during their fellowship and in their post-fellowship faculty years to develop an independent research program. The trainee's division will provide salary support for this transition, and the program provides additional research funding to help trainees establish an independent research project.
- Specific curriculum - All PSTP trainees have a specific two-week curriculum in which they develop skills necessary to lead a successful independent research program (e.g., grant writing, negotiations, mentorship, creating a scientific brand, bioinformatics) and filled with guest speakers including journal editors, former division chiefs and department chairs, and industry partners.
Program Design
UCSD offers two separate tracks with separate match numbers for physician-scientist training.
Three-year Research-in-Residency track (NRMP #1049140C1)
- Three years of internal medicine residency training
- Guaranteed acceptance to research fellowship upon satisfactory completion of residency requirements.
- PSTP service during residency – 2 weeks of curriculum specific to physician-scientists
- Four months of protected research time
- Opportunity to do “rotations”
- Bioinformatics instruction/training
- Resources to help data-driven studies
- APSA/ASCI/AAP Annual Conference (annual retreat)
- Goal is to publish 1-2 data-driven studies with some members of the mentorship committee
Two-year ABIM Fast-Track Program (NRMP #1049140C2)
- Two years of intensive internal medicine residency training.
- Guaranteed acceptance to research fellowship upon satisfactory completion of residency requirements.
- Total of three years of protected research time (funded with T32, KL2, foundational awards).
- Final year as a research-protected faculty
- APSA/ASCI/AAP Annual Conference (annual retreat)
- Resources to help data-driven studies early in training