Internal Medicine Residency: Virginia Mason Medical Center

The Internal Medicine Residency Program at Virginia Mason offers an academically rigorous education in a nationally recognized community hospital. Our residency combines team-based learning with one-to-one mentorship activities and allows residents the flexibility to pursue their individual interests.

Message from the Program Director

Brandee Grooms, MD, FACP

Seattle, 1920. A small group of doctors formed a new medical center where teamwork would be celebrated. They named the hospital after their daughters and worked with purpose to grow large enough for residency programs to flourish. Long before the concept of patient safety was widely recognized, they published a paper dedicated to the evaluation of medical errors with the intent of learning from mistakes. Over time, this approach grew into taking novel and bold action to prevent mistakes and protect patients from health care related harm.

While Virginia Mason and its residency programs grew, so did the culture around ideas. In the 1950s, Virginia Mason took an innovate approach, encouraging and rewarding anyone, in any position, who brought forward good ideas. This brought forward the voices of women, people of color, and frontline workers typically not empowered by the traditional medical hierarchy.

These actions became the foundations of the culture we continue to embrace and promote today: respect for people and appreciation of the patient experience.

Today. Teamwork, innovation, and respect for people remain core to our culture. These values were put to the test while answering the call to respond to a global pandemic and remain central to how we emerge. The voices of our patients and our residents shape every aspect of how we learn, work, and grow as we continue to serve the communities of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest for our next 100 years. Joining our residency program means becoming a vital part and shaping Virginia Mason’s story.

Here’s what matching at Virginia Mason could mean for you:

• Train with an organization that is an international leader in patient safety and quality improvement.
• Experience the connection and warmth of a community program while having access to:  
  

The rigor of a high complexity, closed ICU experience supported by dedicated intensivists.

The scholarship of research in conjunction with specialists who will mentor you throughout residency.

A tertiary referral center experience—caring for a diverse, medically-complex population who come from a wide referral net to access our expertise in areas like complex pancreaticobiliary interventions, hyperbaric treatments, transplant, stroke, cancer, and acute cardiac care.

Ideas to Action—shaping curriculum and engaging in educational experiences including topics like stigma, institutional racism, health care disparities and inequity, transgender care.

Leadership development—our Leadership in Quality Improvement (LQI) Pathway lets you dive deeply into understanding how the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS) improves health care delivery.

Tailoring your experience—whether your career goal is primary care, hospital medicine or fellowship.

Enhancing your education—participate in medical student teaching, art in medicine, simulation training, retreats, and CME days.

Becoming immersed in world-class patient care is an amazing way to receive your training. I hope you consider becoming a part of our story!

Looking forward,

Brandee Grooms, MD, FACP