While each Meds-Peds resident will be fully integrated into the categorical program experience, there are a number of Med-Peds opportunities to enhance your education and exposure to Med-Peds careers.
Continuity Clinic Experience
A vital component of any Med-Peds training program is the continuity clinic experience. Med-Peds residents practice within the internal medicine and pediatric continuity clinics alongside their categorical co-residents. This continuity clinic structure ensures an integrated and equal exposure to ambulatory internal medicine and pediatrics. On outpatient rotations, Med-Peds residents attend full days of clinic alternating between medicine and pediatric clinic. By the end of residency, Med-Peds residents will have completed the same amount of continuity clinic as their categorical counterparts. The Med-Peds curriculum also provides ample opportunities for Med-Peds residents to work in a combined clinic experience alongside Med-Peds faculty at the UAB Leeds or Gardendale Internal Medicine-Pediatrics clinics. The variety of ambulatory clinic opportunities gives our residents exposure to various practice models and a greater exposure and understanding of primary care in an academic versus private practice setting.
Med Peds Embedded Primary Care Scholars
Fall of 2023 our program launched an embedded primary care continuity clinic experience for residents with a particular interest in primary care careers. One resident each year is given the opportunity through an application process to be paired with the same primary care faculty attending for years 2-4 of residency for their internal medicine primary care continuity clinics. They work alongside our Med-Peds primary care faculty in their faculty practices seeing patients alongside each other and developing a panel of roughly 100 patients of their own to care for over the 3 years of the program's duration. This experience gives residents the opportunity to truly "Try on" the experience of what it is like joining a Med-Peds primary care practice and taking on increased ownership of their patient panel to facilitate increased exposure to intervisit care and longitudinal patient relationships. They also benefit from having the same faculty preceptor for 3 years for each of their clinic sessions which allows for individualized mentorship, feedback and coaching to grow their skills in primary care to the fullest degree during their time in residency.
STEP (Staging Transition for Every Patient) Program
In September 2020 , the STEP (Staging Transition for Every Patient) program was founded as a collaboration of Children's of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham to create a clinic for young adults with complex diseases of childhood transitioning care from pediatrics to adult medicine. The STEP program has now grown into a multidisciplinary, primary care clinic for adults with diseases of childhood that includes Med-peds providers, subspecialists including pulmonary, neurology, rehab, psychiatry, psychology, endocrinology, social work, physical therapy, nutrition and child life, all in one clinic setting.
Our residents have the opportunity to rotate in this multidisciplinary clinic, enhance their knowledge of transition-related topics and to grow this clinical initiative through collaboration, advocacy, QI, and curriculum development. In 2024, we launched a lifespan Down Syndrome program and in 2025 we implemented an inpatient transition consult team to improve care of our patient population in the inpatient setting.
Med Peds Immersion Month
At least three months during residency, including once during intern year, our residents rotate through a multitude of unique, Med-Peds ambulatory clinical experiences with time spent at UAB Leeds, UAB Gardendale, STEP Clinic, Lifespan care of patients with HIV clinics (Family Clinic, 1917 Clinic), FQHC sites, gender health, combined subspecialty care including rheumatology, ID, and endocrinology, and home-based primary care. This allows our residents to see the breadth of Med-Peds career opportunities and get to know the Med-Peds faculty who practice at each of these sites. Clinical experiences are customized and selected individual for each resident during this rotation to allow for development of clinical skills across the broad range of career interests and aspirations of our residents. During this month residents have dedicated time for 1-on-1 coaching and mentoring with Med-Peds mentors, protected academic half days for scholarly activity and administrative tasks, and dedicated didactic and interactive teaching sessions with Med-Peds core faculty.
Faculty and Resident Led Innovation
Our Med-Peds opportunities, innovations, and continued growth are a direct reflection of the creativity, passion, and leadership of our residents and faculty. We welcome new ideas and partner actively with trainees to bring them to life. Recent innovations include our novel "No-Prep AI Journal Club," a faculty and resident co-led Med-Peds Book Club, and formalized mentorship panels designed to foster intentional mentorship, advising, coaching, and sponsorship. We believe some of the best ideas come from our trainees, and we are committed to creating an environment where residents can shape the future of our program while pursuing their own professional and personal goals.