The 3-year Internal Medicine Residency, (the Categorical pathway), training program at Thomas Jefferson University provides a comprehensive and well-balanced clinical experience. During each postgraduate year, house officers care for patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and at Methodist Hospital, a local community hospital, which is a division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. This combination of primary and tertiary care is an integral part of our program, producing residents equally prepared for subspecialty training, general medical practice and academic medicine.

Throughout the program, house officers are expected to assume primary responsibility for the care of all patients on their service. The intern and resident, with the help of third- and fourth-year medical students, work as a team in making diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. The medical resident fulfills the role of team leader while the medical intern is responsible for primary patient care. The level of responsibility is commensurate with the house officer's clinical experience, allowing for a natural progression from graduating medical student to mature and confident clinician.