Internal medicine/pediatrics residency

The Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency program is designed to prepare you for a career either as a primary care physician or to provide you with a foundation for subspecialty training. We are a four-year program, accepting four residents annually. Upon completion, residents will be board-eligible in both internal medicine and pediatrics and well equipped to sit for board certifying examinations in each area.

Our program is ACGME accredited and our board pass rate is 95% on both the American Board of Internal Medicine and America Board of Pediatrics certifying examination. We offer residents robust training experience in both community and academic hospital settings, including complex/rare conditions.

It's about you! Development and discovery are the fundamental forces behind the Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency program at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. We strive to create an educational atmosphere where medical knowledge is learned, patient management skills are honed, and discovery of your calling is revealed.

Our program began in 1985 in response to a desire of medical students to obtain a significant depth and breadth of training that would allow for a number of career options ranging from primary care to fellowship training. We found that many fourth-year medical students have not decided on a career path or change their plans in the first several years of residency. Therefore, we structured our curriculum to allow for broad exposure early in training, so that you can work with hospitalists, subspecialists as well as outpatient primary care med/peds physicians. The educational experience is also enhanced by the diverse populations we serve. The clinic population is a range of patients from Hispanic, African American and European descents. Residents also rotate through private med/peds offices in suburban practices.

Grand Rapids, Michigan has long been known as a family-friendly place to live. Activities abound. Cultural activities include: theater, symphony and ballet. Lake Michigan beaches are an average of 30-minutes away. My favorite is the 60-minute drive to the Breslin Center in East Lansing to watch Coach Izzo and the MSU Spartan basketball team - hopefully to another final four appearance.

It has been a pleasure for me to serve as the med/peds program director since 1991. Our residents come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have chosen a variety of careers including: primary care, hospitalist, fellowship training, international medicine, underserved urban medicine and missionary medicine. Ultimately, it is about you! Come take a closer look at us and let us help you discover who you are and what you can become.

Richard Switzer, MD
Program Director

Resident retreat

Our residency is a tight-knit, warm and supportive community, fully integrated into our categorical programs. Each year we have a retreat that is the highlight of the year for the residents and their families.

Mission work

Mission work is very important to Dr. Switzer, internal medicine/pediatrics program director. Yearly, he goes on a trip to Guatemala and encourages residents to join. Additionally, pediatrics attendings regularly go on trips to Haiti and residents are encouraged to set up any international rotations they are interested in. In the last year, pediatrics and med/peds residents have done rotations in Jordan, Haiti, Guatemala, Malawi and Costa Rica. Here are some pictures from our Guatemala trip.

Frequently asked questions

We know you likely have lots of questions about our program and our hospital. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers. For more information, reach out to our program coordinator, Pam Hritzkowin.

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency program has a long-standing testimony to our commitment to academic excellence and achievement. Our residents are fully integrated both Internal Medicine and Pediatric programs, but have a unique identity as Med/Peds residents in the hospital.

• Read our program aims.
• One third of our program graduates have completed fellowships in subspecialties, such as adolescent medicine, infectious disease, rheumatology, adult and pediatric hematology/oncology, cardiology and more.
• Our board pass is 95% on both certifying examinations.
• Spectrum Health has a highly reputable med/peds presence in the community.
• We offer robust training experience in both community and academic hospital settings, including world-class facilities and strong research support.

Curriculum

The shaded areas of the sample schedule represent pediatric rotations and non-shaded areas represent internal medicine rotations. Electives are resident selected, based on area of interest.

(*rotations denote a block without outpatient clinic duties, ** IM clinic only)

We accept applications through ERAS only. The NRMP code for our program is 2077700CO. Application deadline for internship starting June 2023 is December 1, 2022.

Application statement

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape for residency application, and removed travel barriers for interviewing. As a result, programs expect to receive up-to twice as many applications than in a prior years, yet have limited resources for application review during a shortened review period. We are concerned that overly broad application will limit our ability to give fair review to all, and will leave some applicants without opportunity at programs where they have genuine interest. To mitigate this, we request that applicants consider limiting their applications to no more than 20 programs. We also ask that applicants consider adding a paragraph to the end of their personal statement detailing their interest in our specific program - this is not mandatory, but may assist us in gauging applicant interest if the pool is large. We are committed to working with our applicants to find the best match for you and for us, and request your partnership over the next few months to ensure the process is fair and successful for all.

If you have any questions about the program or the application process, contact our program coordinator, Pam Hritzkowin, at pamela.hritzkowin@corewellhealth.org.

Visiting learners

All visiting medical student applications must be submitted through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities program. For more information on visiting medical student opportunities, please visit our Visiting Learner page.

View a list of our alumni.