Internal Medicine Residency Program
Desert Valley Hospital, a member of Prime Healthcare receives accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to start a new Internal Medicine Residency Program in July of 2023. Internal Medicine residents will receive their training at Desert Valley Hospital while also completing specialty rotations in clinics within Desert Valley Medical Group and throughout the High Desert. The addition of graduate medical education gives the unique ability to train future physicians who share a commitment to outstanding patient care and clinical excellence.
The three-year Internal Medicine Residency Program will begin with eight internal medicine residents per year for a total of twenty-four residents over a 3-year period. Medical residents at Desert Valley Hospital will work side-by-side and train under the supervision of an attending physician board-certified in their specialty. Successful completion of residency training is a requirement to obtain board certification in a selected specialty.
Stanley Walker, MD, FACP, CPI, PD
Program Director
Internal Medicine
Welcome from the Internal Medicine Program Director
The Desert Valley Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program provides a well-balanced educational experience in a clinically diverse community-based hospital. Our ACGME-accredited program started this June with eight residents and will continue to expand in the coming years. Our program is structured to provide well-rounded training in a culturally diverse environment, preparing our residents to pursue sub-specialty training or careers in general internal medicine.
The program is organized to provide a balance of inpatient and ambulatory experiences. During our floor rotations, our faculty conducts patient-centered rounds where residents are encouraged to ask meaningful questions and develop and refine critical thinking skills. Our hospitalists are available to our residents 24/7 and provide a nurturing environment for our residents. The PD’s and APD’s are also available 24/7 for teaching and handling any questions.
We have a dedicated research director to guide the residents in their academic endeavors. We have advisory and mentoring programs where every intern receives a program advisor and mentor to serve as his/her advocate. The mentorship program nurtures both professional and personal growth. The faculty has an open-door policy that promotes one-to-one communication with residents.
Our program provides multiple didactic conferences to fulfill the recommendations of the ACGME. Our curriculum responds to the dynamic healthcare needs of patients and society, in order to teach the most up-to-date methods in healthcare delivery. We have founded our program with the belief that compassion for our residents can provide the best educational experience in California.
Dr. Stanley R. Walker MD, FACP, CPI, PD
Internal Medicine Residency Program
The emphasis in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Desert Valley Hospital is to graduate an Internal Medicine physician who is a well-trained clinician in all the major clinical disciplines as well as in the social, psychological, and preventive aspects of patient care. Residents gain hands on procedural experience including common procedures such as intubations, central venous catheter, thoracentesis and paracentesis. Working together, the faculty and residents are continually reevaluating the curriculum to adapt to the ever-increasing complexity and sophistication of health care. Every attempt is made to tailor the training to the needs and interests of each resident for each year of the residency program. The core requirements for the residency are based on current ACGME guidelines.
Program Information
Program MIssion
The Prime West Consortium Desert Valley Medical Center Internal and Family Medicine Residency Programs aims to provide a high-quality, well-rounded educational experience for resident physicians to be competent hospitalists, primary care physicians and/or pursue a fellowship. The programs aim to address socio-economic disparities, increase access to healthcare and grow the number of physicians in Victorville, CA and the surrounding communities.
The aims are to instill the core value of service and commitment to the under-served medical communities. Through a humanistic working environment and curriculum, the program intends to inspire physicians to promote wellness and enact positive change in existing models of care through clinically sound, responsible, innovative, and compassionate care.
Diversity Statement
Redding and the surrounding communities are extremely diverse. We aim to capture and reflect the diversity in our residency personnel. Eventually, we hope to establish a diverse recruiting pipeline and retain our residents as faculty. In regard to residency personnel, we hope to recruit from the local community and provide tools and opportunities for advancement within our organization.
The program currently boasts diversity in its faculty and staff that is reflection of the community. The vision is to maintain our diversity by recruiting residents as mentioned in the prior section and eventually retaining them in our program. With time we hope to build a pipeline that continues to build the diversity in our program and serves the community by inspiring lower income high school students, mentoring underserved undergraduate students, fostering local medical students in primary care and then recruiting and retaining physicians in the community and program.
Program Aims
- To train well-rounded internal medicine physicians providing evidence-based, cost-effective, and high-quality healthcare.
- To instill in internal medicine physicians the importance of diversity and wellness for the mind and body.
- To recruit high-quality residents from diverse backgrounds that are committed to the region.
- To promote lifelong growth as a physician and within the healthcare system.
- To support faculty and residents in scholarly activity specifically designed to improve patient care, access, quality, and outcomes.
- To grow and sustain high-quality faculty through faculty development and mentoring
- To provide an educational curriculum that is innovative, responsive, and flexible to the learning goals of the residents and that will prepare them for the ABIM board exam.
Values
Clinical
- To train residents through an evidence-based curriculum, to become well-rounded internal medicine physicians providing evidence-based, cost-effective, and family-centered healthcare to an underserved community.
- Encourage screening process of certain diagnosis such as substance abuse, depression, etc.
- To continuously improve clinical care through QI projects.
Education
- To actively recruit a richly diverse team of residents.
- To engage residents through bedside learning, multi-disciplinary coordination and learning, didactics, procedure workshops, and opportunities to personalize their training and support their autonomy through electives, inter-professional roles, and committee memberships.
- To grow and sustain faculty through development and mentoring.
Research
- To support faculty, residents, and medical students in community-based and clinical research specifically designed to improve patient care, quality, and outcomes.
- To guide and support residents throughout the research process from inquiry to presentation.
Graduates
- To produce internal medicine residency graduates with distinctive qualities and abilities that enable them to become community leaders, public servants, leaders in their medical fields in research and development, and ultimately instruments to invoke change and improvement in healthcare and society.
Program Goals
The Prime West Consortium Desert Valley Medical Center Internal and Family Medicine Residency Program goals for our residents are to: Create an environment for scholarly activity and quality improvement with a focus on topics applicable to the community. Encourage life-long learning and improvement. Increase the number of primary care physicians in the greater Inglewood region. Address socio-economic barriers to healthcare in the community. Prepare residents for exam passage for the ABIM board exam or AOA equivalent.
About Desert Valley Hospital & Desert Valley Medical Group
Desert Valley Hospital
Desert Valley Hospital, a member of Prime Healthcare, is an accredited 148-bed acute care hospital located in Victorville, California. Desert Valley Hospital ranks among the top 5% of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. The hospital has achieved numerous quality award distinctions including “100 Top Hospital” recognition, Patient Safety Excellence Award, Women’s Health Excellence Award and Distinguished Hospital Clinical Excellence Award. Desert Valley Hospital, along with Desert Valley Medical Group, offers key services to the community including heart care, emergency services, labor and delivery, surgical services and more.
Desert Valley Medical Group
Desert Valley Medical Group has over 35 physicians in a broad range of specialties practicing throughout offices in the High Desert region of Southern California. Our doctors are committed to providing quality medical treatment and work to promote your good health in a professional and caring environment.
Contact Us
Internal Medicine Residency Program
Desert Valley Hospital
16850 Bear Valley Road
Victorville, CA 92395
DVH-IMRP@primehealthcare.com