The Lyndon B. Johnson General hospital is a well-established partner to The University of Texas-Houston Medical School. However, it was not always so. Our history-making partnership, dating back to 1990, began as follows.

It was 7:00 AM on the first Sunday in July 1990. Women were laboring, babies were being born. It was business as usual at the North Northeast Hospital. One minute later, ambulances began arriving, shuttling patients from the Ben Taub General Hospital to the newly named Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital. The change from obstetric facility to general hospital had begun. On cue, throughout the facility, physicians from The University of Texas-Houston Medical School stepped in, and their counterparts from Baylor College of Medicine stepped out. A new full-service hospital was born.

That day and all the planning that led up to it made history for the Medical School. By all accounts, it represented the first time existing U.S. medical school had opened a fully operational hospital. It also marked a turning point for the school's clinical programs, greatly expanding teaching opportunities and ensuring its reputation as one of the finest medical training grounds in the country.

By 3:00PM, the hospital's complement of 300 beds and 144 bassinets was 75 percent occupied. UT faculty and residents had completed literally hundreds of histories, physicals and notes. Every service was operational. It had been a remarkable day!

Fundamental Clinical Disciplines

The Transitional Year Residency Program, consisting of 13 positions annually, is designed to provide a broad clinical experience as preparation for subsequent education in specialty residency programs. This structured yet flexible program is based on four fundamental clinical disciplines: obstetrics, pediatrics, internal medicine and surgery. Each resident will select one five-month experience in one of the four fundamental clinical disciplines.  This area of concentration will be supplemented with your choice of three one-month selective rotations from any of the four fundamental clinical disciplines.  Residents will also have two nonconsecutive months of supervised emergency room experience and two months of electives from other departments.

Internal Medicine

The major internal medicine rotations are on the inpatient services at the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The majority of services are general internal medicine services, although a few rotations are available on the oncology, nephrology, and cardiology services at Memorial Hermann Hospital and on the cardiology service at LBJ General Hospital. Residents who take five months of internal medicine will have a month of ambulatory medicine. The ambulatory month may include rotations at The University of Texas General Internal Medicine clinic; the general internal medicine and subspecialty clinics at LBJ General Hospital; or the Thomas Street Clinic, an outpatient facility for patients with HIV infection. Transitional residents may request rotations in the medical intensive care unit at either LBJ or Hermann Hospital. On all these rotations, the transitional year resident has the same duties and responsibilities as do PG-1 residents in internal medicine. The PG-1 resident acts as a primary care physician for his/her patients, performing the initial examination, as well as planning, diagnostic evaluation and management. On the inpatient services, the PG-1 resident works together with one or more upper level residents and usually with a team of medical students under the supervision of an attending physician. On the ambulatory rotations, the PG-1 resident works directly with the attending physician.

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Rotations are based primarily at LBJ General Hospital. The large clinical volume allows for stimulating opportunities to develop technical and cognitive skills. The 6,000 annual deliveries, including many which are high risk, provide valuable delivery room and neonatal resuscitation experience for the residents. Ample time is devoted to teaching on a daily/weekly basis. Lectures, seminars and conferences are scheduled both at LBJ General Hospital and jointly with Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Pediatrics

Rotations at the LBJ General Hospital are well represented with a total of 100 pediatric/neonatal/low risk nursery beds. The 30-bed general ward, which has eight pediatric intermediate care beds, provides care for children with a wide variety of illnesses, and includes pediatric subspecialty care.

At LBJ General Hospital, the neonatal service consists of 50 beds including a Level II unit and a highly sophisticated Level III unit, a hospice room and an isolation unit. All are provided with the latest technology.

A general pediatric clinic has been opened on the second floor, separate from the Emergency Room, where residents see hospital discharges, early neonatal follow-up, and other general pediatric patients as part of their general pediatric and low risk nursery rotations.

The community-based pediatric experience at LBJ General Hospital provides a complementary educational experience to the more tertiary care provided at Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Surgery

Rotations are on the inpatient services at the LBJ General Hospital and at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Two independent surgical "color" services provide a full spectrum of emergency. critical and elective care in general abdominal, vascular, thoracic, pediatric, oncologic and trauma surgery to a predominantly indigent patient population. Due to the large size and diversity of its patient population and the subsequent wide variety of clinical problems encountered, the General Surgery Service affords the resident a rich opportunity to develop and sharpen clinical skills and master fundamental surgical techniques. Rotations through the Hermann Hospital surgical critical care, cardiovascular surgery, transplantation, burns and pediatric surgery services are also available to those who desire further subspecialty exposure.

Required

 LBJ Emergency Center

The intern will spend two non-consecutive months rotating in the Emergency Center at LBJ General Hospital. The schedule will reflect twelve hour shifts which will encompass all levels of patient acuity. There is 24-hour-per-day attending coverage in the Emergency Center, along with in house multi-specialty backup. This rotation exposes the intern to a great diversity of emergency medical conditions.

Anesthesiology/STICU

This elective is at Hermann Hospital in the Shock/Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU) which is an integral part of a Level I trauma center (time may also be spent in the Neuro ICU). The STICU receives trauma and surgical service patients, many of whom are flown in by LifeFlight. The resident functions as a member of the STICU team and works in conjunction with the trauma team and other admitting and consulting services. On a daily basis, the resident participates in clinical rounds with the STICU faculty which is composed of Board Certified Intensivists from Surgery and Anesthesiology backgrounds, who also provide a didactic program for the rotation. With guidance from faculty, fellows and senior house staff, the rotation provides experience in basic invasive procedures, fluid and electrolyte management, hemodynamic monitoring and management, nutritional support, ventilator management, medical ethics and more. Night call is routine, every third night.

Dermatology

This elective involves a varied experience including eight half-days per week attending outpatient clinics, with additional time spent doing inpatient consultations. A broad exposure to medical and surgical dermatology, as well as dermatopathology, is made possible by attending the following clinics on a rotational basis: Medical School private outpatient clinic, LBJ clinic, San Jose clinic, M.D. Anderson clinic, and the option of additional time in the private offices of several dermatologists. The main emphasis of this rotation is on observing and diagnosing the literally hundreds of different lesions and rashes that come through the clinics. There is no night call or weekend duty associated with this elective.

Neurology

This elective provides the resident with the opportunity to participate in clinical rounds with two neurology residents and faculty on a daily basis and exposure to a spectrum of patients. Functions include interpretation of studies, neuro-radiology rounds with emphasis on CT of the brain and spine as well as cerebral angiograms. Night call is required.

Ophthalmology

The goal of this elective, held at the Hermann Eye Center, is to provide the Transitional Year Resident with a broad exposure to general ophthalmology. Particular emphasis will focus on practicing a systematic eye examination, enhancing the resident's skills with the direct ophthalmoscope and slit lamp. The resident will have hands-on experience with hundreds of patients in an outpatient setting, as well as hospital consultation in ophthalmology, and a limited exposure to common ophthalmic surgical procedures. The ocular manifestations of common systemic diseases is also stressed, including making the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, and evaluating patients with thyroid disease. The resident also will have experience with ocular emergencies. Subspecialty rotations in glaucoma, retina, pediatric ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology, cornea and external disease also are available. The rotation consists of daytime, outpatient clinics, and there is no call required.

Orthopaedic Surgery

During this elective, the resident will develop the skills necessary to practice orthopaedic surgery through patient care. Clinical rotations are available in general and pediatric orthopaedics, trauma and spine surgery, joint reconstruction, and hand and upper extremity surgery. The resident sees new patients, elicits a pertinent history, examines the patient, orders appropriate x-rays, supervises the positioning, prepping and draping of the patient. This elective also involves the diagnosis and treatment of problems that can be managed on a conservative basis.

Pathology

This elective is at LBJ General Hospital or Hermann Hospital. It involves review of current surgical pathology and cytopathology specimens. The elective provides the opportunity to participate in fine needle aspirations and bone marrow biopsies and to examine blood smears and bone marrow of patients with a variety of hemotological disorders. Clinical pathological correlation is emphasized. Transitional residents are encouraged to participate in interdepartmental and departmental conferences. No night call or weekend duty is required.

Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging

This elective may be taken either at the LBJ General Hospital or at the Hermann Hospital. The resident will be included in observing both inpatient and outpatient general film reading-CT, ultrasound and special procedures. The rotation will be tailored to each resident's special interests. The Radiology Department at LBJ consists of 18 procedure rooms and performs approximately 105,000 examinations per year. The Radiology Department at Hermann Hospital boasts 29 full-time faculty and does approximately 160,000 radiologic exams per year. This elective is Monday through Friday, offers no weekend duties and no call.

Applications

Applications to this program are made only through the ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service). Please check ERAS for necessary information.