Transitional Year Residency Program

We are accepting applications through ERAS.

1. Graduation

All applicants must have graduated from an accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school in the United States or have an equivalent degree from an international medical school (e.g. MBBS, MBChB). We do not employ strict year of graduation cut-offs in our initial application screening process.

2. USMLE

Applicants must have passed the USMLE Step 1 and/or COMLEX Level 1 examination. We strongly prefer applicants who have passed the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) and/or COMLEX Level 2 examination. We will consider candidates who did not pass these examinations on their first attempt, and we do not use strict cut-offs for scores on the Step 2 CK or COMLEX examinations in prioritizing candidates for interviews.

3. Letters of Recommendation

A medical student performance evaluation (MSPE or “Dean’s letter”) or equivalent document must accompany each application. We also require three (3) letters of recommendation, two of which must come from an internal medicine specialist, subspecialist or equivalent.

4. Personal Statement

A personal statement must accompany each application; however, we do not require customized statements for our program. We appreciate honesty and promote transparency. As such, we favorably view personal statements that contextualize certain factors, including extensions of medical school graduation date, significant gaps in training and failed attempts on USMLE examinations.

5. International Medical Graduates

For international medical graduates (IMGs), we require certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). We will consider applicants on J1 visas but are unable to accommodate H1B visas. Additional information about visas is available through our sponsoring institution’s website.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer clinical rotations or observerships to IMGs. No exceptions.

We commit to a holistic review of our applicants, but we reserve the right to use filters to prioritize interview invitations. All program faculty involved in reviewing applications and ranking applicants conduct evaluations under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) framework for holistic review.

We are offering virtual interviews from mid-October 2026 through the end of January 2027. We will preferentially interview applicants who signal our program.

We will extend invitations on a rolling basis. Invitations will be released on Tuesdays after 3 p.m. Eastern time. All interview offers are guaranteed for at least four business days, i.e. until the following Monday afternoon. You will not lose your interview offer to other candidates if you respond within this timeframe. However, out of respect for other applicants, we may rescind our offer after four business days have lapsed. We anticipate sending most of our interview invitations by Dec. 16, 2026, but we may extend additional interview invitations into early January 2027 if slots become available.

We commit to using interview techniques that limit bias and noise in candidates’ rankings. All faculty conducting interviews have received training on mechanisms to maximize objectivity in our selection process.

We will offer one or two optional in-person visits in late February after we have certified our rank list through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Such visits will have no bearing on rankings. We simply want to allow interested candidates the opportunity to visit our facilities and our community before finalizing their own rank list. All interviewed candidates will receive email communication about our second-look date(s).

Our program is committed to the highest standards of graduate medical education. We fully adhere to the NRMP Match agreement, the NRMP Code of Conduct and all policies set forth by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM). All faculty, staff and learners involved in recruitment and interview activities participate in mandatory annual training on these standards and complete an attestation of compliance each year.

We are committed to transparent and structured communication with applicants. As stated above, and in accordance with AAIM and NRMP guidelines, our program does not use post-interview visits (i.e. “second looks”) in determining applicant placement on our rank list. We reserve the right to conduct post-interview communication with interviewees, but we will never use such communication to coerce applicants or influence our ranking decisions.

Mechanisms for anonymous reporting of concerns are available through our sponsoring institution, the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, or through the NRMP directly.

Overview

Our program is divided into 13, 4-week blocks:

• 4 months of inpatient medicine at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah
• 3 months of electives of your choice
• 2 months of ICU at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah
• 1 month of general surgery, emergency medicine, neurology and ambulatory care medicine

Sample Schedule

Sample of elective rotations

• Examples: Radiology, interventional radiology, oncology, radiation oncology, dermatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, ENT, urology, cardiology, nephrology and pulmonology
• You also may set up your own elective rotation as long as it is approved by the program.

We recognize the wealth of resources of medical knowledge now available to contemporary trainees. Thus, we seek to emphasize application of knowledge, sound clinical judgment and practical use cases in our precious time together.

To facilitate attendance, we offer didactics in person with a Zoom option for those off site. We do not enforce a strict conference attendance policy, but we track attendance as one metric of residents’ engagement and to aid in developing individual learning plans.

Intern Core Series — During onboarding and weekly in first 6 months

Residents will gain practical skills in outpatient visit preparation, inter-visit care, in-basket management, medication reconciliation and inpatient handoffs. In addition, we cover common inpatient emergencies and challenging inter-visit outpatient issues. Finally, we review various professionalism topics and time management and self-care strategies.

Onboarding and intern core series also include simulation-based learning in procedural skills and other high-stakes, low-frequency scenarios.

Morning Report — Approximately 2-3 session weekly

Residents construct diagnostic frameworks toward common internal medicine problems, weigh therapeutic options and integrate disease-specific management plans based on a mix of known and unknown cases. Residents will work alongside the internal medicine residents.

Board Review — Weekly

Residents review board questions and rapid-fire presentations to cover the highest-yield examination topics.

Subspecialty Series — Weekly

Residents learn contemporary approaches to diagnosis and treatment of internal medicine conditions from our expert colleagues in the ThedaCare community and among our affiliated partners.

Journal Club — Twice per month

This will be an independent journal club outside of the internal medicine journal club. Residents appraise the latest evidence through immersive learning strategies. In addition, residents analyze complex clinical decisions in a pro/con debate format centered on recent scientific studies. Articles will be focused more on the TY interests.

Medicine Grand Rounds — Once per month

Residents gain insight into the latest advances in clinical internal medicine and its subspecialties with internal and external speakers.

Patient Safety and Care Improvement Conference — Once per month

In the vein of traditional morbidity and mortality conferences, this multidisciplinary conference evaluates cases of patient harm and near misses. Participants propose systemic improvements to care processes, communication and the work environment to mitigate future risk of harm.

E2PC2: Equity, Ethics, Professionalism and Cultural Competency — Once per month

Residents critically analyze complex ethical dilemmas and professional challenges in clinical practice by applying principles of ethics, equity and cultural competency.