Transitional Year Residency Program

We will only review residency applications submitted through the AAMC ERAS system. Our program’s ERAS ID# is 9995600002

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 will offer virtual interviews from October 7, 2026, through the end of December 2026. Applicants who signal our program will receive preferential consideration for interview invitations.

Interview invitations will be extended on a rolling basis and released on Tuesdays after 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. All interview offers will remain available for at least four business days, meaning candidates will have until the following Monday afternoon to respond. Applicants will not lose their interview slot to another candidate if they respond within this timeframe. However, in fairness to other applicants, interview invitations may be rescinded after four business days if no response is received.

We anticipate extending the majority of our interview invitations by November 16, 2026. Additional interview invitations may be offered through early December 2026 if interview spots remain available or additional candidates are needed.

Our program is committed to using interview practices that minimize bias and reduce variability in candidate evaluation. All faculty interviewers receive training designed to promote fairness, consistency, and objectivity throughout the selection process. Our goal is to ensure that every applicant is evaluated using a structured and equitable approach.

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:

• 3 blocks of Internal Medicine
• 1 block of ICU at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah
• 1 block of Emergency Medicine
• 1 block of General Surgery
• 1 block of Neurology
• 1 block of Ambulatory Care
• 1 block of Rehab Hospital Rounds
• 4 blocks of electives of your choice

Sample Schedule

Elective Rotations

Residents have four elective blocks to customize their training experience. Examples include 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.

Staffing per Block

• 3 residents on Internal Medicine
• 1 resident on ICU
• 1 resident on Emergency Medicine
• 1 resident on General Surgery
• 1 resident on Neurology
• 1 resident on Ambulatory Care
• 1 resident on Rehab Hospital Rounds
• 4 residents on Elective

The complete 13-resident master schedule and a rotation summary for each resident are available in the program schedule PDF.

Download the Transitional Year Residency Schedule PDF

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.