Program Highlights

The clinical site and our community

• Our residents work in a thoughtfully designed, new Level I Adult Trauma Center medical center with cutting-edge technology. This is the only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center from Minneapolis to Seattle, and from Denver to Omaha. This means our residents see a large variety of pathology and patients with highly complex, advanced disease processes. 
• Available clinical services are comprehensive, ranging from kidney and pancreas transplantation to trans-catheter aortic valve implantation. We also have the region’s only bone marrow transplant and CAR T-cell therapy center.
• Fargo-Moorhead has a very high quality of life and is frequently recognized as one of the best places to live in America.
• Fargo buzzes with the energy of a college town – North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and Concordia College are hubs of academic, cultural, and athletic activities.
• The F-M region is thriving with a robust economy, excellent schools, and an affordable cost of living.

Demographics

• We have 8 internal medicine residents per training year, with an additional 8 transitional year residents.
• Residents have a diverse set of clinical interests. They go on to practice as general internists in primary care, as dualists, and as hospitalists. Our graduates also pursue fellowship training.
• Recent program graduates went on to fellowships in allergy-immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, hematology-oncology, infectious diseases, nephrology, palliative care, and pulmonary/critical care medicine.
• Residents collaborate with trainees from our other residency and fellowship programs. In addition to internal medicine, UND has training programs in family medicine, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, general surgery, psychiatry, transitional year, podiatry, and neurology.

• We partner with UND and Sanford Health on the School's Hematology-Oncology Fellowship and Geriatrics Fellowship.

• For those interested in cardiology fellowship, UND will welcome its first class of cardiology fellows in July of 2026.

Program design: schedule and curriculum

• We follow a block schedule allowing for increased scheduling flexibility, diverse hospital-based rotations, and longitudinal ambulatory rotations.
• We have a “holiday block schedule” ensuring that residents are guaranteed time off for either the Christmas or New Year holiday each year during residency.
• Our wellness curriculum includes one non-clinical “wellness day” per quarter, which residents use for personal and family care.
• Residents have no 24-hour call on any clinical rotation at any time during training. Our night float rotation supports our teaching service, which eliminates the need for overnight call.
• Our residents learn to use portable bedside ultrasound in the first year and have monthly educational sessions to advance their POCUS knowledge.
• Our first-year residents have a two-week rotation in quality improvement.
• Our flexible clinical curriculum gives residents an opportunity to design individualized educational experiences to align with their career goals.
• PGY3 residents may enroll in the Global Health Costa Rica elective.

Academics and research

• We have excellent opportunities for research—since 2013, three of our residents have been national winners of the American College of Physicians Resident Research Competition.
• Residents routinely present their research at local, regional, and national conferences.
• Academic forums include daily noon conferences and monthly academic-half day conferences.

Board preparation

• We provide our residents with many study and society perks, including:
• American College of Physicians membership
• UpToDate
• MKSAP
• NEJM Knowledge+
• Johns Hopkins PEAC ambulatory curriculum
• ACP board prep curriculum
• Our schedule allows for one week each academic year of self-directed study.
• PGY-3 residents receive a $3000 stipend to apply toward board review preparation.
• Our residents take the ACP In Training Examination (ITE) annually. We use these results to personalize our recommendations for board prep for each resident.
• Residents can choose to enroll in a mentored and monitored study program
• UND medical school provides consultation with an educational specialist for those who are interested in working with a professional to optimize test taking and studying strategies.

Teaching and mentoring

• Our residents have ample opportunity to develop their teaching skills in both formal and informal settings. From leading case conferences and POCUS sessions to one-on-one teaching on the floors or in the clinic, our residents educate peers, students, and faculty. For those who wish to dedicate two to four weeks to teaching, our Resident Educator elective is the perfect opportunity.
• Residents run “Board Review” conferences.
• The Fargo campus of the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences supports the largest number of UND medical students on a continual basis. UND medical students on medicine clerkships are regular members of our inpatient teams.
• We welcome visiting medical students from other schools to visit our program and join our teams.
• Fourth-year students on their acting internships may also join resident teams on night float, cardiology, critical care medicine, and medicine sub-specialty electives.

Resident leadership

• Our residents attend an annual class leadership retreat. Residents utilize the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and CliftonStrengths assessments to identify inherent strengths and learn how to develop them.
• Leadership opportunities abound for our residents. Examples include: serving on hospital committees, teaching history and physical examination skills to first and second year medical students, serving on UND medical school committees, and serving as an elected resident representative.
• Our program is resident-driven; our residents work closely with faculty and program leadership to develop and design the academic curriculum and clinical experiences. Residents with innovative ideas are encouraged to share and be a part of working to operationalize new initiatives.