Transitional Year Program

Main (Program Overview/Mission/Vision/Aims)

The SAUSHEC Transitional Year Program's mission is to provide the clinical experience, educational resources, and mentorship support that produces exceptional general medical officers and specialty residents who engage in the ethical and compassionate practice of medicine in military healthcare settings.

Across a variety of clinical experiences in the DHA’s premier center for graduate medical education, SAUSHEC Transitional Year Residents hone their medical knowledge and practice to become competent and confident military healthcare system physicians who graduate to serve in general medical officer or categorical residency settings.

Curriculum/Rotations/Locations/Partnering Institutions

The SAUSHEC Transitional Year Program is the nation’s preeminent program for the medical education of new medical officers. It is the largest combined Army and Air Force GME training platform in the Department of Defense. As the DoD’s sole Level I Trauma Center, all interns are assigned to a rotation in Trauma Surgery, exposing them to the challenges of polytrauma patients, preparing them for a contingency deployed environment. Exclusive to SAUSHEC is the Burn ICU, where interns experience a unique service to develop their clinical knowledge and procedural competence. Interns have a month in both Adolescent Medicine Clinic and either Army Troop Medicine or Air Force Flight Surgery Clinic where they learn the medical care of young adults and administrative requirements of their respective services. Interns also engage in scholarly activity through quality improvement / patient safety projects and enjoy a unique perspective as they rotate through diverse clinical environments. All rotations are at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston and JBSA-Lackland.

Military Relevance (military relevance of specialty/how program prepares trainees to be ready for military mission & first assignment)

The SAUSHEC Transitional Year Internship trains interns in a broad range of clinical experiences which serve to qualify them for licensure and proceed to either residency training or assignment as general medical officers in the Army or Air Force. In addition to producing well rounded interns, the program promotes military readiness. Our graduates must be ready to serve effectively as both military officers and physicians across the spectrum of clinical care in garrison and deployed. Our next area of focus is medical readiness. As future physicians who graduate to general practice or myriad specialties, our graduates through rotations in intensive care units develop clinical knowledge and procedural competence with critically ill patients. Interns are educated in the challenges of running an inpatient service with polytrauma patients as they will experience in a contingency deployed environment. General medical officers will learn care for diverse patient populations and be prepared for a broad range of patient complaints through rotations in Gynecology, Ophthalmology, and Adolescent Medicine. Interns will learn specific occupational medicine concerns in Army Troop Medicine or Air Force Flight Medicine clinics. As graduating interns assume leadership responsibility for the medical staff under their supervision and lead their patients through care decisions, they participate in a leadership curriculum throughout the internship year. And finally the program is focused on delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. Through quality improvement and patient safety projects, interns are engaged in Problem Based Learning and Improvement and have the opportunity to turn these projects into scholarly production and publications.

Application Instructions (Eligibility/Interview Process/Program Application Details)

Medical students who will apply to categorical residency programs (i.e., Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Diagnostic Radiology) should apply through those programs and request placement in the Transitional Year internship. Residents who intend to proceed as general medical officers or undecided about a specific graduate medical education specialty are encouraged to apply for a PGY1 position with the Transitional Year Residency. Please contact the Program Coordinator at 210-539-5545, to arrange for an interview. Medical students should follow the Joint Graduate Medical Education Selection Board instructions relevant for their military service.