Primary Care of Vulnerable Populations Track

The PCVP Track offers unique opportunities for residents to rotate through primary care and outpatient-focused electives while having all the privileges of benefiting from the excellent, rigorous training offered in the Categorical Internal Medicine Residency Program. The following features allow for such training:

• A 3 + 1 + 1 schedule that allows for additional ambulatory rotations and populations health training.
• Co-directors and core faculty focused on primary care.
• A balance of core internal medicine requirements (inpatient, critical care) and subspecialties.
• Community engagement and health system collaboration.
• Additional experiences in leadership, medical education, quality improvement, point-of-care ultrasound, and advocacy.
• Personalized mentoring and coaching to support individual career goals.

All PCVP and Categorical residents are assigned to a “Residency House” or resident team.  Every 5 weeks the Residency House is scheduled in their continuity clinics and outpatient didactics.  Each PCVP resident has a panel of patients they co-manage with their primary care preceptor.

The ambulatory blocks for PCVP residents are carefully designed for ample patient continuity experience in the primary care clinic with both a suburban population and an urban population.  Our patients are culturally diverse, and many are struggling with chronic diseases and various socioeconomic constraints.  There are unique opportunities for specialized outpatient training in internal medicine specialties, community engagement projects, didactics, leadership development, and protected time for scholarship. The track allows for personalization and flexibility to tailor the training experience to the resident’s interests and career goals. The following table illustrates a typical PCVP resident’s rotations throughout the years.

We are proud of the numerous educational sessions provided in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. During the ambulatory clinic week, residents have two primary learning modules. First, third- year residents who rotate through the Resident-as-Teacher rotation are responsible for development and delivery of high-yield primary care topics. Additionally, residents have one session (4- hour block) every ambulatory clinic week, during which they engage in core outpatient internal medicine topics through multimodal learning methods, including interactive team-based learning, hands-on outpatient ultrasound learning (POCUS), and peer teaching and learning.

In addition to participating in rich learning opportunities with residents in the Categorical Track, PCVP Track residents have additional time to engage with their PCVP peers during Z-Week. During this time, they engage with one another using curriculum focused on social justice topics such as structural and social determinants of health, systemic racism, population health, and advocacy.

Administrative and Scholarly Time: This time is built into the PCVP Ambulatory block weeks and includes time for self-directed learning, patient follow-ups, a quality improvement project with a focus on reducing disparities, and refinement of academic skills in research and writing.

Community Engagement:  We believe that multidisciplinary, wrap-around care is crucial to improving the health of vulnerable populations. PCVP residents partner with community organizations of their choice and assist the organization (in the capacity requested) to provide services to community members. 

PCVP Ambulatory experience -- example

Y week – Continuity Clinic/Ambulatory week

Z week – PCVP track week

Career development is an active process that spans all 3 years of residency training.  Our program helps each incoming class get started early by having each resident , in conjunction with their faculty advisor, develop their own Individualized Learning Plan that includes career goals.  The MetroHealth System, Population Health, Institute for Hope, and the Leadership in Medicine Education Pathway offer PCVP Track residents opportunities to receive training in medical education, quality improvement or research, informatics, and advocacy. Experiences in various electives and rotations based on resident preferences helps develop interests within primary care. PCVP Track residents are encouraged to participate in scholarly activities and mentor with various primary care or subspecialty faculty.

Career development is supported by tailored mentoring, educational sessions, elective opportunities, and scholarly projects. For example, during the second year, residents in each house are expected to participate in a QI project. Results are presented to the residency program. The program offers resources and guidance and financially supports residents to attend local, regional, and national conferences.

Dr. Vikas Gampa

Dr. Gampa is the Director for the PCVP Track. An Ohio native, Dr. Gampa graduated from The Ohio State University and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York City.

He completed a primary care Internal Medicine residency at Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following residency, he obtained an MPH from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and was a Fellow in the Rural Health Leadership Fellowship through Massachusetts General Hospital.

As a fellow, he provided care for the Sicangu Lakota community at the Indian Health Service in Rosebud, South Dakota. His areas of interests include health equity for marginalized communities, LGBTQ+ care, and medical education.

He enjoys exploring national parks, dancing with his partner, and cooking at home.

Dr. Jayne Barr

Dr. Barr is the Associate Director for the PCVP Track. Dr. Barr grew up in West Virginia and Ohio. She graduated from Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia and completed her residency training in the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics program at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Following residency, she started a Med-Peds private practice in Circleville, Ohio. After 15 years, she joined as a Med-Peds hospitalist at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital as well as preceptor of the Combined Med-Peds clinic.

In 2016, Dr. Barr served as the Med-Peds Program Director at Western Michigan University School of Medicine and in 2020 joined MetroHealth as Associate Program Director in the Internal Medicine residency program with a focus on primary care.

Her areas of clinical interest are Quality Improvement, transitions of care, point-of-care ultrasound, and population health. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing, bike riding, and discovering Cleveland’s MetroParks.

Dr. Priyal Gandhi

Dr. Gandhi will be joining the Primary Care track September 2024 as Core Faculty in the Internal Medicine Residency program. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency and Urban Health Primary Care Leadership Track at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She has a special interest in addiction medicine and care for people living with HIV. Her educational focus includes educating medical trainees in the social and structural determinants of health and care for vulnerable populations.

She enjoys cooking vegan food, dancing, playing board and card games, and planning fun surprises for family and friends.

Our Interview Process and How to Apply 

We are looking for applicants that are empathetic, diverse, motivated, self-directed, and collaborative learners. We believe in a holistic review of all the applications we receive. Our interviews are being held virtually October through January. During your virtual visit, you will have time to meet and talk with our residents.

In ERAS, there is a separate Primary Care for Vulnerable Populations track option which has a unique NRMP number. PCVP candidates who are selected to interview (including those who apply to both PCVP and categorical tracks), will be scheduled with the PCVP co-directors on Tuesday mornings via Thalamus. 

Please refer to the Application Process for further information.

Questions on Signaling?

While we preferentially review applications from those who signal our program, we also consider applicants who do not signal us, particularly those who have indicated a geographic preference for the Ohio and Midwest area.