Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us and for considering becoming a part of our OHSU Internal Medicine Residency family!

The OHSU IM Residency is a medium-sized program located in Portland, Oregon. We are focused on training outstanding general internists who are provided with support, mentorship, and opportunities to pursue the next stages of their career. We believe in the importance of creating a collaborative community of physicians who understand the importance of caring for all patients and relieving suffering as much as possible. There are a diverse number of rotations and locations to broaden all the necessary skills of being an outstanding internist, along with faculty who value teaching and life-long learning to inspire the best care possible for patients. We value each other and the importance of creating a space where trust is fostered and growth is encouraged.

Our vision and mission for this program is to help develop exceptional and compassionate physicians from diverse backgrounds through the care of our community, dedication to and advocacy for underserved communities, delivery of high value, evidence-based care, and engagement with scholarship to foster ongoing intellectual curiosity. We will inspire learners to develop flexible and adaptable skillsets to navigate a changing healthcare environment, to empower the pursuit of personal interests, to be leaders in their communities, and to be proponents of social change with an understanding of equity and justice in healthcare.

We are a program that continually seeks growth and innovation and are excited to announce a new area of growth. Dr. Sima Desai, who has been the program director for 14 years, will be stepping down before the end of the academic year and Dr. Zachary Jacobs will be taking over as the new program director. Drs. Jacobs and Desai have worked closely together for several years with Dr. Jacobs serving as an assistant program director of the very popular Global Health Track in our program. Dr. Desai will remain on as an associate program director to help with the transition, and Dr. Jacobs, who is the current Transitional Year Program Director at our partner hospital in Hillsboro, will transition to this role as soon as a replacement is found for his current position. Dr. Desai also serves as the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Medicine and will continue to have oversight of all educational programs in the Department.

Dr. Jacobs has a longstanding commitment to graduate medical education and is thrilled at the opportunity to serve as your future program director. A native Oregonian and a graduate of the OHSU School of Medicine, he cares deeply about this institution, this residency, and its people. Dr. Jacobs is passionate about global health and health equity, medical humanities, reflective practice, and scholarship, and he hopes to continue to grow these aspects of the program.

We will continue to host our interviews virtually for the 2024-2025 season. Both Dr. Desai and Dr. Jacobs will be present on the interview day. While we acknowledge there is some loss in face-to-face connection between our community (you) and us, we strongly believe that what we gain in terms of equity and impact on climate change supersedes the decision to be face-to-face. Traveling for interviews is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor and does not promote equity for students in the ways our program believes it should. In addition, we passionately feel that there is a moral imperative for us as physicians to address climate change, as it will have a substantial impact on the social determinants of health for all of our patients. If we want to remain true to our mission of caring for our patients and understanding their health journey, we must do those things within our reach to have an impact. We will continue to share who we are through our website, social media site (Instagram), and multiple in-house created videos. We will prioritize the review of those who signal us, but please be assured that we approach the entire process in a holistic manner and will review all applications, regardless of an applicant’s decision to signal our program

We hope you find the website informational as you learn more about what we offer and what we hope you can accomplish with us as you continue your journey to becoming the best physician you can be. We truly look forward to the opportunity to meet you and to help you discover how you can become a part of our residency family.

Sincerely,

Sima S. Desai MD, MACP, FRCP                      Dr. Zachary G. Jacobs MD, FHM
Program Director, IM Residency                    Program Director, Hillsboro TY Residency
Vice Chair of Education                                       Associate Director, OHSU IM GH Track
Professor of Medicine                                          Associate Professor of Medicine