Internal Medicine Residency Program in Iran: Exclusive Features and an International Comparison

Background: Internal Medicine (IM) is one of the main medical specialties. In this paper, the features of the Iranian IM residency training program, duties and salary were evaluated and compared with some countries. Methods: Using the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (IMHME) directive, the features of educational curriculum, compulsory working hours, duties and salary were extracted and compared with some countries whose full details were available. Results: The annual capacity of IM residency admission in Iran is about 280 residents in 34 countrywide medical universities. The training curriculum of IM is designed uniformly for all universities by IMHME and is consisted of a 4-year training of gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology, pulmonary, hematology and rheumatology plus cardiology, neurology, intensive care, emergency medicine, radiology and dermatology in hospital departments and continuity clinics. Residency training period in Iran is similar to Turkey and Canada and is shorter than most European countries. Average weekly working hours for IM residents is 84 hours in Iran, which is higher than Turkey European countries, Canada and the USA. Two to eight years of medical service in underserved areas have been assigned for Iranian graduates of IM residency before receiving certification for working in larger cities. Conclusion: Residency training in each country is affected by different factors such as economic status, work force, national health priorities and available facilities. Training of residents with more knowledge and skills that did not bear remarkable job burnout during their training period is a challenging goal for medical education policymakers