Internal Medicine Residency Program in Iran: Features and Global Comparison

Background: Internal Medicine (IM) is one of the main medical specialties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the features of the Iranian IM residency training program, residents’ duties and salary and to compare them with some countries. Methods: Using the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) directive for IM residency training program, the features of educational curriculum, compulsory working hours, residents’ duties and salary were extracted and compared with some countries whose full details were available online. Results: The annual capacity of IM residency admission in Iran is near 300 residents in 35 countrywide medical universities. Medical doctors can apply for this residency after achieving adequate scores in the Iranian residency entrance exam. The training curriculum of IM is designed uniformly for all universities by MOHME and is consisted of a 4-year training of gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology, pulmonary diseases, hematology and rheumatology plus cardiology, neurology, intensive care, emergency medicine, radiology and dermatology in hospital departments and continuity clinics. A 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 influenced by different factors. 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.