What Sets Us Apart


We believe the Mount Carmel Internal Medicine Residency Program is special, as we should. We’ve designed it to be. But we think you’ll find it special, too. From practical and progressive initiatives that will teach you to treat the whole patient to resident-championed ideas, community integration programs and extraordinary experiences that will make you a more well-rounded person and a more satisfied physician, this is a program unlike any other.

Mount Carmel is proud to be the first Internal Medicine residency program in the country to implement the original “Culinary Medicine” curriculum designed by the Tulane Center for Culinary Medicine. Our residents use 6 weeks of protected academic time to complete 6 specific modules of nutritional education courses designed around the Mediterranean Diet. 

 

Culinary Medicine

During the week of Culinary Medicine, a family style lunch is prepared from scratch and shared by all residents.

Culinary Medicine

The true purpose of the Culinary Medicine curriculum is to arm our physicians with the practical nutritional knowledge patients need to prevent and improve their chronic disease states. Incidentally, the classes are also a great source of stress relief and improved wellbeing, and put a spotlight on residents’ own nutrition.

Culinary Medicine

We enroll our patients from our outpatient clinic to provide additional resources for those struggling with managing their diseases.

Culinary Medicine

There are also ongoing research projects including Cook with a Doc and past projects involving biomarker changes in our patients (P.R.O.D.U.C.E.- Patients Redirecting Outcomes of Disease Utilizing Culinary Education).

Culinary Medicine   Culinary Medicine

Our innovative Culinary Medicine program has been highlighted and praised in several media features, too!

Green-thumbed residents originally founded the Mount Carmel GME garden as a convenient place to “zen out” after work. But with the support of several administrative leaders, Mount Carmel GME is moving forward with innovative ideas for the garden focused on preventative health and wellness. 

 

Mount Carmel GME Gardens   Mount Carmel GME Gardens

After a significant expansion, the garden is now open to all Mount Carmel employees.

Mount Carmel GME Gardens

The garden has been witness to many hours of learning and laughing while also producing bushels of healthy organic produce for our patients.

Mount Carmel GME Gardens

The produce raised in the garden is given away at our outpatient clinic twice a week. Residents are encouraged to offer the free produce to each patient they see in the clinic. It dramatically increases patient buy-in when they see their doctor cares enough about their health to grow fresh vegetables for them. And those are the kinds of committed, empathetic doctors we try to train through the Mount Carmel Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Mount Carmel GME Gardens

The garden has a premiere location at Grove City! It is located near the employee entrance for all to see. We have reached for the sky literally and added vertical gardening to the new raised beds.

Mount Carmel GME Gardens

View our photo gallery here!

“The Arnold” draws 20,000 world-class athletes from 80 different countries to the Columbus area each year to compete in a host of sports, health and fitness activities. Our residents have been part of the medical team for the past 4 years. This experience provides an opportunity for residents to act as team physicians for sports as diverse as power lifting, gymnastics, MMA, table tennis and Scottish games. Over 175,000 people attend the event each year. It is an annual highlight for Columbus, and we’re proud to be part of it. 

 

Arnold Classic Sports Festival

With busy schedules, stress and other pressures, the physician training process can sometimes lead to burnout. At Mount Carmel we do our best to prevent that by giving our residents lots of ways to relax, connect, blow off steam and reengage. 

We start with a designated “Burnout Prevention” committee, selected by your peers. The committee plans regular activities to build the resident family. They help organize activities such as an Intern Welcoming Party, Female Physician Fancy Hat Day, Friendsgiving, the Christmas Party, and wine and paint nights. And the committee is always open to input on new ideas and activities.

Burnout Prevention

Staying active, even in a busy residency, can be a challenge. We try to make it easier by fielding two recreational teams in co-ed city leagues. These teams are composed of friends from several areas in the hospital, including Internal Medicine residents, Orthopedic residents, ICU nurses, pharmacists, floor nurses, Transitional Year interns and more. We play kickball every week in Goodale Park and softball at Berliner Park during the appropriate seasons.

Burnout Prevention

Good doctoring requires a healthy state of mind. That’s why, as part of our residency budget, we provide free voluntary group counseling for each class each month. Our health insurance also covers free individual counseling independent of the program. If you need someone to talk to, there’s always someone available.

Burnout Prevention

Our program also provides free priority parking and a food stipend that covers coffee and food while you’re working. Trust us, this makes a huge difference on a busy day!

Burnout Prevention

During the warm months, our on-campus garden is a convenient place to relax and soak up some sun, too.

Burnout Prevention

Our residency is blessed with a regularly scheduled bi-annual, 2-week rotation in Northern Uganda. Traditionally, all trip-related expenses have been covered by generous donations from the Mount Carmel Foundation. One of our critical care attendings, Dr. Ralston, has been leading this trip for almost a decade. 

We have previously had other outreach trips in the past to places like Guatemala, depending on resident and faculty interests. Our residency is always looking for new opportunities and new adventures across the globe.

Discussions are currently on-going for other International Missions outreach projects within Internal Medicine.

International Rotations   International Rotations

View our photo gallery here!