The Medical Firms
About Our Medical Firms
The Department's inpatient medicine services are organized around the four medical firms. Named after leading educators from the Beth Israel and Deaconess Hospitals, the firms have been in place for nearly 30 years.
Each house officer is assigned to a firm for the duration of their training. The firm is led by a Firm Chief, Associate Firm Chief, and Chief Medical Resident; this group organizes teaching on the firm, social events, and provides mentorship and feedback. The firm leadership is comprised of physicians representing multiple BIDMC divisions including General Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Rheumatology, and Hematology/Oncology. At the start of an intern's tenure in our program, they are matched with a Firm Chief or Associate Firm Chief, who will serve as a mentor and assist with career development throughout internship and residency.
The Firms each have geographical homes on the wards. When on a general medicine ward rotation, a house officer will practice on the same floor and work with the same team of nurses, case managers, and staff. They will work with other residents and interns on the same firm, and each week they will attend a Firm Conference (an opportunity to discuss recent cases on the wards) led by the Firm Chief and Associate Firm Chief. In this way, a smaller group of residents and housestaff get to know each other very well. On all other rotations (Ambulatory, ICU, Cardiology, Oncology, electives, etc.), residents work with interns and residents from other firms.
The Firms and Firm Chiefs
Blumgart Firm: Named for Hermann Blumgart, former Physician in Chief of Beth Israel Hospital
Kurland Firm: Named for George Kurland, former Cardiologist at Beth Israel Hospital
Robinson Firm: Named for Stephen Robinson, former Hematologist at BIDMC
Tullis Firm: Named for James Tullis, former Chairman and Physician in Chief at Deaconess Hospital