Clinical Expertise

The Inpatient Care Service provides a robust training environment where residents and fellows develop expertise in managing complex, acutely ill patients.

• Comprehensive Experience: Trainees work alongside attending faculty to diagnose and manage diverse disease states, including infectious, endocrine, cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, hematological, renal, rheumatological, oncological and neurological conditions.
• Evidence-based Approach: Faculty model the application of current treatment guidelines and preventive strategies to optimize patient outcomes.
• Treatment Coordination: Training emphasizes essential skills in interdisciplinary collaboration, care coordination and managing the transition of care — all core competencies critical to modern hospital medicine.

The General Medicine Consultation Service offers exceptional educational opportunities in perioperative medicine and managing complex medical conditions across all specialty areas.

This service operates 24 hours a day, providing a dynamic learning environment where trainees, under the direct supervision of hospitalist attending faculty, develop critical skills, including

• Perioperative risk assessment and medical optimization
• Evaluation and management of a wide spectrum of complex conditions, such as:
  • Hypertension
  • Cardiac and pulmonary conditions
  • Geriatric syndromes
  • Hematological conditions
  • Infectious diseases
  • Hepatic and renal complications
  • Diabetes
  • And other endocrine diseases
• Interpreting abnormal vital signs and laboratory values

UC Irvine Hospitalists care for surgical patients before and after surgery, and are, therefore, uniquely equipped with the expertise required to manage complex medical conditions in patients undergoing increasingly complex surgeries.

As one of the only hospitalist-run pre-operative clinics in Orange County and one of the few across the nation, the UC Irvine Hospitalist Pre-operative clinic provides a comprehensive medical evaluation and optimization of cardiovascular, pulmonary, hemostatic, infectious, endocrine and other medical risk factors associated with surgery.

With locations in Orange and Irvine, the UC Irvine Hospitalist Pre-operative Clinic facilitates timely completion of pre-surgical risk assessment. All patients seen in the pre-operative clinic undergo a systematic evaluation of medical risk factors using validated perioperative guidelines and current evidence. The clinic provides guidance on medication management and education on perioperative risk mitigation and collaborates closely with anesthesiologists and surgeons to address unique challenges associated with highly complex surgeries performed at UC Irvine. Diagnostic EKGs and blood work are obtained, and subspecialty consultations are coordinated to ensure safe and timely scheduling of surgeries.

In addition to clinical care, the clinic also serves as a unique educational opportunity for our medical students and residents, preparing them for their future in healthcare. Leading with the UC Irvine core mission of “Discover, Teach, Heal,” the clinic also partakes in quality and safety assessment, improvement and research in the field of perioperative medicine.

Palliative medicine is a specialized approach to improving the quality of life for patients and their families facing serious or life-threatening conditions.

Training prepares physicians to integrate palliative care alongside curative and disease-directed therapies:

• Symptom Management: Trainees gain experience in the early assessment and treatment of pain, emotional distress and physical symptoms
• Complex Communication: Trainees develop skills in facilitating difficult conversations about goals of care and coordinating interdisciplinary treatment plans to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care