Department Chair's Message

The Department of Internal Medicine strives to achieve excellence in its mission of teaching and patient care. We are committed to providing outstanding clinical service to our patients and the community in addition to exceptional medical education for our residents.  The location of this program within Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center offers unique opportunities for broadening the training experience of our residents through the excellent facilities of the medical center.

Our primary mission is to provide an educational environment conducive to the preparation for a lifetime of study, problem solving, and making critical judgments in the practice of internal medicine. The fulfillment of our educational mission requires the provision of exemplary clinical services.  In the last two decades, both the Department and the Medical Center have advanced to the very first rank of American academic medical institutions.

In 2010, we were honored that programs in the Department of Internal Medicine were designated as among the nation's top programs through recognition in the U.S. News and World Report's Best Hospitals issue. These stellar programs have focused a very favorable national spotlight on the entire institution and include cancer (36th), ear, nose and throat (35th), gynecology (42nd), heart and heart surgery (50th), kidney disorders (22nd), neurology and neurosurgery (50th), pulmonary (39th, previously listed as respiratory disorders) and urology (46th).

I believe that the Department of Internal Medicine stands at a critical juncture of leadership in an ever-changing new world, directly meeting challenging societal responsibilities with deep commitment to:

• Creating an academic environment that embraces a culture of diversity
• Passionately training the next generation of academic physicians, physician-scientists and leaders
• Translating laboratory findings to cutting-edge clinical care

The cornerstone of this program is teaching at a level of excellence which fosters excitement and enthusiasm. Our faculty is a multidisciplinary and multidimensional group. Each faculty member is active in clinical practice and teaching. We also recognize our faculty for institutional, national, and educational pursuits.

Since the Department of Internal Medicine Residency operates on the principle of multiple responsibilities, an environment is created where the resident in internal medicine can experience the entire spectrum of internal medicine while becoming highly competent in the skills and judgment required of the general internist. Our program provides the opportunity for training in an optimal environment in primary care internal medicine, as well as all of its subspecialties.

Our faculty members are deeply committed to the education of our house officers in Internal Medicine and are easily accessible to them through involvement in their day-to-day educational activities. The housestaff at this institution is characterized not only by high academic achievement, but by their collective enthusiasm and mutual support.

Thomas D. DuBose, Jr., MD, MACP
Tinsley R. Harrison Professor and Chair of Internal Medicine
Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology