
About the Program
Welcome to AdventHealth Orlando and our new residency in Internal Medicine. Orlando is developing into a "medical city," with the influx of two medical schools, the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, Nemours Children's Hospital and the Veterans Hospital.
AdventHealth Orlando Medical Center is right in the middle of Orlando, and is the largest hospital in Central Florida, at nearly 1,400 beds. AdventHealth Orlando offers medical care from primary through quaternary levels, including bone marrow, kidney, liver, pancreas, heart and lung transplant services, as well as world-renowned robotic and minimally invasive surgeries.
I am excited about the amazing opportunity at AdventHealth Orlando for teaching Internal Medicine. We will be able to blend the educational benefits of patients and physicians at every medical care level into a unique and complete Internal Medicine residency experience, all within one medical center.
Our training program philosophy starts with a caring, humane attitude to each person we encounter. To this, we add the highest possible level of learning expectation of our residents, role modeled by dedicated faculty. Surrounded by the very best medical facilities and the greatest variety of patients anywhere, we will graduate the most capable internists in the country.
Dwayne Gordon, MD
Program Director

Opportunities to Grow.
Our program emphasizes the development of broad clinical skills in all our residents. The program provides substantial flexibility for residents, so they may tailor their training to their career goals -- whether in primary care, traditional group practice, hospital medicine, sub-specialty fellowship or academic research. Our residents will also have teaching opportunities because students from University of Central Florida, Florida State University, and Loma Linda University typically rotate with our program. Our faculty will provide personal career guidance and support to each resident through all three years of training.
We are always eagerly looking for opportunities to grow. This is reflected by the newly added primary care track sponsored by collaboration between AdventHealth Orlando and The Veterans Administration Hospital and the development of our Gastroenterology Fellowship.
Program Leadership

Dwayne Gordon, MD
Program Director

George Everett, MD, MS, FACP
Academic Chair

Daniel Tambunan, MD
Associate Program Director

Vincent P. Hsu, MD, MPH
Director of Infection Prevention, Assistant Director

Karen A. Echeverria-Beltran, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director

Luis Isea, MD
Associate Program Director

Bahar Sumbul Yuksel, MD
Associate Program Director

Edward Maharam MD
Associate Program Director

Asef Mahmud MD
Associate Program Director
Current Residents

Arianne Alexander, MD
Chief Resident
PGY- 3

Syed Inaam Hashim, MD
Chief Resident
PGY- 3

Samuel Brasil Sa, MD
Chief Resident
PGY- 3

Alsayed Osman, MD
PGY- 3

Baha Bani Fawwaz, MD
PGY- 3

Jieying Liu, MD
PGY- 3

Mengni Guo, MD
PGY- 3

Mohammad Esmaeil Pour, MD
PGY- 3

Na Zhou, MD
PGY- 3

Peter Gerges, MD
PGY- 3

Syeda Rizvi, MD
PGY- 3

Zain Zamir, MD
PGY- 3

Julio Pasos, DO
PGY- 3

Yuchen Jiang, MD
PGY- 3

Mehreen Ali, MD
PGY- 2

Jhonny Bonilla Villarreal, MD
PGY- 2

Raphael Itzkowitz, DO
PGY- 2

Sadaf Raoof, MD
PGY- 2

Ghaith Maksoud, MD
PGY- 2

Arooj Mian, MD
PGY- 2

Phuong Nguyen, MD
PGY- 2

Robert Ryad, MD
PGY- 2

Gurdeep Singh, DO
PGY- 2

Kathryn Slinger, MD
PGY- 2

Tista Thapa, MD
PGY- 2

Shammas Bajwa, MD
PGY- 2

Khaled Abdelhalem, MD
PGY- 2

Gabriela De La Hoz, MD
PGY- 2
Alexa Constantakos, DO
PGY-1
Swotantra Gautam, MD
PGY-1
Ivonne De La Hoz Molina, MD
PGY-1
Peter Houmann, MD
PGY-1
Ahmed Ibrahim, MD
PGY-1
Weiying Li, MD
PGY-1
Atika Malik, MD
PGY-1
Shristi Nepal, MD
PGY-1
Patrick Roche, DO
PGY-1
Shuva Shah, MD
PGY-1
Kashaf Aqeel Zaidi, MD
PGY-1
Nancy Zerpa Lira, MD
PGY-1
Heba Aziza, MD
PGY-1
Eduardo Lorenzo, MD
PGY-1
Categorical Curriculum
Categorical track curriculum provides more exposure to inpatient medicine with resident clinic half-days once a week.
PGY-1 Rotations | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 7 Blocks |
Night Float/ Research | 2 Blocks |
Emergency Medicine | 1 Block |
Critical Care Medicine | 1 Block |
Ambulatory | 1 Block |
Subspecialty Rotation | 1 Block |
PGY-2 Rotations (varies) | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 2 Blocks |
Night Float/ Consult | 2-3 Blocks |
Critical Care Medicine | 2 Blocks |
Neurology | 1 Block |
Subspecialty Rotations | 4-5 Blocks |
Elective | 1-2 Block |
PGY-3 Rotations (varies) | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 2 Blocks |
Critical Care Medicine | 2 Blocks |
Geriatrics | 1 Block |
General Medicine Outpatient | 1 Block |
Night Float/ Consult | 1-2 Blocks |
Subspecialty Rotations | 3-4 Blocks |
Elective | 1-2 Block |
Primary Care Curriculum
Primary care track provides more dedicated clinic experience at the Lake Nona VA, making it ideal for residents seeking to practice as an outpatient internist.
PGY-1 Rotations | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 4 Blocks |
Night Float / Vacation | 1 Block |
VA Immerse | 1 Block |
Emergency Medicine | 1 Block |
Critical Care Medicine | 1 Block |
Continuity Clinic at the VA/ Subspecialty | 5 Blocks |
PGY-2 Rotations | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 3 Blocks |
Night Float / Consult | 2 Blocks |
Critical Care Medicine | 1 Block |
Continuity Clinic at the VA/ Subspecialty | 6 Blocks |
AH Elective | 1 Block |
PGY-3 Rotations | Duration |
---|---|
General Medicine Inpatient | 2 Blocks |
Critical Care Medicine | 1 Block |
Continuity Clinic at the VA/ Subspecialty | 7 Blocks |
AH Elective | 2 Blocks |
Night Float/ Consult | 1 Blocks |

Research
Our strategies
- Research mentors in most internal medicine subspecialties
- Monthly journal clubs to help residents become familiar with research design, statistical analysis and data interpretation/application
- Present at local, regional, national, or international scientific meetings
- Support from designated statisticians and grant-writers for IRB protocol writing, study design and manuscript preparation
- Yearly showcase of scholarly activities in GME Research Day
- Financial support/allowance for national meetings and travel
In order to achieve these goals, we meet on a regular basis to discuss new projects and ideas and to assess the status of the ongoing research.
Xuan Ding, MD
Director of Research, AdventHealth Orlando Internal Medicine Program
Conferences
There are 13 blocks in each academic year; each block is 4 weeks in length. The above is a representative schedule for each year of training. Although most electives are internal medicine sub specialty electives, the hospital plays host to a robust repertoire of other specialties as well, and we routinely allow motivated residents to pursue electives like interventional radiology, ophthalmology and dermatology. Additionally, we allow a maximum of one offsite elective per year of training, at the PGY 2 or 3 level. *A board review course is mandatory in PGY 3.
- Morning Report
-
The Program Director or other faculty member leads a daily discussion of the "best cases" for learning. The discussion is open, interactive and supportive. Residents and students on ward rotations are required to attend, but everyone is welcome. In addition, every Friday one of the Internal Medicine teams presents an interesting case that they have encountered during the week.
- Noon Conference
-
Faculty and residents use didactic, as well as case-based teaching, to give the latest, evidence-backed information on core topics of medicine. Many of these conferences are presented by subspecialty faculty. Attendance by residents, students and faculty is required. Some noon conferences focus on board preparation using MKSAP. During these conferences, faculty present custom quizzes from MKSAP and lead the discussion of answers. The whole experience is designed to cover the most likely areas of focus of the boards and stimulate further reading and self-learning
- Medicine Grand Rounds
-
A variety of topics pertinent to all internists are presented formally on a monthly basis. We frequently invite renowned experts from across the country to present at these conferences. In addition, it is a great forum for residents to present interesting research that may be of value to other internal medicine physicians.
- Cardiovascular Grand Rounds
-
A variety of topics pertinent to physicians who care for patients with cardiovascular diseases are presented formally on a monthly basis.
- Nephropathology Conference
-
Quarterly, our Nephrology faculty lead a discussion of interesting cases that they have encountered, in conjunction with review and explanation of pathology slides by an experienced pathologist based in Arkansas. Residents are welcome to contribute.
- Medical Jeopardy
-
Once a month, faculty also conduct "jeopardy/doctor's dilemma" sessions to train residents for the annual ACP's Doctor's Dilemma competition.
- Simulation
-
Over the course of their training, residents will have multiple opportunities to sharpen their procedural skills not only at the bedside but also at a simulation lab located at AdventHealth Orlando at East Orlando Campus. Here residents will be trained by faculty members to practice code scenarios, perform common procedures such as central lines, lumbar punctures, etc.

Scholarly Activity
Every resident is encouraged to participate in scholarly activity. Our program aims to support residents through an established Research Advisory Team. Dedicated time for scholarly activity is built into the curriculum, with the option for research electives in PGY-2 and PGY-3.
Through the AdventHealth Research Institute, residents have access to designated statisticians and grant writers for IRB protocol writing, study design, and manuscript preparation.
Every resident has the opportunity to present and attend local, national, and international conferences. Financial support is provided to those who are presenting at a conference. GME also hosts an annual research day to allow showcasing of scholarly activities.
Program Information
- Educational Resources
-
The ACP Weekly Curriculum is the core curriculum of reading materials throughout the residency program. All residents are expected to read the topic of the week, and answer the associated short quiz online. Scores are compiled on a weekly basis and reported confidentially to the program director and the resident’s mentor. Subscription is provided free of charge to all residents. Twice a month, residents present core topics from the ACP Weekly curriculum and engage the audience in a discussion followed by a question and answer session on the particular topic.
All computers on campus provide free access to UpToDate at all times. In addition, residents will also have free access to UpToDate on their hand-held devices. The hospital also provides online access to a medical library with extensive electronic resources. Our library staff is always eager to assist with performing literature searches.
- Eligibility
-
What You'll Need
- LCME graduates:
- Pass USMLE I and USMLE II at first attempt
- Doctor of Medicine diploma without reservations
- Fluency in spoken and written English
- Proof of US citizenship or appropriate visa status (AH HR requirement)
- AOA graduates:
- Pass COMLEX I and COMLEX II at first attempt
- Doctor of Osteopathy diploma without reservations
- Fluency in spoken and written English
- Proof of US citizenship or appropriate visa status (AH HR requirement)
- International graduates:
- Pass USMLE I and USMLE II ck at first attempt (Second attempt is allowed in USMLE II cs)
- Doctor of Medicine diploma without reservations
- Current ECFMG certification
- Proof of US citizenship or appropriate visa status (AH HR requirement) (H1B or J-1 visa's are sponsored)
- Fluency in spoken and written English
- ECFMG certificate must be in prior to ranking.
Additional Information:
- A personal interview at the Internal Medicine Residency Program is required for applicants who meet the eligibility criteria to be considered for the match
- The Program Director may permit the waiver of one or more of these criteria under special circumstances
- We will be participating in ERAS and the NRMP Match.
- Applications will only be accepted and reviewed through ERAS - please no faxes or e-mails with attachments.
- We successfully began our program in July 2009.
- We are a 12-12-12 program.
- U.S. Clinical experience is not required.
- There is no graduation cutoff date requirement.
- LCME graduates:

Application Process
Join Our Resident Team
Our program is a categorical three-year Internal Medicine Residency. We are unable to consider applicants for preliminary or "first year only" positions. Deadline for applications through ERAS by the end of December.
Our program has officially received accreditation from the ACGME. We are now in ERAS, please feel free to submit your application.

Contact Information
Jessica Tardd and Karen Gonzalez
Program Coordinators
2501 N. Orange Ave., Suite 235, Box 38, Orlando, FL 32804