In each of the two years that specialty training programs have been ranked, Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa stands as one of the best in the country. The recent list published by U. S. News & World Report of the “Best Graduate Schools” for medicine in the United States put us in a three-way tie at #22 with the University of Alabama-Birmingham and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Both these institutions, along with more than fifteen other schools, were added to last year’s inaugural list.

Internal Medicine was not the only program at Iowa to appear on the 2019 rankings. Our physician assistant training program was ranked #1 in the United States, in part because of the program’s unique integration of their training with medical student education. Family Medicine’s program also appeared on this year’s list as did rankings for our research and primary care and the Carver College of Medicine itself.

Their methodology remains the same this year. Our peers—deans, chairs, and residency directors—at 120 accredited medical and osteopathic schools provided the publication with ratings on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), allowing for a “don’t know” response on those programs with which respondents were unfamiliar. The awareness and high-esteem of our peers is gratifying and the department is confident that we will remain situated on this list alongside other noteworthy programs.

As Department Chair Dr. Dale Abel said, “We can guess at the many reasons why leadership at other academic medical centers would rank us among the best. But the best response remains for us to acknowledge the hard work, creativity, and commitment of our faculty and staff. We will continue to move forward on what we know is the wisest course, confident that the results we see daily in our trainees’ growth and success provides our best barometer of our national reputation.”