At St. Mary Medical Center, residents learn by taking an active role in patient care, building meaningful relationships with faculty, and serving the diverse communities of Long Beach. Our community-based teaching hospital offers broad clinical experience, progressive responsibility, and personalized mentorship in a close-knit learning environment.
Through inpatient medicine, critical care, continuity clinic, subspecialty rotations, and scholarly work, residents develop the clinical judgment, procedural skills, and confidence to pursue careers in primary care, hospital medicine, fellowship, and academic medicine.
Grow through hands-on experience
Residents play an active role in clinical decision-making and patient care. Approachable faculty support progressive autonomy through bedside teaching, direct feedback, and increasing responsibility throughout training.
Welcome Message from Program Director
“Thank you for your interest in the St. Mary Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program.
At St. Mary, we believe that strong physicians develop through meaningful responsibility, thoughtful mentorship, and a commitment to the communities they serve. Our residents care for a diverse patient population, take an active role in clinical decision-making, and learn from faculty who are invested in their growth.
Our curriculum combines a broad foundation in internal medicine with opportunities to develop procedural skills, participate in research and quality improvement, and pursue individual career interests. Equally important is the culture of our program: residents support one another, faculty know their goals, and learning is a shared responsibility.
Whether your interests lie in primary care, hospital medicine, fellowship, or academic medicine, our goal is to help you develop the judgment, confidence, and compassion to thrive in your chosen path.
I invite you to explore our curriculum, meet our residents and faculty, and discover what it means to train at St. Mary.”
Neill Ramos, MD, FACP
Program Director
Our curriculum builds a strong foundation in inpatient medicine, critical care, ambulatory care, and subspecialty medicine. As residents advance, they assume greater responsibility for patient care, team leadership, and teaching, while tailoring electives and scholarly work to their professional goals.
The 4+1 schedule
Residents alternate four-week blocks of inpatient, critical care, night-float, subspecialty, or elective rotations with one dedicated ambulatory week. During the +1 week, residents attend continuity clinic Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., without inpatient service responsibilities.
This structure provides focused time for both hospital-based learning and longitudinal outpatient care.
Residents alternate four-week blocks of inpatient, critical care, night-float, subspecialty, or elective rotations with one dedicated ambulatory week. During the +1 week, residents attend continuity clinic Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., without inpatient service responsibilities.
This structure provides focused time for both hospital-based learning and longitudinal outpatient care.
Second-year residents assume greater responsibility for clinical decision-making, team leadership, and teaching while gaining additional subspecialty and elective time. The current schedule includes approximately 12 weeks of wards, 10 weeks of ambulatory training, 6-8 weeks of ICU, 12 weeks of subspecialty or elective experience, and four weeks of vacation.
Senior residents refine independent practice, lead inpatient teams, mentor junior learners, and tailor electives and scholarship to fellowship, hospital medicine, primary care, or other career goals. The schedule is generally similar to PGY-2, with increasing customization.
Residents participate in protected daily didactics from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and protected afternoon report from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Monthly journal clubs and multidisciplinary tumor board sessions provide additional opportunities for discussion and learning.
Explore sample daily schedules for inpatient wards, intensive care, elective rotations and continuity clinic. These examples illustrate how residents balance patient care, teaching, protected education time and clinical responsibilities across different rotations.
Subspecialty rotations broaden residents' exposure to complex disease, consultation, and specialty-specific clinical reasoning. These experiences also provide opportunities to develop mentoring relationships and explore fellowship interests.
Residents participate in projects that address the practical challenges of delivering safe, effective, and coordinated care. Examples include work on a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team, Antibiotic Stewardship, patient satisfaction and communication, improvements to primary care clinic workflows, and more structured inpatient sign-outs and handoffs.
Residents can pursue case reports, quality-improvement projects, medical education scholarship, research, and conference presentations. Faculty mentorship helps residents identify opportunities that align with their interests and career goals.
Residents develop point-of-care ultrasound and procedural skills through simulation and supervised clinical experience. Training includes central venous and hemodialysis catheter placement, thoracentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture, and intubation. Simulation provides opportunities to practice techniques and receive feedback before applying these skills in patient care under supervision.
Categorical Internal Medicine Residency
Our three-year categorical program provides comprehensive internal medicine training for residents pursuing careers in primary care, hospital medicine, subspecialty fellowship, and academic medicine.
Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency
Our three-year primary care track emphasizes the development of internists with a strong foundation in comprehensive outpatient care.
Preliminary Internal Medicine Residency
Our one-year preliminary track provides a broad foundation in internal medicine.
Our Wellness Committee brings together an institutional representative, GME faculty, and peer-selected residents to support well-being and strengthen the residency community. Residents help shape monthly activities, annual retreats, graduation celebrations, and other program events.
Recent activities have included Friendsgiving, holiday gift exchanges, restaurant outings, go-kart racing, axe throwing, baseball games, and March Madness brackets and prizes. The committee also supports monthly restocking of shared snacks and beverages, access to mental health and well-being resources, and a small gym and wellness room with massage chairs.
The annual resident retreat provides time to connect outside the hospital. Recent retreats have taken place at UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge, and graduation celebrations have been held at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Each resident is paired with a core internal medicine faculty mentor. Residents and mentors meet quarterly to discuss clinical development, professional goals, scholarly interests, and progress through training.
Subspecialty faculty are also available to provide career guidance, support case reports and other scholarly projects, and mentor residents considering fellowship.
Residents benefit from core rotations at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California, and complete subspecialty rotations at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.
St. Mary Medical Center | Long Beach
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center | Torrance
This Los Angeles County academic safety-net hospital and Level I trauma center provides selected subspecialty and elective experiences. These rotations complement residents' core training with additional exposure to complex disease, specialty care, research, and faculty mentorship.
Residents can opt into unionization via SEIU-CIR. Contract specifics:
For the 2026-2027 academic year, annual resident salaries are:
PGY-1: $78,039.45
PGY-2: $80,380.64
PGY-3: $83,195.04
Residents are eligible for benefits beginning on their first day of hire. Medical plan premiums are paid in full for residents, with low-cost coverage available for enrolled dependents. Dental and vision premiums are paid in full for residents and enrolled dependents.
Additional coverage includes life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, long-term disability insurance, and professional liability insurance for duties within the scope of the residency appointment. Supplemental life insurance and spousal or dependent life insurance are available at the resident's expense.
Residents receive four weeks of paid vacation annually. Paid medical, parental, and caregiver leave is available for qualifying reasons under applicable policies. Retirement savings are available through a Fidelity 401(k) plan, with employer matching subject to eligibility and vesting requirements.
Additional support includes educational funding, a housing stipend, a $36 daily cafeteria meal allowance, meal accommodations for night-shift residents, and complimentary transportation home after night shifts.
St. Mary residents are members of the CIR/SEIU (Committee of Interns and Residents / Service Employees International Union), the largest housestaff union in the United States.
Long Beach is an integral part of the St. Mary training experience. Residents care for a multilingual and multicultural community, learning how patients' backgrounds, circumstances and access to care shape their health and treatment needs.
Community also develops within the residency. Shared meals, local outings, retreats and program celebrations create opportunities for residents to connect beyond the clinical setting.
Applications for first-year positions are accepted only through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All first-year positions are offered through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The deadline for applications is December 15, 2026.
Required materials
Program signaling
Program signals are an important component of application review. The program currently prioritizes review of applicants who send a Gold or Silver signal.
International medical graduates and visas
Graduates of international medical schools must meet ECFMG requirements. The program currently considers applicants whose medical school graduation date is within five years of the start of residency; recent U.S. clinical experience is preferred. If visa support is required, the program supports J-1 visas only.
2026-2027 interview season
Interviews will be conducted virtually through Thalamus from October 2026 through February 2027. Interview days are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and begin at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
NRMP Codes
Categorical Internal Medicine Residency: 1025140C0
Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency: 1025140M0
Preliminary Internal Medicine Residency: 1025140P0
Neill Ramos, MD, FACP, Program Director
Hripsme Gharibjanyan, MD, FACP, Associate Program Director
Wafa Mohammed, MBBS, Associate Program Director
Chester Choi, MD, MACP, Academic Chair - Dept of Medicine
Christopher Allahverdian, MD Internal Medicine
Gagik Gabrielyan, DO, Administrative Clinical Instructor
Hemal Kadakia, MD, Internal Medicine, Cardiology
Nasir Khan, MD, Internal Medicine
Sungwon (John) Lee, MD, Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine
Ajay Patel, MD, Internal Medicine
Brian Rayhanabad, MD, Internal Medicine, IM Clerkship Site Director
Junhua Shen, MD, Internal Medicine,
Sarah Strube, DO, FACP, Internal Medicine, Hospital Medicine
Gregory Yung, DO, Internal Medicine, PEC Chair
Navid Zaidi, MD, FACP, FCCP, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Wled Wazni, MD, Vascular Neurology
Aakash Bodhit, MD, Neurology, Vascular Neurology
Elie Dancour, MD, Vascular Neurology
Ignacio Carrillo-Nunez, MD, FANN, Neurology
Kaushiik Ivaturi, MD, Nephrology
John Javien, MD, FACC, Cardiology
Nikhil Kapoor, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Cardiology
Omkar Marathe, MD, Heme-Onc
Sassan Farjami, MD, Heme-Onc
Henry Su, MD, Infectious Disease
Stefan Schneider, MD, Infectious Disease
Rithika Ramakrishnan, MD, Infectious Disease
Lauren Sylwanowicz, MD, Emergency Medicine
Ryan Carlson, MD, Emergency Medicine
Karim Tadlaoui, MD, Critical Care
Vanessa Kitzis, MD, Critical care
Jihane Zaza Dit Yafawi, MD, Critical Care
Sharareh Shahangian, MD, Critical Care
Michelle Miles, DO, Critical Care
Marcus Ottochian, MD, Critical Care
Fady A Youssef, MD, Pulmonology
Shyam Rao, MD, Pulmonology
Eugene Van, DO, Pulmonology
PGY-1Preliminary
Nicole Gamboa, MD, UCSD
Ghaith Hashem, MD, University of Queensland
Son Nguyen, MD, University of Missouri-KC School of Medicine
Bryan Ramirez, MD UCSF
Simran Randev, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Hadeel Saab, DO, Touro University (Nevada)
Olamide Finney, MD, UCI
Talia Thomas, Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU
Dustin Yeung Tulane University School of Medicine
Categorical
Karol Bisaga, DO, Midwestern University (Chicago)
Vaibhav Gupta, MD, St. George’s University School of Medicine
Jinseor Kim, MD, Drexel University College of Medicine
Caovinh Le, DO, Touro University (Nevada)
Joel Vargeese, DO, Midwestern University (Chicago)
Carleigh Williams, MD, UCSF
Suha Zaidi, DO, Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine
PGY-2
Derrick Chien, MD, California University of Science and Medicine
Patrick Huong, DO, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
Amir Kalantar, MD, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Allan Kim, DO, California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Cellina Maharjan, MD, Patan Academy of Health Sciences School of Medicine
Hayk Mirzoyan, DO, Touro University (Nevada)
Manuel Quinones, MD, Ross University School of Medicine
Jennifer Ranes, MD, St. George’s University School of Medicine
Mark Rose, MD, California University of Science and Medicine
Kelly Wang, DO, Western University of Health Sciences
PGY-3
Sten Andersen, MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Savada Khodaverdi, MD, Ross University School of Medicine, Chief Resident
Annimesh Mahapatra, MD, UCLA
Edgar Muradyan, DO, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Arun Paniker, DO, AT Still School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
Seaverson Stoll, DO, California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Michael Timonian, MD, American University of Beirut, Chief Resident
Sepideh Yadollahi, MD, Bandar Abbas-Hormozgan University of Medical Science
Kimberly Yos, DO, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Chief Resident
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