Clinical Training Sites

The program offers comprehensive training through partnerships with leading teaching hospitals and community healthcare institutions throughout Los Angeles County. Each rotation site reinforces our mission to advance health equity, clinical excellence, and service to under-resourced communities. This approach ensures that residents gain the skills, empathy, and confidence needed to succeed in any medical setting.

Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center, Long Beach

The Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center serves as the program’s primary training site, providing residents with a broad foundation in inpatient and outpatient medicine. Residents manage complex medical conditions in a veteran population that spans multiple socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Training at the VA emphasizes continuity of care, multidisciplinary teamwork, and a patient-centered approach supported by one of the most advanced electronic medical record systems in the country.

Key Focus Areas:

• Core inpatient rotations and continuity clinics.
• Chronic disease management and preventive care.
• Interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists, nurses, and social workers.

Watts Healthcare Corporation

At Watts Healthcare, residents gain vital experience in community-based medicine and primary care. The site serves one of Los Angeles’s most historically underserved communities, where residents learn to address social determinants of health, manage chronic illness, and engage in preventive screening. The rotation fosters strong clinical reasoning and reinforces the value of culturally responsive care.

Training Highlights:

• Outpatient primary care and chronic disease management.
• Exposure to community health programs and outreach initiatives.
• Development of culturally competent communication skills.

St. Mary Medical Center

St. Mary Medical Center provides an immersive inpatient learning environment that emphasizes teamwork, patient safety, and leadership in clinical decision-making. Residents work alongside expert hospitalists and subspecialists, managing diverse patient cases that strengthen both medical knowledge and bedside skills.

Experience Includes:

• Hospital-based internal medicine rotations.
• Interdisciplinary rounds and quality improvement projects.
• High-acuity case exposure in a teaching hospital setting.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center (MLK) rotation is central to CDU’s mission of providing accessible care to South Los Angeles communities. Residents participate in ambulatory clinics spanning primary care, subspecialty consults, and chronic disease follow-up visits. The experience builds efficiency, empathy, and continuity of care while deepening understanding of health disparities.

Resident Focus:

• Ambulatory internal medicine and follow-up care.
• Preventive and patient-centered medicine.
• Experience in diverse urban outpatient settings.

USC–Los Angeles General Medical Center

At USC–Los Angeles General Medical Center, residents gain exposure to high-acuity medicine and rare, complex conditions within one of the nation’s most renowned safety-net hospitals. Working alongside faculty and subspecialists, CDU residents develop advanced diagnostic, procedural, and leadership skills applicable across medical environments.

Educational Value:

• Exposure to tertiary-level and complex medical cases.
• Advanced inpatient procedures and consult experience.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration in academic medicine.

Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center is a leading training site where CDU residents gain experience within a high-volume, integrated healthcare system. The medical center provides exposure to diverse patient populations, coordinated care models, and a wide range of clinical conditions, preparing residents for modern medical practice. Working with multidisciplinary teams, residents strengthen their diagnostic skills, communication, and understanding of preventive and population-based care.

Educational Value:

• Training in an integrated healthcare system focused on coordinated and preventive care.
• Broad exposure to chronic and acute conditions across inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration with physicians, behavioral health specialists, nurses, and care coordinators.