Internal Medicine Santa Clara - Residents

Chief Residents 2022-2023

Serena Karmally, DO (Co-Chief)

Welcome to Kaiser Santa Clara Internal Medicine Residency Program! I feel extremely blessed to have done my internal medicine residency at Kaiser Santa Clara. The biggest draw to this program, hands down, is the novel 2+2 schedule which really balances the inpatient and outpatient experience over the 3 years in a way that supports learning and minimizes burnout. Additionally, our CHOICE program and community medicine tracks cater to those interested in outpatient medicine and offer opportunities in working with ethnically diverse and underserved populations. What further drew me to this program was how incredibly warm and kind the residents, program directors, attendings and other staff are – so much so that I was honored and excited to be selected as chief resident for the 2022-2023 academic year. Throughout residency I have felt very supported in each stage of my training, with the perfect balance of autonomy and support. Most importantly, I feel the multidisciplinary approach (with the contribution of pharmacists, nurses, social workers, patient care coordinators) and thoughtfully developed work flows specific to Kaiser really are the best model for patient care, allow our residents to focus more of their time on building their knowledge and maximizing their learning (and minimal time spent on “scut” work), and the reason why many of our residents stay within the Kaiser system. We also strongly emphasize resident wellness with numerous resources for psychosocial support, and we work hard to promote a positive environment with plenty of social events and lots of treats from boba to ice cream trucks 🙂

Alix Pruzansky, MD, MPH (Co-Chief)

Welcome to Kaiser Santa Clara’s Internal Medicine Residency Program! I am proud to be part of the Kaiser Permanente family and believe there is no better place to a patient, a physician, or trainee. We are a medium sized program with over fifty internal medicine residents who work and live in the heart of the culturally and ethnically diverse Bay Area. Our residency is vibrant with no shortage of learning opportunities, patient pathologies and personalized educational paths. We have an innovative curriculum that includes point of care ultrasound, lifestyle medicine and our beloved 2+2 curriculum which promotes a healthy balance between inpatient and outpatient clinical duties. Our residents are exceptional teachers – we have a rich learning environment with over one hundred medical students who rotate on our services yearly and we are proud to be one of the core teaching sites of Stanford University School of Medicine. I can speak from experience that our residency program fosters unparalleled personal and professional growth. During my time as a resident, I received strong mentorship, experience, and exposure to all aspects of cardiology (my future career plans!). Passionate about healthcare access and the medically underserved, I was able to join our community medicine track and participate in health disparities research. The best part of Santa Clara are the people. Our residents are fun-loving, intellectually curious, and kind. We have attendings who love to teach and program directors who care deeply about the success and well-being of each and every resident. When I am not at the hospital, you can find me nerding out on cardiology podcasts, surfing with my husband, or getting lost along the California coastline. Residency can be challenging, but in a supportive program like ours, there are endless opportunities to thrive. We hope you will join us!

What our residents are saying…

Samira Samant, MD: (R1)

I have loved my experience at KPSC and am so grateful to be a resident here. This program places emphasis not only on clinical teaching and evidence-based medicine, but also upon fostering a collaborative spirit and positive environment. Our faculty are incredibly dedicated to working with and teaching residents, from procedure training to exploring evidence-based medicine. Despite the inherent challenges residency training presents, being able to train at a program that not only values but prioritizes balanced schedules, resident well-being, and a supportive learning environment is a blessing. The mentorship available is unparalleled, with faculty who are kind and approachable, involved in getting to know us personally and understanding our goals, and deeply invested in their mentees’ success. My fellow residents are exceptional colleagues and even better friends, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful experience here at KPSC!

Rachel Rhee, MD: (R2)

KPSC has been everything and more than I could’ve asked from a residency program. Our tight knit program fosters an environment of making lifelong friends and having the support of faculty who want to see us excel. We have a voice here at KPSC which allows us to have ownership over our own program and see ideas come to fruition. For example, our ultrasound elective was developed from a performance improvement project, and it is an indispensable skill on wards and ICU. Having portable ultrasounds is one of the many resources Kaiser supplies us with to become efficient and effective physicians. Our streamlined continuity of service also ensures patients aren’t lost to follow up and we also have amazing ancillary support including pharmacists and case managers who are readily accessible. Our beautiful campus at the heart of Silicon Valley allows us to walk to boba shops from the hospital and provides easy accessibility to Santa Cruz beaches and redwood forests with hardly any traffic! I am blessed to be part of the Kaiser Santa Clara family and the people I work with constantly inspire to become a better physician, mentor, and friend to others.

Christopher Low, MD: (R3)

Welcome to the Kaiser Santa Clara Internal Medicine residency program. Some of the reasons I chose this program were the excellent clinical training and ancillary services. Our facility is a central center for many specialty services, so there is an abundance of case diversity. Kaiser does a fantastic job of supporting physicians with social workers and case managers to help expedite hospital stays and allow us to focus on medicine. Our program also emphasizes wellness and camaraderie. Our program leadership and attendings go out of their way to help when needed so we can learn with as few interruptions as possible. Even though I chose this program for the clinical training, what I have come to appreciate most is the family atmosphere among the residents. Some of our memorable events include holiday dinners, top golf, hiking, and the frequent boba runs. At work, we support each other during especially busy seasons by helping with admissions, staying late to stabilize patients, and covering for each other when emergencies come up. I am thankful this program provided me with a work family, a nurturing learning environment, and prepared me to apply for cardiology fellowship. I hope to work with residents in the future because of my positive experience here.

2022-2023 Residents