Jake Deviley, MD: A day in the life of a resident

Jake Deviley, MD: A day in the life of a resident

Gundersen Medical Foundation's award-winning Medical Education Program includes 13 accredited training programs for residents and fellows, each grounded in a longstanding commitment to academic excellence. Because teaching and learning are deeply embedded in the culture at Emplify Health by Gundersen, factors like a collaborative environment, dedicated mentors and a sustained emphasis on wellness do more than support residents and fellows - they help them excel.

Jake Deviley, MD, a current Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellow, is an example of an Emplify Health by Gundersen clinician who has thrived because of his various experiences in the Foundation's programs. Originally from Green Bay, Wis., Dr. Deviley was introduced to the Foundation as an undergraduate on the pre-med track at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L) when, during the summer of his junior year, he served as a summer research fellow.

Upon completing his degree at UW-L, Dr. Deviley worked for 18 months with the Foundation's clinical research oncology team before beginning medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The positive experiences he'd had at Emplify Health by Gundersen stayed with him, so when it came time to rank Internal Medicine Residency programs, the decision felt clear: Gundersen Medical Foundation was his first choice.

"As a summer research fellow, I had always been treated as an individual whose development was fostered by mentors who cared about me. I expected my training as a resident, with a focus on quality in an atmosphere that felt like family, would also help me thrive - and it did," says Dr. Deviley.

The training required to become a physician is undeniably rigorous, but the Foundation's high-quality programs, combined with an emphasis on wellness, help each learner succeed. One example is the intentional approach to caseloads: the Foundation and Emplify Health by Gundersen keep the number of patients per resident even lower than the limits set by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, ensuring residents have the time and support they need to learn effectively.

Dr. Deviley finished his Internal Medicine Residency in June 2025, and we recently sat down with him to learn more about what it's really like to be a physician in training.

A day in the life of a medical resident

Each year, the Foundation welcomes 37-42 new residents into its training programs. While the responsibilities of residents can vary by specialty, they generally see patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

With each year of a program, residents like Dr. Deviley take on additional responsibilities. First-year residents receive high levels of guidance and support as they focus on learning medicine, which is why they are called "interns." Second- and third-year residents (and beyond) also focus on teaching others and leading teams, so they are called "seniors."

Residents are divided into teams comprised of three to four interns, one senior and an attending physician who oversees the team. These teams rotate through different shifts (day shifts, evening shifts and overnight shifts) every two weeks.

To illustrate what a "day in the life" of a medical resident might look like, here is an overview of the tasks and schedule for an inpatient team of Internal Medicine Residents assigned to a day shift:

Mornings

6:30 a.m. | Pre-charting

• Each intern is responsible for 3-5 patients. First thing each morning, interns check the overnight information of their patients.
• Senior residents oversee up to 3-4 interns, so they review the overnight information of approximately 9-20 patients.

7 - 8:30 a.m. | Pre-rounds & morning teaching

• Interns follow up their chart reviews by visiting patients.
• Additionally, interns learn from a senior resident who is assigned to "morning teaching," which is a deep-dive on a particular medical case (including diagnosis, treatment options and more).

8:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Table rounds

• Each intern reviews their patients' cases with a team comprised of an attending physician, senior residents, other interns and a pharmacist.
• The intern presents their case while the team asks questions, provides guidance and makes suggestions.

10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Formal rounds

• The attending physician and senior resident visit each patient to affirm or modify the interns' assessments.

11:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. | Lunch

• Interns eat at about 11:30 a.m.
• Senior residents eat lunch after rounds, working it in while also coordinating with specialists and social workers to support patient care.

Afternoons

• Interns focus mostly on taking new admissions, updating families and working with social workers and discharge coordinators to discharge patients. Throughout the afternoon, interns continuously manage patient lists (called "running the cards").
• Seniors continue to follow up on interns' assessments and consult with specialists and social workers to support patient care. They also field questions from the nursing teams, work with Medical Response Teams and answer calls from the Emergency Room to determine new admissions.
• If there are breaks, the residents may all sit down as a team or gather for a "chalk talk," which is an opportunity for an attending physician to teach residents "on the fly" about some aspect of a medical condition or treatment plan.

End of day

• Interns finish their days between 4 - 5 p.m. (unless they are on call for new patients).
• Seniors work until 7 p.m. They lead the patients for the entire team of interns, reviewing each intern's documentation and care planning. They communicate with the night shift to ensure continuity of care and prepare for the next day.

We hope this brief look into our residency program underscores the value Medical Education programs bring to our region. Along with their staff physicians, residents like Dr. Deviley see thousands of patients during their training period, making a substantial contribution to the level of care Emplify Health by Gundersen provides to patients. At a time when some communities across the country are strained by the national shortage of medical professionals, the Foundation's Medical Education programs help preserve our local access to care.

Additionally, because approximately 20% of each graduating class will choose to stay and practice at Emplify Health by Gundersen, our investments in the next generation of caregivers will have a profound impact on our own community by strengthening the health system for years to come.

Medical Education programs are supported by community giving through the Gundersen Medical Foundation.