Since 1934, Kern Medical has been training residents and
health care professionals in our community.
Academics
Welcome to the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Kern Medical
Greetings from the Internal Medicine Residency Program Director:
We are delighted to welcome you to the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Kern Medical and to share what makes our program such a unique and rewarding place to train.
Kern Medical is a 222-bed teaching hospital located in Bakersfield, in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Founded in 1867, our institution has a rich history of caring for a diverse community and has been committed to medical education since the 1930s. As Kern County’s safety-net hospital and tertiary referral center, we care for patients with complex and diverse medical conditions, providing our residents with an outstanding and comprehensive clinical education.
Our program is fully accredited by the ACGME and has been affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA since 1981. This partnership offers our residents the opportunity to rotate at UCLA-affiliated hospitals across a wide range of subspecialties while benefiting from the strong academic environment at Kern Medical.
One of our greatest strengths is the supportive and collegial atmosphere of our program. We pride ourselves on fostering resident wellness, work–life balance, and a true family-like culture. Our approachable and dedicated faculty provide consistent mentorship, career guidance, and individualized support, helping residents thrive both personally and professionally.
In addition to excellent residency training, our department is home to fellowship programs in Infectious Disease and Addiction Medicine. Our ID faculty, including internationally recognized experts in coccidioidomycosis, continue to lead groundbreaking research and provide unparalleled training opportunities. Our Addiction Medicine team incorporates shelter medicine and street medicine into the curriculum, allowing residents to develop expertise in caring for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
We are also proud of our graduates’ success. Recently, our residents who applied for fellowship achieved a 100% match rate into highly competitive specialties, including Cardiology, Pulmonary/Critical Care, Gastroenterology, Hematology/Oncology, Endocrinology, Nephrology, Infectious Disease, and Palliative Care.
At Kern Medical, we are committed to combining exceptional clinical education with a supportive environment that values wellness, diversity, and collaboration. It is a privilege for me to work alongside such dedicated faculty, staff, and residents as we continue to build a program that prepares future physicians to excel in patient care, scholarship, and leadership.
We invite you to explore our program and discover the many opportunities that await you here at Kern Medical.
Kasey Fox, DO
Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program