UPMC Medical Education/Altoona Hospital Program

Altoona, PA

Specialty:Transitional year

ACGME Code:9994100249

NRMP Code:1603999P0

Status:Continued Accreditation

Overview

The Transitional Year program at UPMC Altoona is designed to provide residents with a comprehensive educational experience that prepares them for their next career step. Established in 1991, the program is fully integrated within the Altoona Family Physicians Family Medicine Residency and offers a blend of hands-on patient care across various settings including inpatient, outpatient, and elective specialty rotations.

This program has full accreditation by the ACGME and is recognized for its osteopathic training. Recent residents have come from well-renowned medical schools, including the University of Indiana, Ohio State University, and Georgetown University, among others. Graduates typically find placements in a variety of specialties such as family medicine, dermatology, and emergency medicine, with several entering military service as flight surgeons or general medical officers 1.

Curriculum

The curriculum stands out for its hands-on educational approach, with daily didactics complementing clinical experiences. As an unopposed residency, it offers numerous opportunities for procedure exposure and comprehensive patient management. Residents partake in essential rotations covering emergency medicine, general surgery, and internal medicine, which are pivotal for building fundamental clinical skills.

A notable feature is the dedicated one-month fundamental clinical skills rotation that occurs in July, which is designed to instill confidence and ensure readiness for subsequent rotations. The elective opportunities are flexible and can be tailored to the resident's intended specialty, including dynamic interventional neurology for those pursuing radiology or dermatological procedures for dermatology-bound residents 3.

Electives

Mission

The mission of the program emphasizes a holistic approach in selecting residents, focusing on diverse backgrounds, individualized career guidance, and preparing residents for specialized training. This aligns with the program's objective to provide a strong foundational year that fosters patient-centered values and exposes trainees to various clinical disciplines. This adaptable philosophy also assists residents who may be undecided about their future specialties 5.

Salary and Benefits

The Transitional Year program offers a competitive salary of $68,895, supplemented by a rural stipend and various benefits. Residents receive a relocation allowance, educational stipend, and cultural-wellness funds. Paid time off comprises 21 days along with holidays, and essential certifications such as BLS and ACLS are provided on-site. Additional benefits include insurance packages and retirement plans that offer security and support throughout the residency 6.

How to Apply

Application submissions for the Transitional Year program are exclusively via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Interested candidates must prepare specific documents including a personal statement and three letters of recommendation by the established deadline. The program evaluates applications through a holistic review process, emphasizing diversity and candidates’ readiness to engage in primary care 7.

Visa Support

The program is supportive of international medical graduates and provides visa sponsorship for J-1 and H-1B visa categories. This ensures that qualified candidates from diverse geopolitical backgrounds can apply and participate in the residency.

Competitiveness and Special Application Requirements

While the Transitional Year program is competitive, it is also noted for being inclusively friendly towards DO and IMG candidates. No specific maximum limit on failed STEP exams is currently imposed, allowing for a broader range of applicants. However, candidates must ensure they meet the educational requirements, including obtaining necessary certifications from recognized medical schools 8.

Web sources

1. Transitional Year at UPMC Altoona 2. People in Transitional Year 3. Curriculum Overview 4. Elective Opportunities 5. Program Mission 6. Salary and Benefits Structure 7. Application Guidelines 8. Traditional Year Graduates

SmartPick

Program data

ACGME History

Accreditation Last updated: Jul 16, 2026

Initial accreditation6

Full accreditation0

Continued11

Warning0

Probationary Accreditation0

Withdrawal0

#	Academic Year	Status	Effective Date
01	2017 - 2018	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2017
02	2018 - 2019	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2017
03	2019 - 2020	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2017
04	2020 - 2021	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2017
05	2021 - 2022	Continued	Aug 9, 2021
06	2022 - 2023	Continued	Dec 5, 2022
07	2023 - 2024	Continued	Dec 5, 2023
08	2024 - 2025	Continued	Dec 4, 2024
09	2025 - 2026	Continued	Dec 4, 2025
10	2026 - 2027	Continued	Dec 4, 2025

Program

Program Size

-- (1 years)

Accreditation Status

Continued Accreditation

(Effective: December 4, 2025)

Composition

Training

Faculty-to-Residents Ratio:2.5X

Quality of Life

First Year Paid Sick Leave: --

First Year Paid Vacation: --

First Year Salary: --

Admission

Visa Sponsorship:--

YOG Cutoff:2

YOG policy source

Gender

No gender data available.

Rotation Duration by Site

Benchmarks

Scores

Match History

Track ID: 1603999P0

2020

4 of 4

2021

4 of 4

2022

4 of 4

2023

4 of 4

2024

4 of 4

2025

4 of 4

Filled Position

Unfilled Position

Roster

Location

Altoona, PA

Population

43,963

Median income

$50,171Below

Education

19.9%On par

Employment

55.2%Above

Health

5.2%Above

Age

39Above

Above the national average
Below the national average
Similar to the national average

Housing — Rental prices

Rental prices

Typical Observed Market Rent Index - ZORI Over Time

Date

Region - Altoona, PA

State - Pennsylvania

United States

1/31/2015

N/A

$936

$1,193

2/28/2015

N/A

$923

$1,199

3/31/2015

N/A

$926

$1,206

4/30/2015

N/A

$972

$1,213

5/31/2015

N/A

$974

$1,228

6/30/2015

N/A

$975

$1,233

7/31/2015

N/A

$980

$1,235

8/31/2015

N/A

$985

$1,241

9/30/2015

N/A

$987

$1,245

10/31/2015

N/A

$989

$1,253

11/30/2015

N/A

$988

$1,259

12/31/2015

N/A

$988

$1,263

1/31/2016

N/A

$962

$1,275

2/29/2016

N/A

$983

$1,279

3/31/2016

N/A

$987

$1,282

4/30/2016

N/A

$993

$1,285

5/31/2016

N/A

$996

$1,291

6/30/2016

N/A

$990

$1,294

7/31/2016

N/A

$989

$1,295

8/31/2016

N/A

$989

$1,303

9/30/2016

N/A

$990

$1,307

10/31/2016

N/A

$1,022

$1,311

11/30/2016

N/A

$996

$1,312

12/31/2016

N/A

$1,015

$1,313

1/31/2017

N/A

$1,017

$1,317

2/28/2017

N/A

$1,022

$1,324

3/31/2017

N/A

$1,027

$1,335

4/30/2017

N/A

$1,031

$1,346

5/31/2017

N/A

$1,034

$1,353

6/30/2017

N/A

$1,036

$1,357

7/31/2017

N/A

$1,039

$1,359

8/31/2017

N/A

$1,020

$1,363

9/30/2017

N/A

$1,022

$1,406

10/31/2017

N/A

$1,026

$1,414

11/30/2017

N/A

$1,016

$1,413

12/31/2017

N/A

$1,036

$1,420

1/31/2018

N/A

$1,034

$1,422

2/28/2018

N/A

$1,038

$1,427

3/31/2018

N/A

$1,010

$1,429

4/30/2018

N/A

$1,015

$1,434

5/31/2018

N/A

$1,018

$1,438

6/30/2018

N/A

$1,020

$1,444

7/31/2018

N/A

$1,023

$1,449

8/31/2018

N/A

$1,028

$1,455

9/30/2018

N/A

$1,033

$1,461

10/31/2018

N/A

$1,036

$1,465

11/30/2018

N/A

$1,072

$1,473

12/31/2018

N/A

$1,076

$1,482

1/31/2019

N/A

$1,081

$1,492

2/28/2019

N/A

$1,140

$1,495

3/31/2019

N/A

$1,144

$1,503

4/30/2019

N/A

$1,121

$1,509

5/31/2019

N/A

$1,151

$1,514

6/30/2019

N/A

$1,157

$1,519

7/31/2019

N/A

$1,163

$1,526

8/31/2019

N/A

$1,169

$1,531

9/30/2019

N/A

$1,172

$1,534

10/31/2019

N/A

$1,174

$1,541

11/30/2019

N/A

$1,177

$1,545

12/31/2019

N/A

$1,202

$1,552

1/31/2020

N/A

$1,208

$1,560

2/29/2020

N/A

$1,238

$1,565

3/31/2020

N/A

$1,243

$1,565

4/30/2020

N/A

$1,261

$1,566

5/31/2020

N/A

$1,260

$1,563

6/30/2020

N/A

$1,238

$1,562

7/31/2020

N/A

$1,265

$1,571

8/31/2020

N/A

$1,270

$1,574

9/30/2020

N/A

$1,276

$1,586

10/31/2020

N/A

$1,275

$1,593

11/30/2020

N/A

$1,295

$1,602

12/31/2020

N/A

$1,295

$1,606

1/31/2021

N/A

$1,308

$1,613

2/28/2021

N/A

$1,316

$1,620

3/31/2021

N/A

$1,318

$1,629

4/30/2021

N/A

$1,331

$1,649

5/31/2021

N/A

$1,343

$1,663

6/30/2021

N/A

$1,357

$1,686

7/31/2021

N/A

$1,368

$1,707

8/31/2021

N/A

$1,383

$1,729

9/30/2021

N/A

$1,440

$1,752

10/31/2021

N/A

$1,421

$1,767

11/30/2021

N/A

$1,423

$1,777

12/31/2021

N/A

$1,441

$1,791

1/31/2022

N/A

$1,422

$1,800

2/28/2022

N/A

$1,446

$1,820

3/31/2022

N/A

$1,474

$1,829

4/30/2022

N/A

$1,472

$1,841

5/31/2022

N/A

$1,476

$1,852

6/30/2022

N/A

$1,487

$1,861

7/31/2022

N/A

$1,492

$1,868

8/31/2022

N/A

$1,499

$1,872

9/30/2022

N/A

$1,504

$1,875

10/31/2022

N/A

$1,510

$1,873

11/30/2022

N/A

$1,517

$1,875

12/31/2022

N/A

$1,533

$1,874

1/31/2023

N/A

$1,520

$1,877

2/28/2023

N/A

$1,535

$1,879

3/31/2023

N/A

$1,530

$1,884

4/30/2023

N/A

$1,543

$1,886

5/31/2023

N/A

$1,536

$1,886

6/30/2023

N/A

$1,526

$1,886

7/31/2023

N/A

$1,544

$1,891

8/31/2023

N/A

$1,543

$1,908

9/30/2023

N/A

$1,543

$1,912

10/31/2023

N/A

$1,564

$1,916

11/30/2023

N/A

$1,571

$1,918

12/31/2023

N/A

$1,564

$1,921

1/31/2024

N/A

$1,555

$1,928

2/29/2024

N/A

$1,559

$1,932

3/31/2024

N/A

$1,566

$1,935

4/30/2024

N/A

$1,574

$1,942

5/31/2024

N/A

$1,574

$1,946

6/30/2024

N/A

$1,581

$1,973

7/31/2024

N/A

$1,593

$1,958

8/31/2024

N/A

$1,594

$1,992

9/30/2024

N/A

$1,593

$1,993

10/31/2024

N/A

$1,606

$1,995

11/30/2024

N/A

$1,603

$1,999

12/31/2024

N/A

$1,616

$2,003

1/31/2025

N/A

$1,619

$2,006

2/28/2025

N/A

$1,626

$2,007

3/31/2025

$844

$1,615

$2,016

4/30/2025

$881

$1,634

$2,019

5/31/2025

$883

$1,625

$2,022

6/30/2025

$882

$1,624

$2,026

7/31/2025

$878

$1,617

$2,029

8/31/2025

$886

$1,623

$2,027

9/30/2025

$912

$1,619

$2,030

10/31/2025

$910

$1,628

$2,052

11/30/2025

$924

$1,638

$2,095

12/31/2025

$911

$1,614

$2,086

1/31/2026

$929

$1,609

$2,160

2/28/2026

$912

$1,615

$2,178

Crime — All violent offences

Rate per 100,000 residents

Rate per 100,000 people Over Time

Date

Region - Altoona, PA

State - Pennsylvania

United States

4/1/2021

5/1/2021

6/1/2021

7/1/2021

8/1/2021

9/1/2021

10/1/2021

11/1/2021

12/1/2021

1/1/2022

2/1/2022

3/1/2022

106

4/1/2022

122

5/1/2022

111

6/1/2022

122

7/1/2022

8/1/2022

9/1/2022

10/1/2022

11/1/2022

12/1/2022

1/1/2023

129

2/1/2023

117

3/1/2023

104

4/1/2023

109

5/1/2023

123

6/1/2023

142

7/1/2023

112

8/1/2023

106

9/1/2023

110

10/1/2023

118

11/1/2023

120

12/1/2023

142

1/1/2024

130

2/1/2024

122

3/1/2024

109

4/1/2024

111

5/1/2024

159

6/1/2024

117

7/1/2024

124

8/1/2024

126

9/1/2024

115

10/1/2024

131

11/1/2024

109

12/1/2024

1/1/2025

101

2/1/2025

3/1/2025

4/1/2025

162

5/1/2025

100

6/1/2025

125

7/1/2025

151

8/1/2025

105

9/1/2025

10/1/2025

102

11/1/2025

12/1/2025

111

1/1/2026

2/1/2026

3/1/2026

Living in Altoona, PA

Crime Rate and Safety

Altoona has a moderate crime rate with both safe and less safe areas. Overall, it's a relatively safe place to live.

Fun Activities

Altoona offers a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, and fishing. There are also local parks, museums, and restaurants to explore.

Climate

Altoona experiences all four seasons with warm summers and cold winters. Be prepared for snow in the winter months.

Races and Population

The population of Altoona is diverse, with a mix of races and cultures contributing to the community.

Education

Altoona has several schools and educational institutions, offering options for families with children.

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Altoona is relatively affordable compared to larger cities, making it attractive to residents.

Proximity to Bigger Cities

Pittsburgh is the nearest major city, located approximately 2 hours away by car. Pittsburgh offers a variety of cultural experiences, shopping, and dining options.

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Nearby programs

Transitional year Programs Near Altoona, PA

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External Links

1. Program website - graduation year eligibility - https://www.altoonafp.org/frequently-asked-questions

2. United States Census Bureau - https://data.census.gov/profile/City,_VS?g=160XX00US4202184

3. Zillow Research - Observed Rent Index (ZORI) - https://www.zillow.com/research/data/

4. FBI - Crime/Law Enforcement Stats (Uniform Crime Reporting Program) - https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr

See something inaccurate or missing? If you represent this program, request portal access to update it directly.

UPMC Medical Education/Altoona Hospital Program

Overview

Curriculum

Electives

Mission

Salary and Benefits

How to Apply

Visa Support

Competitiveness and Special Application Requirements

Web sources

SmartPick

Program data

Program

Training

Quality of Life

Admission

Gender

Rotation Duration by Site

Benchmarks

Scores

Match History Matched positions of the program in previous years

Roster

Location

Living in Altoona, PA

Crime Rate and Safety

Fun Activities

Climate

Races and Population

Education

Cost of Living

Proximity to Bigger Cities

Interview day shouldn't be your first run-through.

Nearby programs

Other specialties near Altoona, PA

External Links

Match History