Program Director's Welcome
The University of Colorado Internal Medicine Residency program is one of the premier Internal Medicine training programs in the country. We aim to provide innovative educational opportunities and excellent clinical training to future internists and subspecialists. Our goal is to make all our graduates comfortable and confident in the inpatient and outpatient environments and to produce doctors who are patient-centered and the most highly skilled in their fields.
We pride ourselves on providing trainees with the freedom to individualize their curricular content and according to their educational needs and their desired path forward in medicine. This resident-centered approach is exemplified by our educational matrix. Residents match into one of four training tracks: Categorical, Primary Care, Hospitalist, or the Physician-Scientist training program. In their second year, all residents then choose one of our five deep-dive educational Pathways: Research and Investigation, Medical Educator, Health Equity, Advocacy, and Policy, Medical Leaders Program, or Global Health. Every one of the five Pathways is open to members of each of the four Tracks, allowing for an individualized experience and the opportunity to spend time with people who have similar interests and pursuits.
We also place a high value on educational innovation. Our ‘4+4’ block model is unique across the country. It combines dedicated time on busy ward rotations – the backbone of all internal medicine training – alternating with uninterrupted time in clinics where learners can focus on both primary care and subspecialty outpatient medicine. Interwoven with these base inpatient and outpatient experiences, is time for the electives you are interested in along with protected time for scholarship, quality improvement work, and workshop-based, educational half days. These experiences are thoughtfully aligned in a way that makes a busy and robust residency experience fun and exciting. You’ll come out of Colorado as a highly-skilled, supremely confident, independent doctor and you’ll be cared for and have fun while you do it!
In addition, we have a unique three-hospital system at which you’ll rotate. The availability of a quaternary referral University Hospital (UCH), a leading safety net hospital (Denver Health), and a large VA Health System (Denver VA) means that you’ll experience the practice of medicine in three different environments with three entirely different patient populations. You’ll have the opportunity to experience all three locations in equal measure and tailor your experience by choosing a continuity clinic and electives at the one that most interests you.
Finally, we have a multilayered mentorship program. Our mission is for each resident to fully realize his or her potential and to train the future leaders of internal medicine. Our graduates select a variety of career paths and are well-positioned to impact positive change in areas such as academics, patient care, education, research, and public policy. Our program strives to prepare graduates to excel in their pivotal roles as physicians, researchers, teachers, and community leaders. I’m excited to show you what we have to offer.
Geoff Connors, MD, Program Director