Continuity Clinic

Welcome to the University of Colorado Med-Peds Program!

Thank you for taking the time to explore our residency program. As you learn more about our training environment, you will quickly hear our continuity clinic referred to as the true gem of our program. Located at the Denver Health Southwest Federico F. Peña Family Health Center, our clinic is not just where residents learn to provide exceptional, comprehensive primary care across the entire age spectrum—it is the central gathering place where our residents build a lasting community with one another, faculty, and clinical staff.

As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) embedded in a nationally recognized safety-net model, Peña is the ideal home for combined Med-Peds training. Our residents serve as the primary medical home for children and adults across Southwest Denver, gaining deep insight into the social determinants of health while learning to guide patients seamlessly through the health system—from social work and primary care follow-up to specialty, surgical, and diagnostic services.

Dynamic Ambulatory Structure & Immersive Blocks

Our outpatient curriculum combines consistent longitudinal continuity with focused ambulatory immersion:

Dedicated Ambulatory Blocks: Starting in intern year—in addition to regular continuity clinic sessions during internal medicine and pediatric rotations—residents have 4 weeks per year of dedicated Med-Peds ambulatory blocks. This dedicated time deepens integration with clinic staff, provides a thorough understanding of clinic resources, and includes dedicated time to work in our Med-Peds community garden, as well as protected time for scholarship, advocacy, and individualized academic interests.

• Z-Weeks & Dedicated WEZ Didactics: Starting in the second year, each resident has two Z-Weeks—dedicated one-week immersive outpatient rotations balancing primary care and acute care shifts in our co-located Urgent Care center. Every block features Wednesday Education Z-Week (WEZ) sessions led by our MedEd Chief Resident. Specifically curated for Med-Peds, these morning sessions tackle inpatient-to-outpatient transitions of care, deep dives into clinical practice guidelines, clinic-level quality metrics and QI, and targeted board preparation.
• Integrated Whole-Person Care: Residents collaborate in real time with our Integrated Behavioral Health team to deliver point-of-care mental health support. In addition, our robust Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program gives residents hands-on, longitudinal training in addiction medicine directly within the primary care setting.
  
• Multidisciplinary Mentorship: You will practice side-by-side with a dedicated cohort of Med-Peds attendings, alongside colleagues from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine.
  

Tailored Panels & Specialized Clinical Opportunities

We empower residents to shape their panels and clinical electives around their individual passions and career goals:

• Customized Panel Curation: Residents care for a diverse patient demographic ranging from indigent to fully insured patients, with the ability to intentionally recruit patients to their continuity panels—including Spanish-speaking families, refugee populations, and adults with complex intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Specialized Elective Exposure: Through clinic electives, residents rotate through embedded specialty services, including the Global Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, HIV primary care, pediatric complex care, sports medicine, and reproductive healthcare.
• Hands-on Procedural Training: Routine clinic training includes intrauterine device (IUD) and Nexplanon insertion/removal, Pap smears, endometrial biopsies, joint injections, and incision and drainage procedures.
• Community Connection & Innovation: Residents actively participate in faculty-led neighborhood community engagement events. We also embrace modern clinic efficiency tools, including ambient AI documentation (Nabla), to minimize administrative burden and maximize patient-centered time.

Our clinic is dynamic, collaborative, and continually shaped by resident voice and leadership. We are thrilled you are considering the University of Colorado for your training, and we look forward to meeting you during recruitment season!

Nicholas Breitnauer, MD
Continuity Clinic Director