In 2016, the Department of Medicine created the Program for Academic Clinician Educators (PACE) to support the career development of its clinician-educators. These faculty members make crucial contributions to the success of our department, by developing and improving innovative educational programs, and engaging in educational research to guide how we teach and assess health professions learners.
The PACE program will provide each Scholar with financial support, which may be used for medical education research, innovative program development in education, salary support and/or career development of the Scholar. The Division Head or Dean must pledge to protect at least 10% of the effort/time of the Scholar for the duration of the award. Each Scholar will be expected to participate in an education scholarship “Works in Progress” group for additional project support and mentorship, and program progress will be evaluated annually with continued year of funding contingent on demonstrated progress during the initial year of support.
Congratulations to the 2023–24 PACE Scholars!
Sophia Ambruso, DO, is a clinical nephrologist and assistant professor at the Rocky Mountain VA Medical Center, Renal Division and University of Colorado School of Medicine, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension. She is the clinical and inpatient dialysis director and director of medical student and resident education within the renal division of the Rocky Mountain VA Medical Center. Her main passions are patient care and medical education. In medical education, her goal is to create a safe environment for inquiry and intrigue with the personal mission of making nephrology exciting for medical students and residents. She has a passion for and is dedicated to trainee education, mentorship and wellness at all levels both intra and interinstitutionally. Dr. Ambruso is also actively involved in multiple facets of medical education at the interface of digital and social media with an emphasis on free and open access medical education (FOAMed). She is on the Executive Committee and is a faculty member for the Nephrology Social Media Collective internship. She is the Associate Editor of visual and Social Media for an International Society of Nephrology supported journal, Kidney International (KI) Reports and Chief editor of the KI Reports’ CME accredited educational blog page KI Reports Community. She is the co-creator and cohost of the Kidney Essentials podcast, releasing monthly podcasts discussing salient nephrologic topics tailored to medical students, residents and all nephrocurious practitioners. Finally, Dr. Ambruso is one of the 'filtrates' on "Freely Filtered," a podcast reaching international audiences that discusses recent NephJC articles.
Natalie Held, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Held aims to understand and optimize the cognitive load of providers during ICU teaching rounds. Her 2022–23 PACE-supported work identified rounding factors that associate with high cognitive load – namely interruptions to rounds, unclear role expectations, and speaking off script. PACE will now support Dr. Held in performing a study evaluating the implementation success of a rounding guide that applies these findings to reduce provider cognitive load during rounds. She will explore the guide's impact on provider cognitive load and the clinical learning environment. Results from this project will extend beyond the ICU and provide opportunities to improve trainee education in widespread clinical settings.