Inpatient Advanced Practitioner Fellowship

Overview

This is a unique one-year fellowship program that is dedicated to enhancing the development of early-career Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants who wish to pursue a career in pediatric hospital-based medicine. Fellows will be exposed to all facets of pediatric inpatient care including rotations in hospital medicine, critical care, pulmonology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, cardiology, oncology and more.

As fully credentialed members of the Medical Staff, Fellows will care for pediatric patients at Children’s Hospital Colorado with mentorship and oversight from experienced Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) and specialty physicians. As members of the University of Colorado, Department of Pediatrics faculty, Fellows in this program will also have unique access to educational and research opportunities.

Fully dedicated to caring for kids at all stages of growth, Children's Hospital Colorado is the region's largest pediatric healthcare network and the only dedicated Level 1 trauma center in our seven state region. We are home to over 400 APPs across all disciplines and care settings.

Mission

Through personalized education and mentorship, equip Advanced Practice Providers with the specialized knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to succeed in a pediatric inpatient medicine career.

Ideal Candidates

This Fellowship is designed for APPs who have a strong desire to practice in an academic inpatient pediatric setting. This program is designed for APPs who:

• Wish to have additional inpatient pediatrics training, enabling a smooth and immediate transition into their inpatient pediatric career.
• Understands that he or she wishes to work in inpatient pediatrics, but has not identified a specific specialty.
• Wishes to work in a specific specialty, but has insufficient experience or training within that specialty to be competitive for a position.

Application Process

View the job posting for 2023-2024 cohort. See key dates below.

Application Documents

• Brief Cover Letter
• Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Two letters of recommendation (at least one must be from a professional reference)
• One-page personal statement discussing why the applicant is interested in pediatric medicine and how this fellowship can advance their career

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: February 28
• Interviews: Late March/April
• Offers: May

Physician Assistant Eligibility/Requirements

• Graduation from an APAP (ARC-PA) approved Physician Assistant Training Program.
• Certification from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
• Colorado license will be required prior to start date.
• BLS and PALS certification will be required prior to start date.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Eligibility/Requirements

• Graduate of an accredited BSN program.
• APN licensure and a Masters from an accredited Nurse Practitioner program.
• Pediatric Nursing Certification Board certificate or other comparable certification.
• Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certification.
• Ability to obtain Prescriptive Authority in the State of Colorado.
• BLS and PALS certification will be required prior to start date.

Curriculum

Clinical Rotations

• Core: Hospital Medicine (3 months), Pediatric Critical Care (3 months), Cardiac Intensive Care (1 month), Pulmonary (1 month), Hematology-Oncology (1 month)
• Electives (1 month each): Infectious Disease, Gastroenterology, Neurology

Didactic

• Dedicated APP Fellowship Lecture Series
• Patient Simulations
• Grand rounds
• Clinical Conferences
• M&M
• Radiology conferences

Competencies

• Monthly and Semi-Annual Performance Evaluations
• Clinical Skills Exams

Capstone Project

Each fellow will be required to complete a capstone project with the help of a physician or APP mentor. The goal of the project is to introduce and involve the APP in a quality or process improvement initiative, development of a clinical care guideline, or educational initiative. At the end of the year, the fellow will be asked to present his or her work in a conference or poster session.

Hours/Work Schedule

This is an intensive program in which Fellows can expect to commit an average of 50 hours per week including required night and weekend shifts. Vacations, holiday schedule and time off will be discussed with final candidates.

Salary and Benefits

Fellows will be hired as University of Colorado, Department of Pediatric faculty at the Instructor Fellow rank. As Faculty, Fellows will be offered a stipend along with full medical, dental and vision insurance. Detailed information can be found at CU Faculty Benefits.

Meet the APP Leadership

Cameron Gunville, DO, MEd
Co-Medical Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado Advanced Practice Inpatient Fellowship
Pediatric Critical Care

Dr. Gunville has served as the Medical Director for the PICU Advanced Practice Team since 2012 and has helped to oversee the program’s expansion to 20 providers during this time. He has a broad education interest and earned his Master’s Degree in Education in 2002 from the University of Notre Dame, and has completed the University of Colorado Teaching Scholar’s Program. With his background in education, in 2012 he helped develop a comprehensive eight-month PICU orientation program for new PICU APPs. With the resources at CHCO, one of the premier children’s hospitals in the country, Dr. Gunville is excited to help develop motivated APPs into excellent pediatric providers of the future.

Jason Zamkoff, MD
Co-Medical Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado Advanced Practice Inpatient Fellowship
Pediatric Hospital Medicine

Dr. Zamkoff has been a Pediatric Hospitalist in San Francisco and here at CHCO for the past 15 years. He is currently the Administrative Site Lead for the MD/APP inpatient ward team on campus. Dr. Zamkoff has mentored a myriad of APPs during his tenure at CHCO, and his passion is the education of fellows, residents and students.

Erika Jekich, PA-C
Co-Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado Advanced Practice Inpatient Fellowship
Pediatric Critical Care

Mrs. Jekich is a Senior Instructor and the Orientation Coordinator for the Pediatric Critical Care Section at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She currently coordinates a comprehensive orientation program for new APPs in the PICU which includes a robust clinical and didactic phase. Her work focuses on APP enrichment and effective integration of APPs with varying experience levels into the critical care team.

Jolie Eirich, CPNP-AC/PC
Co-Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado Advanced Practice Inpatient Fellowship
Pediatric Hospital Medicine

Mrs. Eirich is Director of Hospital Medicine Advanced Practice Program for CHCO. Her work has focused on building orientation, education, and training programs to support transition to practice for and increase utilization of advanced practice providers in hospital medicine.

Christopher Newman, PA-C, FCCM
Director of APP Practice Development at University of Colorado, Department of Pediatrics
Pediatric Critical Care

Mr. Newman is Director of Advanced Practice Strategy for the Pediatric Critical Care section and a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. His work centers around workforce planning, productivity and exploring novel approaches to educating, training and deploying advanced practice providers.

Current Fellows

Bo Kim, CPNP-AC

I am a new graduate Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellow. I completed her training at the University of Colorado School of Nursing, and have 9 years of experience as a bedside RN at CHCO. I am from the suburbs of Los Angeles, but hav lived in Denver for the last 10 years. I enjoy hiking, sewing and traveling with my family.

Nicole Newman, PA-C

I was born in Miami, FL and studied at the University of Florida, where I earned a bachelor's degree in Health Science and a minor in Sociology. Since 2016, I have worked as an EMT in various roles, such as an EMS responder in Columbia County, FL, medical aid for the Special Olympics, and Critical Care Technician at a Level 1 Emergency Department/Trauma Center. In 2020, I went on to complete my physician assistant training at the University of Florida with elective rotations in Pediatric Critical Care and Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

My passion for pediatrics stemmed from my close relationship with my brother, who was diagnosed with autism, and volunteering with the Special Olympics since middle school. When I am not working, you can find me exploring the outdoors with my dog or trying new foods.

Claire Smith, PA-C

My name is Claire Smith, and I’m originally from Atlanta, GA. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2018 (Go dawgs!). Following graduation, I earned patient care hours for PA school working in pediatric gastroenterology as a medical assistant for two years, where I grew to love pediatric medicine. I then attended Augusta University (previously known as the Medical College of Georgia) for PA school, where I completed rotations in Gen Surg, GI, Gen Peds, and Hem/Onc at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Knowing I wanted to continue my education in Pediatrics, I began looking into residency programs across the country. The APP Inpatient Pediatric Fellowship at Children’s Hospital Colorado stood out to me because it offered a variety of rotations within the program, which gave me the opportunity to work in specialties I hadn’t experienced before, while also providing me with a unique, broad knowledge base. I’m grateful to have been chosen as one of the APP Fellows here at Children’s, and I look forward to this challenging, but rewarding, year.

Outside of the hospital, I enjoy exploring new restaurants and bakeries around Denver, playing pickle ball, hiking with friends, and getting to know this new city I now call home! I am also a member of the Colorado Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

Elizabeth Vigil, CPNP-AC

I am a new graduate Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellow. I completed my training at the University of Colorado School of Nursing (with Bo!), and have 8 years of experience as a bedside RN. I am from Southeast Texas, but have lived in Denver, Colorado for the last 4.5 years. I enjoy reading, practicing yoga, and hiking with my dog Ollie.

Previous Fellows

2021-2022

• Katie Ganser, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Chelsea Hartman, CPNP-AC accepted a position in Pulmonary Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Davis Lehman, PA-C accepted a position in Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Morgan McMahon, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado

2020-2021

• Brenna McGinn, CPNP-AC accepted a position in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Karlie Nau, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado

2019-2020

• Lauren Rodgers, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Kara Stefaniak, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Cardiology, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado

2018-2019

• Cathryn Senour, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Kristen Stendel, PA-C accepted a position in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado ​

Questions?

Contact us at appfellowship@childrenscolorado.org. Please allow 48-72 hours for a response.