Pathways

CU HEAL (Colorado Urban Health Equity Advocacy Leadership) Pathway

In recognition of longstanding and deeply embedded health inequities in the US, including in many of our local communities here in the metro Denver area, we have created the Colorado Urban Health Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership (CU HEAL) pathway, an embedded, longitudinal pathway within the University of Colorado Pediatric Residency Program. The goal of this pathway is to provide formal and comprehensive advocacy and leadership training for residents dedicated to addressing the myriad of challenges faced by underserved communities. The pathway brings together dedicated faculty members with deep experience and expertise tackling health inequities, an accomplished group of current residents eager to serve as advocacy peer mentors, and a number of community partners and established programs.

Participating residents will practice ambulatory primary care in an urban health-care setting serving a diverse and socio-economically challenged patient population, complete a longitudinal, mentored project working with a community partner organization or program, be connected to local and national programs and partners helping bring positive change to our community and develop a formal skill set in leadership, advocacy and the understanding of health inequities in our society.

Residents who match at our program will have the opportunity to apply for the CU HEAL pathway after match.

Global Health Pathway

Residents who match at our program will have the opportunity to apply for the global health pathway after match and will have a global health focus during their training. As part of this training, these residents spend two months at our affiliated site in Guatemala. Global Health Pathway residents participate in a global health disasters course once during residency and monthly educational conferences/journal club. Other global health opportunities are available to all residents. A "local global health" and a refugee health elective are available to all residents. 

Medical Education Pathway

The Medical Education Pathway is available to categorical and combined program residents who have a deeper interest in medical education, teaching, and academic medicine. The Medical Education Pathway has three main components – experiences in medical education, scholarship, and mentorship:

  • Medical education experiences consist of (1) resident-led teaching conferences; (2) a month-long elective that focuses on teaching and feedback on the Children’s Hospital of Colorado hospital medicine service; (3) a month-long elective that brings together resident educators from across all CU GME programs; and (4) an evening longitudinal core curriculum that occurs once a month and spans the three years of residency.
  • Scholarship: Residents in the pathway must participate in the design and implementation of a scholarly project in the area of medical education. The project may relate to curriculum design or educational research. This work may fulfill the residency’s scholarly project requirement. Residents must present their work at the annual CU Department of Pediatrics Resident Research Day or Poster Symposium. Additional opportunities to present their scholarly work at regional and national meetings will be supported.
  • Mentorship: Residents who enroll in the pathway will be assigned a faculty mentor who has a career focus in medical education and, ideally, a similar specialty interest to the resident. Residents will be expected to meet with their faculty mentors at least twice per academic year. Mentors will coach residents in developing an Educator Portfolio, comprised of materials and evaluations from at least five teaching experiences, three feedback sessions, and scholarly work.

Residents who have completed all components of the pathway by the time of graduation will be awarded a Certificate in Medical Education.

Primary Care Pathway

The new primary care curriculum has been accepted by the Department of Pediatrics Medical Education Office and is entitled The Primary Care Pathway and the residents intending to go into primary care are now called Primary Care Residents.  

Each Primary Care Resident (PCR) will have a Primary Care Coach (PCC), who will assist the PCR to develop and meet their educational goals to prepare for general pediatric practice, identify and select the best custom and standard electives to meet their objectives, ensure they meet their objectives and navigate the process of finding and obtaining the most suitable practice opportunity. The PCC is modeled after the CFEB Coach and could also be the resident’s mentor. 

Twenty-three Custom “Primary Care” Electives have been developed based on recommendations from recent graduates and the faculty in the various specialties, with the objective of preparing residents for primary care practice. 

PCRs’ schedules have been adapted to distribute continuity clinics more evenly across all months to enable residents and their patients to experience good continuity of care. 

A Core Curriculum, a list of conditions and issues that a PCR should master during residency, has been developed and will continually evolve, and includes a variety of tools and articles to assist the PCR.  This is coupled with an increase in the number and variety of teaching conference topics.

American Board of Pediatrics Accelerated Research Pathway

This program is designed to accommodate candidates committed to an academic career as a physician-scientist. This pathway includes two years of pediatric training followed by four years of subspecialty training. There is no requirement for prior research training. See the Research page for more information and other opportunities in research.

American Board of Pediatrics Integrated Research Pathway

Individuals may apply for this pathway during the first nine months of the PL-1 year. This pathway is open to individuals with the PhD degree or others who demonstrate equivalent prior research experience. The training in most instances will include 24 months of pediatric clinical rotations and up to 11 months of integrated research time. This pathway is designed to foster development of physician-scientists. See the Research page for more information and other opportunities in research.