Opportunities for Resident Research (ORR) is our program of clinical and laboratory investigation by residents. Each resident is expected to participate in a scholarly project during the three years of residency training. This can include a basic or clinical research project or another educational endeavor as approved by the Program Director. The program helps residents to identify a research mentor, who then assists the resident with project design. Residents are allowed to use a portion of their elective time, and/or use a half day per week during electives, to work on their research. Most residents who pursue a research opportunity are able to submit a manuscript and/or present at a national meeting. The program funds resident travel for this purpose.
Child advocacy is a key component of the mission of Children’s Hospital Colorado. All residents complete a one-month rotation in child advocacy and community pediatrics. This rotation focuses on advocacy at three levels: patient, community, and legislative (policy) advocacy. The curriculum is partially individualized, allowing residents to pursue advocacy activities that relate to personal and career interests. For residents who desire additional advocacy training, several other electives are available, including the resident LEADS (Leadership, Education, Advocacy, Development, Scholarship) elective, a Child Abuse/Neglect Prevention elective (through the nationally-known Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse), and a Legislative Advocacy elective.
Among the many roles and responsibilities that may be new to interns is the expectation to teach students, colleagues, and patients. Beyond providing excellent faculty role models, formal training in teaching is given to residents in the form of a half-day retreat as well as and through an available teaching elective. Dr. Jenny Soep, Pediatric Clerkship Director and, Dr. Julie Noffsinger, Assistant Clerkship Direcrtor, work directly with residents who are especially interested in education as it relates to a future career.
Because we believe that international experiences are extremely valuable to residents’ clinical training, we offer one-month rotations in places such as Kenya, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Haiti. These rotations provide our residents with the opportunity to be immersed in another culture and to experience medical practice in an entirely different environment. The Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Global Health (CGH), at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, coordinates health activities across the University of Colorado campuses as well as forming partnerships with other groups in Colorado dedicated to creating advances in global health. CGH is intricately connected to Children’s Hospital Colorado. CGH’s director, Dr. Stephen Berman, is a Professor of Pediatrics and a past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Maternal and Child Health Division at CGH was recently designated by the World Health Organization as a Collaborating Center for Promoting Family and Child Health, one of only two programs in the Americas to receive this designation. CGH has also newly developed a Fellowship in Pediatric Global Health. CGH offers many opportunities for both medical students and residents to participate in research and clinical work.
Our program runs a weekly course in medical Spanish throughout the summer, taught by bilingual residents. The course is designed to help all residents develop basic language skills, become more culturally aware, and become skilled in using interpreter services. While one cannot become proficient in a new language in this time, residents learn how to negotiate language and cultural barriers. Many residents do find that they are proficient in basic medical Spanish by the end of the residency.
Each class has a retreat each year, addressing such topics as cultural competency, teaching, practice management, and fellowship/job applications. In addition, the intern class has a retreat in Breckenridge every September, during which the new class is able to continue to bond, discuss their experiences so far, and enjoy the mountains. Finally, the PL-2 class has a retreat each year, just prior to becoming PL-3s, to prepare for their year of supervising, discuss questions and aspirations for the year with the new chiefs, and spend time together out of the hospital.
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