Career Development and Mentoring
Career development for our residents is an important emphasis of the program. While our graduates enter a wide variety of eventual careers, we support the decision making process in the following ways:
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Mentorship Program
The mentorship program for primary care residents has three main components:
- Peer Mentorship:
Incoming interns are paired with both a second and third year resident. Those parings are made by the residents based on mutual career, recreational, and extracurricular interests.
- GIM faculty mentorship:
Interns are assigned a GIM faculty mentor at six months into internship. The residents meet with their mentors to review performance, progress, career goals etc.
- Program Director mentorship:
Interns will meet with the Primary Care Program Director at a minimum of twice per year. At these meetings, evaluations, career planning, and program requirements will be reviewed. More frequent meetings are encouraged as desired. - Research Mentorship:
As specific career goals or research interests develop during residency, assigned faculty mentors assist residents in choosing a second career or research specific mentor as needed.
- Peer Mentorship:
- Didactic Curriculum
Within the Wednesday morning curriculum, several sessions are devoted specifically to career choice. These include:
- Career panel- including representatives of academic, private practice, HMO, Indian Health Service, rural, etc. internists
- Getting a Job: Basic job search strategies including using web resources, curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, etc.
- Evaluating an employment contract
- Career panel- including representatives of academic, private practice, HMO, Indian Health Service, rural, etc. internists
- Preceptorships
Preceptorships are an excellent way to explore career options.
- All second year primary care residents are required to do a preceptorship. This preceptorship can be in the Denver metro area or with internists in rural Colorado. Funding is available during rural rotations for housing, food, and travel.
- Many third year primary care residents do an additional preceptorship to experience a specific potential job opportunity.