University of Colorado Denver:

Department of Family Medicine

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Career Advising in Family Medicine

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Drs. Inis Bardella and David Gaspar are the primary advisors for students wishing to explore Family Medicine as a career. We encourage students to contact any of them to begin the advising process. After discussing your interests, they will connect you with family physician advisors matched to your interests for further career advising. See the contact page for phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

Fourth Year Planning for Students Interested in Family Medicine

  • Be enthusiastic during your Family Medicine Clerkship and a letter of recommendation from your Clerkship preceptor.
  • Select elective rotations that will keep your base of education broad. Don't concentrate too many electives in one area or specialty.
  • Select elective rotations in areas of medicine you've identified as your weak spots. Attempt to improve knowledge or skill deficits.
  • Select elective rotations which might not be available to you in your residency. These might include international rotations or those in highly specialized areas that may not be available in smaller community residencies (i.e., rheumatology, hospice, child development, psychiatry).
  • If you know that you're interested in a highly competitive residency program or just want to get an inside look at a specific residency, take a sub-internship in Family Medicine or elective at that program.
  • Although Sub-I's are not required to get into Family Medicine, there are some programs where they are recommended.
  • Remember, there's "good news" and "bad news" about "audition" electives. The "good news" is that people in the program get to know you; the "bad news" is that people in the program get to know you!
  • Watch out, a burned bridge in one Colorado program is likely to burn more bridges than you thought!
  • If you are interested in a Family Medicine residency within an academic medical center, consider taking a Family Medicine Research elective. There are exciting projects available which will enable you to work one-on-one with faculty and possibly a publication.