Pathways to Distinction is a program that functions as a career guide for residents interested in developing additional skills within their field of interest.
- Each pathway is different and incorporates supplementary training in clinical skills, teaching, and research. It is also an opportunity for mentorship by faculty or fellows within the pathway.
- Our goal is that graduates of each pathway have the knowledge, skills, and attitude of a practitioner who already has six months of experience in that field.
- Graduation with distinction requires completion of the scripted pathway in addition to the basic training requirements of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Special distinction will be given to residents who have completed the pathway at time of graduation.
Vision – Residents who have achieved this pathway will be uniquely equipped with the skills and expertise to establish successful careers in primary care and all aspects of ambulatory medicine.
In five years, graduates of this program will serve in academic general internal medicine and clinician educator positions, ambulatory based sub-specialties or primary care practices in a number of different clinical settings. The curriculum emphasizes both clinical and leadership skills. Residents’ experiences will focus on health promotion, health maintenance and disease prevention, patient education and advocacy, and the development of expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses. Additional training will be provided in panel management, clinic workflow, and identifying barriers to access and delivery of health care.
Pathway Director: Tony Marsh, MD
Vision – Residents who graduate with a distinction in Hospital Medicine should expect to be an exceptional hospitalist and a leader in their community or academic group after five years.
Following this pathway will prepare residents for the everchanging patient care environment of hospital medicine, providing them with the skills and insight needed to be an effective hospitalist. At its core, this curriculum focuses on providing exceptional, evidence-based clinical medicine, coordinating care within a complex healthcare system with professionalism, and continuing improvement with quality initiatives, education program development, and effective research. The experience will prime residents for a successful career in hospital medicine and help identify special areas of interest that can be a “value added service” to your group.
Pathway Director: Robert Miller, MD
Internal Medicine Subspecialty
Vision - For residents pursuing an Internal Medicine subspecialty, this pathway allows residents to excel from day one in fellowship and beyond into their professional lives.
The goal is to prepare residents with an advanced understanding of the subspecialty’s diseases and clinical problems rendering them capable of skilled clinical reasoning. Additionally, residents will be proficient in their ability to independently lead an innovative research or QI project and be adept at dissemination and collaboration of their scholarship at local, state, and national gatherings. Ultimately, completion of this Pathway will equip and distinguish those residents who aspire to be leaders in their field, departments, and professional societies.
Pathway Director: dependent on subspecialty
Leadership in Health Policy and Community Partnerships
Vision - This pathway will train graduates to become leaders working in collaboration with community stakeholders to create change using various tactics and health policy reform.
Residents in the pathway may work on ongoing campaigns related to community health engagement, create public health innovations, build community outreach partnerships or social medicine curricula, collaborate on longitudinal advocacy projects with organizers of other disciplines and professions, or help craft legislation on health issues. The pathway's curriculum works to build competency in the social determinants of health, and skills around working with the media, persuasive writing, organizing skills, and interfacing with legislators and their staff. Completing this pathway will prepare physicians for leadership positions in community or academic organizations, as well as non-profits, public agencies or national organizations.
Pathway Directors: Celeste Newby, MD, PHD, and Erica Tate, MD
Leadership in Medical Education
Vision - This pathway is for the resident who has more than just a love of teaching, but a desire to build a career in medical education leadership and administration.
Participants in this pathway will not only build concrete clinical teaching skills, they will also gain experience in medical education scholarship, curriculum development, program administration, fundraising and finance, and career development. It is our belief that curriculum design and medical education scholarship grow out of a strong clinical teaching foundation, and the goal of this pathway is to ensure residents get significant experience in all these areas. Residents who graduate with distinction from this pathway will be well prepared for careers as course or clerkship directors, program directors, or administrators in medical education.
Pathway Director: Kristin Bateman, MD
Leadership in Hospital Administration
Vision - This pathway is for those highly motivated residents who aspire for careers as visible and high-level physician leaders in academic or private health systems.
Through carefully curated training and experiences, participants in this pathway will develop the managerial and analytical expertise to effectively provide leadership within a healthcare organization that will allow for immediate mid-level leadership roles within a healthcare organization upon graduation and directorship opportunities (medical director, unit director, site director, etc.) within five years of graduation. The resident who completes this pathway will also be an ideal candidate for the chief resident of quality and patient safety position.
Pathway Director: Brandon Mauldin, MD, MBA
