Important Dates
Applications for Cohort No. 3 will open April 1, 2025.
ASPIRe Cohort No. 3 (anticipated): September 2025-August 2026.
Personal Interviews for selected applicants will be offered on a rolling basis until available slots are filled. Early application submission is advised.
Application Requirements and Eligibility
Demonstrated desire to train and work in a safety net system that provides care to a population with socioeconomic determinants of health challenges.
Graduation from an accredited physician assistant or nurse practitioner program
Colorado licensure (active or eligible)
Please submit the following application materials to:
Donald.Kirkpatrick@dhha.org
- Curriculum Vitae
- Brief (1 page maximum) personal statement on your interest in this program and how it fits with your career goals.
- Three references’ contact information including your NP or PA program director, a PA or NP who knows you well, and an MD/DO with whom you have worked closely.
For further information, please contact us
Donald Kirkpatrick, MD, MHCM
Program Director
Donald.Kirkpatrick@dhha.org
Pavlina (“Paula”) Gust, PA
Associate Program Director-Surgical Specialties
Paula.Gust@dhha.org
Program Overview
The Advanced Practice Provider Specialty Intensive Residency (ASPIRe) Program at Denver Health is a response to the unmet need for outpatient medical and surgical specialty clinic providers in the safety net health care system. Designed for graduate nurse practitioners or physician assistants who envision themselves providing specialty care to populations with socioeconomic determinants of health challenges, this novel 12-month program will provide training across multiple medical and surgical specialties. Over the course of the program, trainees will narrow their focus to the specialties for which they appear best suited, and which have the greatest need at Denver Health. After six months of training, trainee can be assessed for eligibility for direct hire on an ongoing basis. Upon completion, it is anticipated our graduates will be ready for full-time employment in several specialties in the health care safety net with limited need for “on-boarding.”
Curriculum and Objectives
Medical Specialties: Outpatient clinics are anticipated in gastroenterology, cardiology, nephrology, neurology, and pulmonology. During their first six months, residents will learn to manage the most common problems seen in the outpatient clinics of these specialties. During their second six months, residents will focus one or two medical or surgical specialties.
Surgical Specialties: Outpatient clinics in general surgery, ENT, and bariatrics. During their first six months, residents will learn to manage the most common problems seen in the outpatient clinics of these specialties. During their second six months, residents will likely focus on one or two medical or surgical specialties.
Schedule
First six months: Trainees will usually have nine half-day clinic blocks in two or three specialties and one half-day didactic block. Chart completion and additional reading outside of clinic hours will result in an average commitment of no less than 60 hours per week. There is no required evening or weekend call, but trainees are welcome to make arrangements with individual specialties if desired.
Second six months: Trainees will begin to focus on one or two medical and surgical specialties, concentrating on the specialties most likely to represent their career trajectory. The number of half-day clinics per week will decrease to eight, allowing time to develop an academic quality improvement project in a specialty of their choice.
Salary and benefits
ASPIRe trainees are Denver Health employees with a salary of $70,000 for the academic year, medical and dental insurance, 401K retirement plan, disability insurance, seven paid holidays, and 20 vacation days. A loan forgiveness option is being pursued but has not been confirmed.
Program Leadership
Don Kirkpatrick, MD, MHCM. Program Director - Dr. Kirkpatrick holds a medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's from Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health. He has been a clinical gastroenterologist for over 30 years and at Denver Health since 2013. A faculty member of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, he has a certificate from the Anschutz Medical Campus Teaching Scholar’s Program and is an associate professor of clinical practice.
Pavlina (“Paula”) Gust, PA. Associate Program Director, Surgical Specialties - Gust received her PA degree from Yale School of Medicine in 2004. She has worked in critical care medicine specialties and joined the Denver Health Trauma Surgery team nearly 10 years ago. She has taken part in committees focused on improving patient care and outcomes and has a special interest in PA/NP mentorship and education. When not in the surgery realm, she can be found adventuring with her family and enjoying the great outdoors.