Pathways

Global Health Pathway

UNC offers a broad range of experiences in global health clinical care and research, as well as didactic activities covering myriad topics in the School of Medicine, School of Public Health, and others. In order to enhance the professional development of Internal Medicine residents who are interested in pursuing global health careers, a Global Health Pathway was established and welcomed its first cohort in 2020. The Pathway includes four key components: mentorship, didactic curriculum, clinical experiences, and scholarship. Residents will receive a Distinction in Global Health at the completion of residency training. For those formally accepted into the Global Health Pathway, they will be required to attend various didactic lectures, participate in at least 2 months of global health clinical experiences abroad or locally with local global populations during residency, and complete at least one scholarly project during residency.  

Residents interested in global health are also able to participate in global health opportunities through the Office of Global Health Education independent of the Global Health Pathway. These residents can also still benefit from funding for these rotations and projects.  

More information about the Global Health Pathway can be found on their website here. 

Medical Education Pathway

The Medical Education Pathway is a two-year curriculum beginning in the second year of residency that provides residents with opportunities for hands-on experience as teachers, mentors, and educators. The pathway focuses on core areas of medical education, including teaching, curriculum development, evaluation, and educational leadership.

Residents are paired with a faculty mentor who provides guidance in teaching skills and career development and supports the design and implementation of each resident’s scholarly project.

Residents in this pathway will use their Special Month (8 weeks of dedicated research time spread across the PGY-2 and PGY-3 years) to engage in both didactic and experiential learning. During this time, they will have opportunities to engage with learners in both graduate and undergraduate medical education. Blocks during the PGY-2 level are used to establish a scholarly project and build a foundation in key principles of effective instruction, and blocks during the PGY-3 year center on focused project engagement and career development.

Residents may apply (CV and short letter of interest) during the spring of their intern year. Participants are selected and announced in the spring to facilitate scheduling.

PGY-2 Topics

• Identifying a scholarly project
• Preparing and delivering effective case conferences, chalk talks, journal clubs, and large-group didactics
• Teaching point-of-care ultrasound and bedside procedures
• Curricular design
• Teaching on the wards
• Providing effective feedback and addressing the struggling learning
• Adult learning theory and core principles of medical education
• Hands-on teaching experiences with direct and immediate feedback, including chalk talks, morning reports, case-based learning, physical diagnosis rounds, among others.

PGY-3 Topics

• Project advancement and submission for presentation / publication
• Outpatient teaching and clinic precepting
• Career development and fulfillment
• Scholarship in medical education
• Remediation
• Trainee Mentorship
• Artificial intelligence in medical education

Program Leadership

Clinical Ethics Pathway

The Clinical Ethics Pathway is a two-year curriculum offered in collaboration with the UNC School of Medicine Clinical Ethics Program, the Parr Center for Ethics, and the UNC Hospitals Ethics Committee and Clinical Ethics Consult Service. This pathway provides a unique opportunity for second-year residents interested in ethical issues arising in clinical care and scientific research.

The pathway is built on four core pillars: mentorship, didactic curriculum, clinical experience, and scholarship. Over the course of the program, residents are paired with a bioethics faculty mentor, attend at least four ethics-related activities or lectures each year, and complete four written reflections annually focused on the ethical dimensions of clinical encounters.

Residents also gain hands-on experience through approximately four weeks with the Clinical Ethics Consult Service, developed over the duration of the pathway. Each participant completes a capstone scholarly project, which may take the form of an oral presentation, poster, abstract, or manuscript.

Upon graduation, participants are awarded Distinction in Clinical Ethics at the completion of residency training.

Activity Opportunities

Residents in the pathway may engage in a variety of scholarly and educational activities, including:

• Co-leading clinical ethics consultations
• Presenting at noon conference or morning report
• Leading a journal club
• Attending Parr Center for Ethics Public Lectures
• Participating in the Academy of Educators

Program Leadership

Rimma Osipov
rimma@med.unc.edu

Arlene Davis
arlene_davis@med.unc.edu

Jean Cadigan
jean_cadigan@med.unc.edu