Twitter: @denverEM
Location: Denver, Colorado
Year founded: 1974
Number of residents/program length: 17 residents a year, four-year program

Secret weapons (medical)

The residents! They are the heart and soul of this residency. They are humble, team-playing rock stars who become master clinicians and leaders in emergency medicine. The mission of this residency is to foster clinical excellence by exposing residents to high-volume, high-acuity patients in varied sites while providing them the independence and autonomy to take ownership of the care they provide. In the fourth year, senior residents oversee the Denver Health Emergency Department including Adult Trauma, Adult Medicine, and Pediatric Emergency and Urgent Care. This allows our residents to leave our program prepared to practice anywhere in the world, and in whichever area of expertise they choose.  Our residents train at two Level 1 hospitals: Denver Health and the University of Colorado Hospital. In addition, our residents have the opportunity to explore EM specialties such as toxicology, ultrasound, global health, administration, critical care, wilderness medicine, EMS, research, pediatrics, and sports medicine. Finally, our residents and faculty support and learn from each other, as we believe that being in this together is our greatest source of strength.  

Secret weapons (nonmedical)

No matter what you like to do—food, arts, sports, recreation–Denver has it all. We have the nation’s second largest performing arts center, including a brand new opera and ballet house. Our citizens contribute more public funding for the arts per capita than any other U.S. city. Denver has the largest city park system in the nation, with 205 parks in city limits and 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains. Enjoy them during our 300 days of sunshine a year—more than San Diego or Miami Beach. Denver is also one of only 13 U.S. cities to have teams from four major sports (baseball, hockey, football, and basketball). Some of the things our residents like to do include swing and salsa dancing, Shakespeare and jazz in the park, poetry slams, opera singing, musical jam sessions, trivia, team sports, working with at-risk youth, volunteering at professional sporting events, skiing, hiking, mountain climbing and biking, kayaking, camping, fishing, beer brewing, and just about anything in between.

—Bonnie Kaplan, MD, MA, residency director

Trivia

• Louis Ballast, who operated the Humpty Dumpty Barrel drive-in in Denver, was the first person to trademark the cheeseburger.
• When viewed from above, the 400,000 pieces of granite paving the pedestrian walkway of the 16th Street Mall resemble the skin of a western diamondback rattlesnake.