CU Division of Hospital Medicine Presents: March 2025
APF
IN THIS ISSUE
We’re celebrating 16 years of our APF program! Read the note from our APF leadership team about our program.
Learn about our updated Swing curriculum to come and help us welcome the March 2025 Cohort.
Get to know APF alumni, Rachel Kuker, DNP, AGACNAP-BC and Amber Maniates, MSPAS, MSPC, PA-C.
A message from our Education Program Principal Professional, Kelsey Keil, M.Ed, and a chance to read past APF newsletters.
STAY CONNECTED
About Our Program
We are always looking for new APF candidates and take referrals from our graduates seriously. Please feel free to share our email: DHM-Education@UCDenver.edu.
Check out our previous APF Newsletter here to learn more about our curriculum, past APF graduates, and information about our program. Or you can learn more by visiting our website by clicking the button below!
Visit our Advanced Practice Fellowship website here!
INTRODUCTION
What a whirlwind! Our fellowship is in its 16th year and is now old enough to drive. Looking back through the years, we are lucky to have recruited and cultivated the career of so many talented Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.
Former fellows now occupy critical clinical and leadership roles through the University of Colorado in numerous departments and divisions including Hematology, Nephrology, Infectious Disease, Emergency Medicine, and, of course, Hospital Medicine. We have graduates in Massachusetts, Florida, California and many states in between.
The fellowship has grown and changed over the years, but at its core it remains dedicated to finding and nurturing talented clinicians. As alumni, you serve as amazing ambassadors for our program and for fellowships in general. We believe strongly the APF offers a good return on investment for its graduates, the division and the hospital. Many of you have contributed to its structure through your feedback and guidance.
As the country becomes more saturated with post-graduate training programs, we now face stiffer competition to recruit the best candidates to the APF. We would appreciate any efforts you can do to recruit new candidates. For example, if you have contacts at your NP or PA schools or know of promising students, please help us by referring those programs and candidates to the APF.
Best, APF Leadership Team
Frannie Lorenzi, MMS, PA-C; Brian Wolfe, MD; Erin Szemak, AGACNP-BC; Rudy Moravek, PA-C; Kelsey Keil, M.Ed.
CURRICULUM GETS A MAKEOVER
Swing Teaching Enters Its 13th Year with a Fresh New
Curriculum!
Now in its 13th year, the Swing Service Line is getting an exciting curriculum overhaul! Under the leadership of Dr. Khoosh Dayton, Service Line Director for Swing, the curriculum has been reimagined with a fresh, evidence-based approach launching this February.
Khoosh has brought together over a dozen faculty members from the Division of Hospital Medicine to develop high-quality, engaging content, including revamped PowerPoint lectures and concise, one-page handouts for each swing topic.
She is also studying the impact of these updates, with the goal of enhancing the overall Swing teaching experience. Be sure to stay tuned. We plan to share the results in a future newsletter!
UPCOMING APF MARCH 2025 COHORT
Please help us welcome the newest Advanced Practice Fellowship Cohort joining us this March! We look forward to seeing you grow within our program over the next 13 months!
Khoosh Dayton, MD
APF GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT #1
Rachel Kuker, DNP, AGACNP-BC
Prior to fellowship Rachel spent approximately 10 years doing acute care nursing at the bedside at UCH. She was able to learn a lot, experience a lot, and clean up a lot of bodily fluids.
Since the fellowship, she has been working as an NP in the Infectious Disease division with CU Medicine for the last two and a half years. She is the sole APP member on the oncology (green) ID team. On the team, they work with any ID consults ordered on patients with active solid organ cancer, and heme malignancies that have not yet been transplanted. She expressed that it was quite the learning curve coming in to the ID division, but with two years under her belt, she feels like she’s rolling well with the naunces with the service.
When she started fellowship, she never thought this would be where she would land, but now loves being able to work with the Med Onc and BMT apps on a regular basis.
This role has also provided her the continued opportunity to teach group exercise classes at Anschutz Health and Wellness center in the mornings before work! She says the “best way to start the day is with a good sweat, so anyone wanting to get a workout in on the way into work in the morning, come on in!”
We love getting to see our APF alumni finding their passion and unique paths within healthcare!
APF GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT #2
Amber Maniates, MSPAS, MSPC, PA-C
Amber lives in Denver with her spouse (a fellow APF graduate!) and their three spoiled dogs. A 2013 graduate of the University of New England’s Physician Assistant program, she began her career as a Nocturnist on the East Coast before joining the University of Colorado’s Advanced Practice Fellowship (APF) in Hospital Medicine in 2016. The fellowship was instrumental in shaping her career, leading her to remain with the Division of Hospital Medicine (DHM) as faculty.
Amber has dedicated much of her clinical time to Medical Oncology and the CARE (Clinical Assessment and Rapid Evaluation) clinic, an urgent care center for cancer patients. Inspired by her work with patients facing serious illnesses, she earned a Master of Science in Palliative Care from the University of Colorado in 2020. She now splits her time between the Inpatient Palliative Care Team and serves as Lead APP for Urgent Palliative Care, a specialized program within the CARE clinic focused on acute symptom management.
Recognized for her patient-centered approach, Amber expertly manages complex symptoms while guiding patients and families through difficult care decisions. She is also leading the development of a multidisciplinary clinic for complex cancer pain, bringing together specialists to provide comprehensive pain management solutions.
Amber credits the APF with providing the specialized training, mentorship, and clinical experience that solidified her expertise in complex patient care and positioned her as a leader in hospital medicine and palliative care.
