A “Pathway” is a pre-established yet flexible set of experiences within our standard residency curriculum. Pathways allow interested residents to gain experience, knowledge, and skill in a topic area of interest, beyond the broad-based training available to all Madison resident family physicians.

Currently approved pathways:

  • Addiction Medicine
  • Community Health
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Geriatrics
  • Global Health
  • Integrative Health
  • LGBTQ+ Health
  • Pregnancy Care
  • Point of Care Ultrasound
  • Research
  • Rural Health
  • Sports Medicine
  • Women’s Health

Pathway Characteristics

All pathways include individualized goals and objectives and a faculty sponsor who works closely with each resident in designing their experience. Opportunities within pathways may include a preferred continuity clinic location, academic course work if desired, specially-designed electives and rotation plans, as well as presentations or projects within the field of interest. While the pathways all require some amount of elective time devoted to the area of interest (typically 4 weeks), they focus primarily on integrating the pathway interest into the standard curriculum that all residents complete. The result is a rich experience in a sub-specialty area that still allows residents ample time to explore other interests.

Pathway “Nuts and Bolts”

Resident physicians in no way need to participate in pathways. All Madison residents will have solid knowledge in all pathway areas, but this experience is designed for those who want to graduate with superior expertise. Residents may apply for a Pathway at the time of their match with our program or within the first year of residency. Approval must be provided by a faculty sponsor and residency leadership.

Completion of Pathway expectations will be noted in a resident’s permanent educational record and can be described in letters of recommendation, but will not lead to special certification.

Interested in a Pathway that’s not on the list?

New Pathways are routinely developed and added to our curriculum. At the same time, it should be noted that the Pathways reflect how we’ve always approached curriculum planning for residents: we build an individualized schedule for each resident that reflects his or her unique goals and interests. So if you’re interested in a Pathway that has not yet been formalized, the residency educational team will help you create a curriculum that’s tailor-made to reflect your educational goals.