HIP is a Denver Health initiative that serves undergraduate students interested in healthcare careers. The program supports the academic and professional development needs of its students through a combined approach that includes professional mentorship, lectures, and workshops.
The HIP experience
- Complete 50+ hours of shadowing with a Denver Health provider in your field of interest
- Obtain 1 credit hour per semester
- Attend Friday seminars with fellow health professions students
- Network with healthcare providers across the Denver Health system
- Gain an understanding of the healthcare needs of different populations
- Develop key professional skillsets to prepare for the next steps in your career journey
HIP maintains community-academic partnerships with three regional institutions to facilitate its work: University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Regis University. At this time, Denver Health can only accept students from these partner institutions.
Vision
HIP invests in students who have a connection to the region served by Denver Health and an interest in returning to the community for practice. Often, our participants are the first generation in their families to complete post-secondary education and come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds as the patient population at Denver Health.
In the short-term, the goal of HIP is to increase the number of students who are ready to healthcare degrees within Colorado. In the long-term, HIP is an investment in the regional healthcare workforce seeking to foster community representation and, ultimately, helping to close the healthcare equity gap.
Prior to HIP and my shadowing experiences, I had serious career doubts and was unsure of what I wanted to do. I've learned from my experiences shadowing that I need to have confidence in myself and not be afraid to aim high. I had been debating going to medical school, but my interactions with my mentor have really inspired me. I can't wait to enter medical school and become a doctor.
-HIP Student, 2022
For Interested Students
Recruitment begins in January and applicants will be expected to participate in a brief informational interview. After an onboarding period in the summer, the program begins in the fall semester and runs through the full academic year.
Applicants are required to:
- Be currently enrolled in a pre-health or health sciences academic program
- Have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours at their university
- Meet a minimum GPA of 2.8
- Have ability to enroll in HIP as a course for BOTH the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters
- Have availability in academic schedules to attend HIP seminars on Friday afternoons
- Have reliable transportation to commute to the main Denver Health campus and/or possible community locations for mentoring
- Agree to additional internship requirements of your university. Please contact your program’s advising office for additional information before applying
Before applying, students should connect with their programs’ advising offices for more information on their eligibility for the program.
Contacts
For all inquiries regarding the Healthcare Interest Program, please contact the Director of HIP, Vicky Rhine, at Vicky.Rhine@dhha.org or 303-602-2819.
Denver Health Staff and Providers: Become a Mentor!
HIP is accepting new mentors!
Being a HIP mentor can be an incredibly rewarding experience and a great opportunity to honor the mentors who supported you through your own career journey. HIP mentors will be assigned to one student for the academic year (August-May) and will be responsible for scheduling 8-10 shadowing hours per month with their mentee. One hour of each semester can be reserved for career advising meetings.
HIP mentors can represent any level of medical practitioner as well as healthcare fields including nursing, pharmacy, public health, dentistry, health admin, and more. All students are at least 18 years of age and have been on-boarded according to DH requirements.
To learn more about how to get involved in HIP, contact the Director of HIP, Vicky Rhine, at Vicky.Rhine@dhha.org or 303-602-2819.
