From Fellowship to Faculty: Natalie Hamilton, MD

Natalie Hamilton, MD, Senior Instructor in the Department of Family Medicine (DFM)—and one of the two sponsored Junior Faculty Fellows—has graduated from the University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency program and now looks forward to joining as full-time faculty within the department.  

Intrigued by the growing specialty of disability medicine in Colorado, Dr. Hamilton joined the DFM Residency Program in 2021, where she practiced at the A.F. Williams Family Medicine Clinic. Encouraged by mentors and colleagues, and the drive to learn more, Dr. Hamilton applied for the DFM’s Junior Faculty Fellowship. 

Each year the DFM sponsors two of its residency graduates to complete a Junior Faculty Fellowship—and family physician, Dr. Hamilton, was chosen as one of them. She worked diligently and brilliantly as her time in the program focused on disability medicine—even traveling to Washington D.C. to advocate for patients with disabilities. There, she learned about policies connected to Family Medicine and discussed aspirations and best practices with Colorado representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. Her passion for her fellowship continues to thrive as she aims to be involved in policy work to fight for Medicaid. 

Joining The DFM 

After taking a well-deserved and much-needed break to both travel the world and get married, Dr. Hamilton will join the UCHealth Lone Tree Primary Care Clinic on October 15, this year. 

As a previous direct support professional for the Special Olympics, Dr. Hamilton is excited to join the DFM faculty, especially with the news of a grant awarded from the Special Olympics on Inclusive Health. She is eager to help implement more disability training into the Family Medicine residency curriculum and our DFM clinics. 

Dr. Hamilton’s junior faculty fellowship began in 2024, where she joined the DFM’s Departmental Engagement Program. Inspired by the leadership of Cleveland Piggott, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Vice Chair for Departmental Engagement, and the program’s mission to foster a diverse and inclusive work environment and nurture better health outcomes, she joined the team—acting as a voice to accessibility for patients within the community through her fellowship work. She is excited to share that she has been invited back to the program next year as full-time faculty, where she will work more with leadership. 

With deep admiration and a shoutout to her mentors: Alicia Wong, MD, MA, MPH; Laura Pickler, MD, MPH/MSPH; Patrick Long, MD; and Linda Montgomery, MD, MA, FAAFP—she looks forward to teaching the next generation of providers and engaging in policy and advocacy work that drives meaningful change for individuals with disabilities. 

Read the Full Interview 

• What brought you to work with Family Medicine?  

“During medical school, I was fortunate to have an exceptional mentor who demonstrated the profound impact family medicine can have on individuals and communities. I’ve always been passionate about the breadth of medicine, and family medicine offered the perfect blend of variety, continuity, and meaningful patient relationships. Most of all, I’m inspired by the people in this specialty, dedicated changemakers and natural leaders, whose commitment to holistic, patient-centered care aligns with my own values and aspirations.” 

• Can you briefly explain a little bit about your Fellowship process?  

“I came to the University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency program in 2021, because I knew I wanted to work with patients with disabilities and there were a lot of people in Colorado also interested in this work. My clinic within the DFM was at A.F. Williams where I was working side by side with a lot of the core faculty. My mentor, Alicia Wong, who runs the Adaptive Primary Care clinic at Denver Health supported me with my passion all throughout residency. Early on in my residency career, I learned about the junior faculty fellowship. This opportunity was something so unique to our program and I knew I wanted to pursue it because there are not many other opportunities to learn about disability medicine. Laura Pickler from Children's Hospital of Colorado helped me to apply to LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) and my fellowship took off from there.” 

• What was one major highlight of your Fellowship that you will never forget? 

“One of my favorite memories was being able to travel to Washington, D.C., for the first time and advocate for patients with disabilities. I traveled with LEND and CAFP/STFM on a new faculty scholarship. I was able to learn about the current policies related to family medicine, how we as family medicine providers can make this part of our future careers, and talked to multiple Colorado representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. I was empowered to fight for Medicaid and continue to want to be involved in policy work next year.” 

• Your focus within your Fellowship is Disability Medicine, specifically Genetic Testing in Autism; what motivated you to do this important work? 

“During college, I worked as a direct support professional for Special Olympics and frequently heard from athletes about the challenges they faced in accessing the care they deserved. I pursued electives in developmental pediatrics and deepened my knowledge of genetics under the mentorship of Dr. Patrick Long at Sequence MD. These experiences highlighted the important intersection between family medicine and genetics, and how genetics can be used to improve patient care. I became particularly interested in how family medicine providers approach genetic testing with their patients.” 

• What is something you wished more people knew about regarding disability medicine or genetic testing in Autism? 

 “I am passionate about raising awareness among providers, as I believe many are not fully aware of current recommendations regarding genetic testing in this population. Ultimately, I want to ensure that all patients are informed of their options and make the choice that is best for them.” 

• When are you starting as full-time faculty? Do you know if you will be working at a particular clinic(s)? 

“I will be starting October 15th at UCHealth Lone Tree Primary Care after getting married in September and doing some traveling around the world. I didn’t take any time off between medical training, so I am very excited to have some time to reset before starting my full-time position. They have such a wonderful team down there and I can’t wait to bring my knowledge about accessibility in medicine and disability care to their clinic.” 

• What are one or two things you are most excited about becoming a full-time faculty member? 

“I am most excited about a grant we received from the Special Olympics on Inclusive Health which will allow us to incorporate more disability training into our family medicine residency curriculum and DFM clinics. I am also excited to continue to work on the Departmental Engagement Team. I was able to give a voice to accessibility this year as a fellow and learned so much from Cleveland Piggott. I am honored that they want me to continue on the team next year as full-time faculty and look forward to working more closely with the leadership team in the department.” 

• How do you see your Fellowship work will impact your practice moving forward? 

“The fellowship has already provided me with the knowledge and skills I hoped to gain to better care for patients with disabilities. A study by Lisa Lezzoni found that only 40.7% of physicians felt very confident in their ability to provide equal quality care to patients with disabilities, highlighting a significant gap in our field. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I received during my fellowship, and I am especially thankful to the Department of Family Medicine, and to Linda Montgomery for her support and mentorship over the past year. Looking ahead, my goal is to build a large panel of patients with disabilities and to establish a transition clinic to support patients as they move from pediatric to adult care. I am also committed to teaching the next generation of providers in this area and to engaging in policy and advocacy work that drives meaningful change for individuals with disabilities.” 

The Department of Family Medicine is honored to welcome Dr. Hamilton as she becomes full-time faculty. We look forward to your continued meaningful work and sharing your skills with the community. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Hamilton’s fellowship work, you can watch this presentation on our YouTube channel (beginning at minute 3:30).  

Dr. Hamilton with fiancée Scott, “We hiked 5 days on the start of the Colorado trail. We are planning to section hike the entire trail from Littleton to Durango (567 miles total) over the next few years.”