Associate Professor of Hospice & Palliative Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Elizabeth Gundersen is an Associate Professor of Hospice & Palliative Medicine and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She began her career as a rural primary care physician and hospitalist including serving as Associate Division Chief of Hospital Medicine and Physician Quality Officer for UMass Memorial Healthcare. She subsequently relocated to south Florida where she pursued fellowship training in Hospice & Palliative Medicine and a career in medical education at the Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). In addition to teaching students and residents palliative and end-of-life care, her roles at FAU included directing the Ethics, Professionalism, and Professional Identity Curriculum and being the founding director of the Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program.
Dr. Gundersen’s mantra is “everyone has a story,” and she is passionate about humanism in medicine. She is interested in integrating the arts and humanities into medical education to promote professional identity formation and has completed numerous courses and training in museum-based education and visual thinking strategies. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2016.
Dr. Gundersen was raised in Northern Virginia. She graduated Magna cum Laude from the College of William & Mary with a major in Biology and a minor in Religion; earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia; and completed residency in Family Medicine at UMass Memorial Medical Center and fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Medicine at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Gundersen is mom to two standard poodles. She enjoys strength training, downhill skiing, scuba, motorcycle trips, and is an aspiring biathlete.
P09 Experience at the Museum: Using Art to Reflect, Connect, and Flourish
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
1:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose