Fellowship Program in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

The Palliative Care Program is dedicated to training future leaders in the field of palliative care and hospice. The philosophy of our training program is to provide a strong core curriculum to all learners, and we are committed to working with each learner to develop an educational experience tailored to their unique career goals.

We offer three ACGME-accredited training Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship programs, both within the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania:

• Traditional Fellowship Program
  Our traditional fellowship program is a one-year program open to applicants who have trained in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. Three physicians are accepted into the program per year.
• Mid-Career Fellowship Program
  Our mid-career fellowship program is a competency-based, time-variable program that allows physicians to pursue fellowship training while maintaining their existing clinical and professional roles and responsibilities. This fellowship is currently limited to existing Penn Medicine physicians.
• Combined Nephrology-Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program
  Our combined Nephrology-Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship program is an innovative two-year training program that leads to Board eligibility in both Nephrology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. One physician is accepted into the program per year.
• Radiation Oncology Track
  Our Radiation Oncology Track is an integrated educational program for highly-qualified recent graduates or mid-career physicians who completed residency training in radiation oncology. The one-year program offers additional experiences in palliative and spine stereotactic radiotherapy, with significant complex re-irradiation case volume. The program meets all requirements for Board eligibility in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, offering the opportunity for dual certification. New residency graduates will be able to sit for both Radiation Oncology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine initial certification exams in the same year. One physician will be accepted to the program each year. This program is not filled through the NRMP match and recruitment occurs on a rolling basis. Please reach out with additional questions or to express interest.

All fellows receive intensive training in the care of seriously ill patients and their families as part of an interdisciplinary team. They develop expertise in providing patient centered medical care, as well as advanced communication skills. In addition to providing excellent clinical training, fellows receive close mentoring from dedicated faculty and are encouraged to engage in mentored educational, scholarly, and quality improvement work during their fellowship. Fellows also participate in scholarly and quality improvement initiatives during their training experience.

We are also committed to helping fellows develop interests outside of medicine, and have developed a longitudinal wellness and self-care curriculum. The Palliative Care Program is committed to diversity and inclusion; underrepresented populations in medicine are especially encouraged to apply.

All fellowship graduates are eligible to sit for the HPM board exam. Applications are accepted through ERAS.

For more information, please reach out to:

Laura Dingfield, MD, MSEd
Program Director
Email: Laura.Dingfield@pennmedicine.upenn.edu