The Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania aims to train future academicians by providing them with a breadth of clinical and educational experiences:
- Hospice. Fellows rotate with Penn Medicine hospice, which offers a full range of community-based palliative care and hospice services. Fellows spend time seeing patients receiving hospice care in the home setting, in long-term care facilities, and in inpatient settings. Fellows also spend time on dedicated inpatient hospice units at Vitas Philadelphia Hospice and at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
- Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service. Fellows spend significant time with the interprofessional inpatient consultation teams at both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
- Outpatient Clinic. Fellows participate in the outpatient Supportive Oncology Clinic at Abramson Cancer Center, the non-oncology clinic at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, and in the Palliative Care Clinic at the Philadelphia VA. Fellows follow patients longitudinally in the ambulatory setting.
- Long-Term Care. Fellows provide palliative care for frail older adults residing in long-term care during dedicated time with the Penn Medicine Hospice long-term care affiliates and at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center Community Living Center.
- Other Required Rotations. Fellows rotate with the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania to learn about pediatric palliative care. An addiction medicine rotation focuses on the care of patients with concomitant serious illness and substance use disorders. Fellows also participate in an embedded ICU palliative care rotation in a combined medical and cardiac intensive care unit.
- Electives. Elective may design elective experiences based on their career interests and personal learning goals. Elective time may also be spent returning to one of the core rotation sites for additional training based on the fellow's career goals. Away electives of a maximum of four weeks may be arranged, but require approval.
- Well-being Curriculum. Fellows participate in experiential group sessions to discuss the important issues of self-care, burnout, and resilience.
Curriculum
- Fellows attend regular health system conferences including Palliative Medicine Grand Rounds, Palliative Care Seminar Series, Palliative Care Case Conference Series, and Palliative Medicine Journal Club.
- Fellows participate in a series of intensive palliative medicine fellowship didactics and workshops focusing on core topics in symptom management and communication.