Steven Pantilat, MD FACP FAAHPM
University of California, San Francisco
AAHPM reached out to the 2024 Visionaries to gain insight into what motivated them to pursue leadership positions and what they find more fulfilling in their experiences. Steven Pantilat, MD FACP FAAHPM has been recognized as one of the exceptional individuals chosen as a 2024 AAHPM Visionaries in Hospice and Palliative Care.
Who has most influenced your work and how have they shaped your contributions?
Kathy Foley and Susan Block, as leaders of the Project on Death in America, had faith in me and provided encouragement at the very beginning of my journey in palliative care. They helped me believe in myself. Christine Cassel and Diane Meier invited me to CAPC and gave me a seat at the table long before I thought I deserved one. Andy Billings was a key early mentor and collaborator in research. Charles von Gunten provided critical advice as we were planning our Palliative Care Service and helped us launch it 25 years ago! Betty Ferrell taught me that perfect is the enemy of the good and to just get started. Trish Davidson has been a role model of effective leadership. Bob Wachter and Talmadge King, my Chair and Dean, have been strong and steadfast mentors, sponsors, and supporters in building Palliative Care at UCSF. Randy Curtis was an inspiration, confidant, friend, and role model in how to be a good leader, colleague, friend, and mentor. I have also been influenced, shaped, and am deeply grateful to my incredible team and colleagues at UCSF from all disciplines who have taught me so much about teamwork, inclusivity, compassion, leadership, mentorship, vision and wonderful colleagues, mentors, mentees, and friends across the country and around the world.
What is the significance to you of being recognized as a “Visionary” in Hospice and Palliative Medicine?
About 10 years ago a medical student asked me when we started the Palliative Care Service at UCSF. I said, “1999.” She thought for a moment then asked, “What did we do before palliative care?” I’ve thought about her observation a lot over the years. When I started medical school at UCSF in 1985 there was no palliative care, but there was a huge need for it. We saw this gap in care for people with serious illness, had a vision for how care could be better, and went about building that vision. Vision is a shared idea of what the world can be if we work together- in the case of palliative care, a world where people with serious illness and their loved ones are supported, held, treated holistically, by a team of clinicians that sees them as people with illness, not an illness and strives to help them live as well as possible for as long as possible. Vision is a fundamental of leadership and essential for making a better world. It is deeply meaningful and heartwarming to receive this recognition by my peers for contributions to a field that I love, that means so much to me professionally and personally, and that has been my home for more than 25 years.
What is your aspiration for the evolution of hospice and Palliative Medicine?
My vision for the future is for universal, equitable access to high quality, interprofessional specialty Palliative Care systems to identify proactively and address the Palliative Care needs of all people with serious illness. I aspire for a future in which we have a growing, diverse, sustainable, inclusive, sustainable, interprofessional workforce that makes our field a model for healthcare and society. I also hope that our evolution includes continued scientific inquiry and discoveries to improve treatment of symptoms and further improve the quality of life for our patients. My vision is that we achieve this future while holding fast to the values that make our field special and timeless, compassion, caring, kindness, hope, and deep respect, curiosity, and commitment to caring for people as unique human beings. I am excited to work with colleagues to bring this vision into being!
Learn more about the AAHPM 2024 Visionaries in Hospice and Palliative Care and view a full list of all current and past Visionaries.