Are you a medical student or resident eager to deepen your understanding of hospice and palliative medicine? Dive into this page to find valuable information and resources that will set you on the path to success!
Why Choose Hospice and Palliative Medicine as a Specialty?
Gain valuable perspectives from leaders in the Academy about the rewarding and significant nature of a career in hospice and palliative medicine.
Delve into the future of this vital medical field and find out why it might be the ideal path for you.
What is the Most Meaningful Practice in Hospice & Palliative Medicine?
In this enlightening video, members of the academy share their thoughts on the most impactful practices in hospice and palliative care.
Tune in as they inspire medical students, like you, to explore a career in #hapc.
Commonly Asked Questions
A physician who specializes in hospice and palliative medicine offers care and support to patients and their families dealing with the difficulties of serious illnesses. Unlike other doctors who primarily focus on overall health or specific disease treatment, palliative medicine physicians aim to reduce suffering and enhance quality of life. Studies indicate that individuals frequently experience longer lifespans when they receive palliative care in conjunction with treatments aimed at their illness.
HPM is a distinct specialty that collaborates with all areas of medicine, reshaping how healthcare teams tackle complex clinical, psychosocial, spiritual, and existential aspects of care. These individuals take a comprehensive approach to patient advocacy within intricate medical systems, fostering equity and inclusion.
Hospice and palliative medicine is a rapidly expanding field where physicians can significantly influence their healthcare organizations. Those who work in the HPM field are change-makers, with numerous opportunities for clinical innovation, education, research, and leadership.
Working as a physician in the context of serious illness and end-of-life care is both challenging and rewarding. It involves facing profound personal and philosophical questions daily and guiding patients through some of life’s most critical moments. It is important to also maintain healthy boundaries, recognize our limitations and vulnerabilities, and derive deep meaning from every part of our workday.
Hospice and palliative medicine is a medical subspecialty that requires fellowship training following residency. Physicians from various specialties can pursue fellowship training in HPM, which lasts for one year. Upon completion, they can become board certified.
For additional details, visit AAHPM’s Clinical Training page.
One of the best ways to learn more is to join AAHPM! Membership is free for residents and medical students, and it comes with helpful benefits:
- Access to online learning materials and news updates related to HPM
- Opportunities to network and hear from communities within HPM using the AAHPM Connect online forum
Palliative medicine physicians provide care in various settings, including hospitals, hospices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities, catering to both adult and pediatric patients. Some practice in academic environments, while others focus on community care, visiting patients at home or through telemedicine. Effective palliative care relies on a team effort, typically involving physicians, nurses, social workers, and other specialists. Additionally, palliative medicine doctors frequently take on managerial or director roles in different healthcare organizations.
There are a multitude of career paths open to HPM physicians:
- In the hospital, HPM physicians may work on a consult service, supporting patients with complex symptom management and navigating difficult decision-making and conversations. They may also directly supervise patients in Palliative Care Units at some centers.
- Many HPM physicians follow a panel of patients in an outpatient clinic. Often this involves close collaboration with other specialties, such as oncology and neurology, who have patients with serious illness and have many palliative care needs (symptom management, decision-making support, etc.)
- HPM physicians may also work primarily with patients residing at home or a facility, as part of a community-based palliative care program or hospice. While working in hospice, HPM physicians may deliver care in an inpatient hospice unit, or have an opportunity for greater oversight of the organization’s clinical care or administration.
Additional Resources
Here is a compilation of resources curated by the AAHPM’s Medical Student and Resident Workgroup. Please note that this information is general in nature.
- Primer of Palliative Care, 7th Edition
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope by Robert Arnold, Anthony Back and James Tulksy
- The Best Care Possible by Ira Byock
- The Four Things that Matter Most by Ira Byock
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- Grief on the Front Lines: Reckoning with Trauma, Grief, and Humanity in Modern Medicine by Rachel Jones
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- AAHPM
- AAHPM Early Career Professionals SIG
- Palliative-Care-Academic
- Hashtag to follow/use: HPM
- Hashtag to follow/use: HAPC