Pre-Conference Workshops

The SOTS Symposium will be offered as a full-day pre-conference, featuring networking, research methodologies, career and funding workshops. Selected scientific abstracts will be presented throughout Assembly (oral and poster) including the Saturday plenary.

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This intensive full-day workshop led by national hospice medicine faculty leaders is designed to explore and further develop the skills needed to successfully navigate today’s hospice environment. This immersive review will serve as part of your preparation for the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board (HMDCB) exam and is based on the exam blueprint. The workshop also serves as a great orientation for those new to the hospice field or as a critical update for all hospice practitioners and managers.

Faculty will address systems-based practice implications of:

1. Eligibility, Certification, F2F, Narratives
2. Medical Leadership, Communication & Professionalism
3. Prognostication and Relatedness
4. Hospice Regulation, Regulatory and Compliance Issues: ADRs, QI, COPs, physician billing, etc.
5. Ethics
6. Test Prep Questions and Knowledge Checks

LEARING OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

1. Apply hospice eligibility criteria, certification requirements, and documentation practices (e.g., F2F, narratives) to ensure regulatory compliance and high-quality care.
2. Demonstrate effective medical leadership and interdisciplinary communication skills to support professional and team-based hospice practice.
3. Integrate clinical reasoning and prognostication strategies to assess terminal prognosis and determine condition relatedness for hospice eligibility.
4. Utilize structured self-assessment and practice questions to evaluate exam readiness and target areas for continued study aligned with the HMDCB blueprint.

This full-day preconference offers an in-depth, case-based exploration of complex pharmacologic strategies essential to expert-level hospice and palliative care. Building on foundational knowledge, faculty will guide participants through advanced applications of symptom management, including nuanced opioid titration, safe and effective use of adjuvant analgesics, deprescribing in multimorbidity, and pharmacologic considerations in organ dysfunction. Special attention will be given to controversial and evolving areas of practice. Through interactive scenarios, expert panel discussion, and real-world clinical challenges, participants will refine their pharmacologic decision-making and strengthen their ability to tailor therapy for patients with complex needs.

This is a must-attend session for experienced clinicians seeking to elevate pharmacologic competence, apply the latest evidence and expert consensus to practice, and contribute to safer, more effective medication management across care settings.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Apply advanced strategies for opioid rotation, titration, and breakthrough dosing in complex clinical scenarios.
2. Recommend appropriate use of adjuvant medications for refractory symptoms such as neuropathic pain, anxiety, and dyspnea.
3. Adjust pharmacologic regimens for patients with renal and hepatic dysfunction to optimize efficacy and minimize harm.
4. Evaluate the role of ketamine, buprenorphine, and cannabinoids in individualized pain and symptom management plans.
5. Implement deprescribing strategies for polypharmacy in patients with limited prognosis and high symptom burden.
6. Collaborate effectively across disciplines to ensure safe and coordinated pharmacologic care in diverse hospice and palliative settings.

This immersive half day PreCon in collaboration with the ACGME is designed to build essential skills in feedback by using direct observation.

Participants will explore evidence-based frameworks, engage in hands-on practice, and reflect on their approaches to assessment and coaching. Participants will explore the uses and challenges of direct observation, performance dimension training and the ADAPT model for effective feedback. An interactive segment includes small group formation, role-playing scenarios, and a final debrief to consolidate learning and share insights.

This preconference is designed for hospice and palliative care clinicians who manage pharmacotherapeutic regimens across diverse patient populations with serious illness. Participants will deepen their knowledge of pain physiology, opioid use disorder (OUD), and pharmacologic decision-making across care settings.

The purpose of this session is to equip clinicians with the clinical reasoning and risk mitigation strategies needed to manage pain safely and effectively in patients at risk for or living with OUD. Through evidence-informed didactics, case-based discussions, and interactive problem-solving, learners will gain a deeper understanding of comprehensive pain assessment, individualized care planning, and the evolving role of opioids and alternative therapies in serious illness care.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Analyze the origin(s) and types of pain as they relate to pain management and opioid use disorder (OUD).
2. Fully assess persons experiencing pain, including risk for OUD.
3. Implement safe and effective pain management plans using nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic (non-opioid or opioid) options.
4. Partner with patients to reduce risks when taking opioid therapy.
5. This session is ideal for physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, and interdisciplinary clinicians seeking to advance their expertise in safe and effective pharmacotherapy in serious illness care.

Shuffle the deck and elevate your leadership game! In this hands-on session, palliative care professionals will explore the art of leadership through the strategic lens of poker. Just as poker players assess risks, make critical decisions under pressure, and understand the importance of reading people, attendees will learn to enhance their leadership skills in complex clinical environments. Participants will engage in interactive activities that draw parallels between poker strategies and leadership tactics, such as calculating risks, managing team dynamics, and maintaining a “poker face” in challenging situations. By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with innovative tools and insights to lead with confidence and decisiveness in the high-stakes world of palliative care. This session concludes with some non-cash poker play. Come ready to learn and use new skills at the poker table.

Starting and growing palliative care clinics can be exciting and rewarding but also frustrating and isolating without guidance, support and community. Learn from experienced outpatient clinicians and the latest research to lead an efficient clinic, educate staff and learners, and care for complex patients and families.

This session focuses on starting, sustaining and growing clinic-based outpatient palliative care programs as well as clinical outpatient direct patient care management. Review of the latest research in outpatient palliative care alongside best practices from clinics across the country will be shared through didactics, small group work and networking.

Our target audience includes program leaders, physicians, fellows, nurses, nurse practitioners, PAs, social workers, pharmacists, and researchers.

Major topics covered:

• Leadership (starting and growing clinics, managing the team, engaging partnerships & stakeholders)
• Education (incorporating fellows, fellow curriculum, non-fellow learners, onboarding staff)
• Clinical (insurance, opioid prescribing, OUD, survivorship, non-cancer populations)
• Operations (metrics, billing, patient panel, clinic structure, interdisciplinary team practice)”

Care of adult patients with hematologic or oncologic malignancies is increasingly complex. Hospice and palliative care (HPC) clinicians are asked to care for them early in the course of care, based on evidence that early palliative care improves survival, symptoms, mood, cost, and patient & caregiver satisfaction. To ensure success of upstream involvement, HPC clinicians must be equipped to competently care for these patients and “speak the language” of the hematologist/oncologist and radiation oncologist, particularly in the outpatient setting.

This session will provide HPC clinicians the essentials needed to approach the care of these patients, including terminology, systemic treatment options (chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, CAR-T cell therapy), prognostic uncertainty, radiotherapy, expected side effects of treatments, and the unique characteristics of hematologic malignancies.

The session will target attendees’ specific needs and questions, with real-time adjustment of the curriculum to fulfill their goals and provide appropriate resources. This session is informed by eight years of workshops with improvements based on participant feedback. Upon completion of this session, HPC clinicians will have the tools necessary to develop an approach to the care of patients with hematologic or oncologic malignancies along the continuum of cancer care.”

The art museum space offers a distinctive approach to cultivating core competencies in hospice and palliative care. In clinical practice, providers must engage in deep observation, self-reflection, and awareness of personal values and biases while navigating emotionally complex, ethically nuanced, and ambiguous situations. Immersive experiences with art in a museum setting can enrich these skills, fostering connection, insight, and renewal.

This experiential, small-group pre-conference workshop—held at the San Diego Museum of Art—invites participants to engage with art as a medium for building professional insight, team cohesion, and emotional renewal. Through facilitated inquiry and reflection, learners will explore themes such as implicit bias, social advocacy, interprofessional collaboration, moral distress, joy, and tolerance of ambiguity. Participants will also examine how art museum-based techniques can be adapted and applied to educational and clinical settings within their own institutions to support personal and professional development and flourishing.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Demonstrate enhanced observational and reflective skills by engaging in structured activities with visual art to explore values, biases, and emotional responses central to palliative care practice.
2. Apply art museum-based teaching strategies to promote interprofessional collaboration and team building in their own clinical or educational settings.
3. Integrate concepts of flourishing into their daily practice using visual arts-based methods as a foundation for personal and team renewal.

Join nationally recognized subject matter experts for this interactive session on the myths and tasks of communication, empathic listening, responding to emotions, the role of culture in effective communication, and assessing personal values related to communication interactions. The education will integrate personal reflection and small group activities.

The session will conclude with a simulated care conference, including a pre-meeting for the healthcare team, where learners will apply the education and skills taught. Real-time suggestions will be provided by the learners to the actors during the simulation.

Step into the future of palliative care with this must-attend pre-conference workshop! This session will delve into practical applications of AI to enhance patient care, streamline workflows, and support clinical decision-making. Participants will engage in interactive discussions and learn how AI can be leveraged to improve symptom management, predict care needs, and foster personalized, compassionate care delivery. Discover real-world case studies, ethical considerations, and best practices to effectively integrate AI into your palliative care practice while maintaining the human touch at the heart of care.

Join this thought-provoking pre-conference session as we tackle some of the most controversial and impactful issues in palliative care today: Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) and Voluntary Stop Eating and Drinking (VSED). This session offers a deep dive into the ethical, legal, and practical dimensions of these practices. Through case studies, expert-led discussions, and interactive scenarios, participants will examine the nuances of patient autonomy, caregiver roles, and the evolving landscape of end-of-life care. Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to navigate these sensitive conversations with compassion, clarity, and confidence.

Elevate your clinical expertise with this dynamic pre-conference workshop on advanced symptom management techniques! Explore the latest advancements in pharmacologic interventions, including the use of ketamine and buprenorphine, and analyze in-setting case studies for symptom relief from early palliative care to end-of-life stages. With a focus on practical applications, this session will offer actionable insights to improve patient comfort. Join experts and peers to refine your skills and enhance your care approach with innovative, patient-centered solutions.