Course Faculty and Schedule
This course is planned for in-person attendance with supplemental on-demand self-study accredited activities for comprehensive learning included in the course content.
Meet the Faculty
Kimberly A. Curseen, MD FAAHPM
Course Director
Dr. Curseen is Associate Professor, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. In addition, she is the Director of Supportive and Palliative Care Outpatient Services for Emory Healthcare and the director and primary provider for the Supportive Oncology Clinic.
Dr. Curseen is Board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care and serves as co-chair of the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee for Emory School of Medicine. She serves as the AAHPM representative to the ACGME Health Equity Project in addition to serving on the AAHPM Board of Directors. Dr. Curseen currently sits on the board of the Georgia Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and is co-chair of the Georgia Cancer Consortium Palliative Care Working Group.
Joseph W. Shega, MD
Course Director
Dr. Shega is board certified in Geriatric and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and maintains an academic appointment at the University of Central Florida as an Associate Professor of Medicine. The first 15 years of his career was in academic medicine at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago doing clinical care, education, and research including NIH funding around serious illness and dementia care. For the past 10 years, Dr. Shega has practiced in Central Florida and serves as the chief medical officer for VITAS Healthcare.
In his current role, Dr. Shega has been instrumental in adapting a "mobile first" platform to bring technology to the bedside in patients homes to improve clinical care through enhanced clinical documentation, medication management, care coordination, and most recently virtual reality as an alternative treatment modality. Also, he has spearheaded efforts to integrate clinical research as a core pillar at VITAS. He has been appointed and serves on the National Academy of Medicine Roundtable on Quality Care for Persons with Serious Illness representing the American Geriatrics Society.
Dr. Shega is co-managing editor for the Essential Practices in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications focusing on the care of persons with serious illness. He works with medical trainees across the state of Florida including at the University of Central Florida, Veterans Administration, and HCA to create an ACGME accredited fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine as well as faculty for the fellowship at Naples Community Hospital.
In 2024, Dr. Shega received the Josefina B. Mango Distinguished Hospice Physician Award from AAHPM due to his dedicated to the practice of palliative medicine in the hospice setting.
Paul L. DeSandre, DO FAAHPM
In-Person Course Faculty
Dr. DeSandre is the Chief of Palliative and Supportive Care at Grady Memorial Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Division of Palliative Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
His interests include developing primary Palliative Care skills in Emergency Medicine, creating collaborative opportunities for Palliative Care clinicians and Organ Donation clinicians to improve end-of-life care, and using visual arts and humanities to support critical thinking and well-being among healthcare professionals.
He has served on the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Test Writing Taskforce for the American Board of Internal Medicine. At Emory University, he is the former Program Director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program and teaches and currently provides the Palliative Medicine didactic and clinical curricula for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program.
He serves as regular faculty for both the NCI-sponsored program Education in Palliative and End of Life Care-Emergency Medicine and the Master of Science in Palliative Medicine program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He is also the editor of the Oxford University Press book “Palliative Aspects of Emergency Care.”
He has served on the National Donor Management Leadership Council for The Organ Donation and Transplantation Leadership Alliance and is the current Chair of the Professional Development and Clinical Practice Committee for LifeLink of Georgia.
He is a recent alumnus and faculty of the Harvard Macy Institute Fellowship in Art-Museum-based Health Professions Education and is certified in Advanced Visual Thinking Strategies. Dr. DeSandre is honored to bring the arts and humanities to healthcare professionals locally, regionally, and nationally.
Alex Gamble, MD
In-Person Course Faculty
Dr. Gamble is board certified in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine, completing residency training at the University of Iowa and fellowship at the University of Kansas before going on to practice in rural and urban settings in his home state of Missouri. He is excited to be joining the faculty of Stanford Palliative Care this summer.
Jessica McFarlin, MD
In-Person Course Faculty
Dr. McFarlin is an Associate Professor of Neurolgy at the Univeristy of Kentucky. She is the Chief of the University of Kentucky Division of Palliative and Supportive Care in the Department of Internal Medicine.The mission of the division is to increase patient access to palliative care and create educational opportunities for healthcare providers throughout the Bluegrass.
She received her medical degree from the University of Kentucky. Jessica then completed her residency and dual fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. She is board certified in Neurology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine as well as Neuro Critical Care. Her current research interests include symptomatic management of agitation in dementia and the role of hope in patients living with chronic cancers. She enjoys any live music and fried chicken.
Bethany Cox Snider, MD HMDC FAAHPM
In-Person Course Faculty
Dr. Snider is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Hosparus Health, a not-for-profit, community-based hospice and palliative care organization providing care to over 2400 patients daily across Kentucky and Indiana.
Dr. Snider earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky followed by residency training in internal medicine at the University of Kentucky, where she served as Chief Resident of the primary care track. She then pursued a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship with Hospice of the Bluegrass (now Bluegrass Care Navigators). Dr. Snider joined Hosparus Health directly out of fellowship as associate medical director and oversaw home hospice training for all fellows. he was first promoted to Senior Medical Director and then Chief Medical Officer in February of 2018. Dr. Snider’s special interests lie in outreach and education of the community along with development of novel programs to optimize the patient experience.
She is currently serving as chair of the Strategic Coordinating Committee for Workforce and Career Development for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), member of the AAHPM Hospice Medicine Council and is serving a second, 3-year term on the Kentucky Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Advisory Council as appointed by the Governor. he was also recently named one of AAHPM’s Emerging Leaders in the field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Most Admired Woman in Healthcare by Today’s Woman magazine, Adjunct Faculty of the year by UofL medical students, and Top 40 under 40 by Louisville Business First magazine. r. Snider was born and raised in Kentucky and lives there with her husband John and their children John Mark and Elizabeth.
Gregg Vandekieft, MD MA FAAFP FAAHPM
In-Person Course Faculty
Dr. VandeKieft is an inpatient palliative care consultant, hospice medical director, and clinical ethicist in Olympia, WA. He previously cared for patients in an outpatient palliative care clinic and spent 20 years practicing full-spectrum Family Medicine, both in a small-town private practice and in academic practices in a university medical center and a community-hospital residency program. He is Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Washington.
He completed the University of Washington’s Certificate Program in Health Care Ethics, Michigan State University’s masters program in Health and Humanities, and Harvard Medical School’s Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice. He has served in numerous leadership roles within AAHPM. Dr. VandeKieft received the 2018 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award in the Senior Physician category and the 2017 Stuart J. Farber Award for Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Care from the Washington State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Myra Varnado, BS RN CWON CFCN
Supplemental Self-Study Content Faculty
Myra Varnado has been a Certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse for over 20 years, having graduated from Emory University’s WOC Nursing Education Program. She lives in New Orleans and serves as the Director of Clinical Services for Corstrata, a Wound and Ostomy Telehealth company based in Savannah, GA.
Ms. Varnado provides wound and ostomy education programs for health care providers in a variety of settings both nationally and internationally. Ms. Varnado has provided extensive clinical education related to wound care for the for the palliative and hospice patient including a pre-conference workshop at the Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association’s Clinical Practice Forum.
As a member of the WOCN Society Wound Guidelines Task Force for the past 20 years, she writes the evidence-based guidelines for the Management of Wounds in Patients with Pressure Injury, Lower Extremity Venous and Arterial Disease, and Neuropathic/Diabetic Foot Disease and is the primary author of the WOCN Clinical Practice Guideline: “Management of Wounds in Patients with Lower Extremity Neuropathic Disease.”
Additionally, Ms. Varnado has published numerous wound-related papers on topics including Diabetes Charcot foot management, frostbite, biofilm, telemedicine and tissue-based products. She also participated on the Technical Advisory Panel for the development of the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) Wound Management Best Practice Intervention Package (BPIP).
Schedule*
Times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST).
*The schedule is subject to change.
Wednesday, August 7
4-6 pm
Registration/Opening Reception
Thursday, August 8
6 am-6 pm
Registration
1-1:15 pm
Welcome & Course Overview
Joe Shega and Kim Curseen - Course Directors
1:15-2 pm
Overview of Test Taking Strategies
Faculty Team
2-3 pm
Prognostication and Natural History of Serious and Complex Illness
Jessica McFarlin
3-3:30 pm
Afternoon Break and Reflection Faculty Connection
3:30-4:30 pm
Medicare Hospice Benefit
Bethany Cox Snider
4:30-5:30 pm
Knowledge Check Mock Exam Questions and Faculty Engagement Discussions
Joe Shega, Kim Curseen, Jessica McFarlin, and Bethany Cox Snider
Friday, August 9
8-8:45 am
GI Symptoms Part 1: Managing Suffering and Distress
Joe Shega
8:45-9:45 am
Pain Part 1: Comprehensive Whole Person Assessment
Kim Curseen
9:45-10 am
Morning Break and Reflection
10-10:45 am
Concepts of Suffering: Whole Person Assessment
Alex Gamble
10:45 am-noon
Impending Death and the Death Event
Paul DeSandre
Noon-1:30 pm
Lunch on your own
1:30-2:30 pm
Palliative Care Emergencies and Refractory Symptom Management
Paul DeSandre
2:30-3:30 pm
Respiratory Symptoms: Managing Suffering and Distress
Jessica McFarlin,
3:30-3:45 pm
Afternoon Break and Reflection
3:45-4:45 pm
Ethical and Legal Aspects of Care
Gregg VandeKieft
4:45-5:30 pm
Knowledge Check Mock Exam Questions and Faculty Engagement Discussions
Joe Shega, Kim Curseen, Alex Gamble, Paul DeSandre and Gregg VandeKieft
Saturday, August 10
8-9:45 am
Pain Part 2: Managing Suffering and Distress
Kim Curseen
9:45-10 am
Morning Break and Reflection
10-10:45 am
Management of Medical Interventions
Gregg VandeKieft
10:45 am-noon
GI Symptoms Part 2: Suffering and Distress
Joe Shega
Noon-1pm
Lunch on your own
1-2:30 pm
Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Care: Suffering and Distress
Alex Gamble
2:30-3:30 pm
Rapid Fire Exam Questions: Test Your Knowledge
Faculty Team
3:30 pm
Course Reflections and Wrap-up
Joe Shega and Kim Curseen
Supplemental On-Demand Self-Study Content
Additional on-demand course content is available to registered attendees beginning July 1, to support content not addressed in the in-person course and included in the ABIM Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blueprint.
This on-demand content will be available through September 30, 2024, as part of the registration fee for the in-person course and is developed by national faculty subject matter experts and are accredited for both CME and MOC award.
Management of Medical Interventions for Cancer Related Symptoms - 1.0 CME/MOC
Faculty Invitation
Grief, Loss, and Bereavement - 1.0 CME/MOC
Dani Chammas
High-Yield Pediatrics - 1.0 CME/MOC
Michael Barnett
HPM Exam Potpourri - 1.0 CME/MOC
Jimi Malik
- Interdisciplinary Teamwork
- Quality
- Professionalism and Compliance
- Consultation and Co-management
Palliative Wound Care: Principles and Practice - 1.0 CME/MOC
Myra Varnado, Alicia Jenkins and Jan Cuzzell
Test-Taking Like a Pro - 0.75 CME/MOC
Eric Widera