Fellowship program in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
The Palliative Care Program at Penn is dedicated to training future leaders in hospice and palliative medicine. Our fellowship offers a strong core curriculum complemented by individualized learning experiences tailored to each fellow’s career goals. Fellows train across within the University of Pennsylvania Health System and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, working within interdisciplinary teams and alongside expert faculty. Intensive training in advanced communication skills and nuanced symptom management provides each fellow with the skills they need to provide exceptional, patient-centered care for individuals with complex and serious illnesses.
In addition to core clinical training, we partner with each fellow to design a personalized educational pathway. Through electives, dedicated mentorship, and a comprehensive didactic program, fellows are connected to the extensive resources and expertise available across Penn. Through this fellows gain leadership skills, expertise as clinical educators, and opportunities to pursue scholarly work. We also emphasize professional and personal well-being through a longitudinal wellness and self-care curriculum.
We welcome applicants from a wide range of medical and surgical specialties. Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine board examination. We encourage you to explore our website and reach out with any questions about our program or about life in Philadelphia.
We offer multiple ACGME-accredited Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship training programs:
- Traditional fellowship program
Our traditional fellowship program is a one-year program open to applicants who have trained in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. Three physicians are accepted into the program per year. - Mid-career fellowship program
Our mid-career fellowship program is a competency-based, time-variable program that allows physicians to pursue fellowship training while maintaining their existing clinical and professional roles and responsibilities. This fellowship is currently limited to existing Penn Medicine physicians. - Radiation oncology track
Our Radiation Oncology track is an integrated educational program for highly-qualified recent graduates or mid-career physicians who completed residency training in radiation oncology. The one-year program offers additional experiences in palliative and spine stereotactic radiotherapy, with significant complex re-irradiation case volume. The program meets all requirements for Board eligibility in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, offering the opportunity for dual certification. New residency graduates will be able to sit for both Radiation Oncology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine initial certification exams in the same year. One physician will be accepted to the program each year. This program is not filled through the NRMP match and recruitment occurs on a rolling basis. Please reach out directly with additional questions or to express interest.
For more information, please reach out to:
Kathryn A. McGrath, MD
Program Director
Please explore our website to learn more about our program. We welcome questions by email, HPMFellowshipProgram@uphs.upenn.edu.
Leadership
Kathryn A. McGrath, MD
Program Director
Email: Kathryn.McGrath@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Lindsay Haines MD, MSHP
Associate Program Director
Email: Lindsay.Haines@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Janet Long
Program Coordinator
Email: Janet.Long@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship program at the University of Pennsylvania prides itself on recruiting and training fellows with a variety of clinical experiences and backgrounds.
Post-residency physician applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Completion of an ACGME or AOA-accredited residency program in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, radiation oncology or surgery
- Board-certification in primary specialty or board-eligibility with pursuit of certification
- Demonstration of interest in a career in palliative medicine with experience in education, clinical leadership or research
Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) system beginning in the summer one year prior to the program start. Interviews will be offered electronically and conducted virtually in the early fall. Positions are awarded through the National Resident Match Program (NRMP) match process.
Completed applications should include:
- A personal statement
- Three letters of support including at least one letter from the applicant’s residency program director or Department Chair/Division Chief
- Score reports from USMLE Step 1, 2 and 3
- A curriculum vitae
- Medical school transcripts and MSPE
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania aims to train future academic clinicians by providing them with a breadth of clinical and educational experiences:
- Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service. Fellows spend approximately six months rotating with the interdisciplinary consult teams at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
- Outpatient Clinic. Fellows spent 1/2 day per week in either the outpatient Supportive Oncology Clinic at Abramson Cancer Center the specialty palliative care clinic at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. Fellows are paired with a faculty member and follow patients longitudinally in the ambulatory setting for the length of their training.
- 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 Hospice and at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
- 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.
- Additional Experiences. 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 and a radiation oncology elective highlights the role of radiation in complex symptom management. Fellows also participate in an embedded ICU palliative care rotation in a combined medical and cardiac intensive care unit. while rotating at the VA.
- Electives. Fellows are supported in the development of elective experiences based on their career interests and personal learning goals. This may include spending time with Penn palliative care teams outside of our main training sites or learning from other specialty teams who help care for our patients.
- Well-being Curriculum. Fellows participate in experiential group sessions to discuss the important issues of self-care, burnout, and resilience.
Scholarly Activities & Didactics
- Quality Improvement & Scholarly Projects. Fellows have dedicated time throughout the year for scholarly pursuits. Fellows participate in ongoing quality improvement work within the Palliative Care Program . Mentorship is provided to fellows to assist with identifying and executing an individual project. Many fellows have presented their scholarly work at national conferences or published manuscripts in peer reviewed journals.
- Didactics. Fellows from Penn and CHOP meet regularly throughout the year for formal didactic education. Topics range from symptom management to spiritual care to care for specialized populations. Fellows also receive dedicated communication skills training through afternoon workshops and multi-day retreats. In the second half of the year, fellows lead journal club sessions and give lectures on topics of interest. A formal “Fellow as Educator” series prepares fellows to teach palliative care skills to students and residents.
- Weekly conference. 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.
Mentorship
- Beginning in July of fellowship year, fellows are paired with two faculty mentors to help support their growth as physicians and leaders. Mentors will be selected from across the university based on a fellow's career interests and goals.
- Fellows will participate in semi-structured peer-mentoring with other fellows.