Comprehensive Palliative Care Program

Palliative Care Fellowship

General Information
The University of Pittsburgh offers a Palliative Care Fellowship that will prepare individuals for an academic career in the growing specialty of Palliative Medicine. The two-year Palliative Care Fellowship will combine clinical training offered by the Comprehensive Palliative Care Program of the University of Pittsburgh, a high-volume, multidisciplinary clinical program, with rigorous training in clinical research.

Program Structure
This fellowship program will conform to the guidelines of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine with respect to patient care and will combine the palliative care programs’ own research resources with the opportunities offered by the University of Pittsburgh Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP).

The Clinical Research Training Program will provide our fellows with didactic training in a broad spectrum of research methodologies, technologies, and tools; exposure to multidisciplinary research teams, hands-on mentored experience in conducting patient-oriented research; and the conceptual and writing skills necessary to submit competitive grant applications for successful, long-term patient-oriented research careers. Depending on their level of interest and commitment, our palliative care trainees may pursue either a one-year Certificate in Clinical Research within the CRTP or a two-year Masters Degree in Clinical Research, with special focus and application in palliative care research.

Clinical Program
The clinical focus of the fellowship is on acquiring skills in providing comprehensive care to patients with life-limiting illnesses in acute care, ambulatory care, home care, and long-term care settings. Fellows will spend substantial time in each of these settings and follow patients longitudinally as they move between different settings. The role of the physician as a member of an interdisciplinary care team will be emphasized in all clinical settings and encounters. The individual aspects of the clinical program are described below.

Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service

Fellows will spend a minimum of four months in the inpatient setting. At least two of these months will be spent at our main clinical sites, UPMC Montefiore and UPMC Presbyterian. The other two required inpatient months and any additional inpatients months elected can be completed at UPMC Montifiore and UPMC Presbyterian or at one of our other clinical sites.

Home Care and Hospice

Fellows will gain extensive experience managing home care and hospice patients through time spent with the Family Hospice and Palliative Care Program. In Year 1 of the program, fellows will spend one half-day per week in this setting from September through June. In Year 2 fellows may elect either one half-day in this setting throughout the year, or one half-day per week throughout the year in the outpatient setting.

Outpatient Clinic

In Year 1 fellows will maintain their own outpatient clinic practice under the supervision of the Palliative Care faculty, spending at least one half-day per week from September through June. In Year 2 fellows may elect to maintain this schedule or, as noted above, they may elect to spend one half-day per week in hospice and home care.

Elective and Supplemental Clinical Experiences

Fellows will spend at least one month on a clinical elective experience. Additional elective time is available to individual fellows based on their own needs and interests. Formal elective experiences are available in Ethics, Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Psychiatry, HIV, Neurology, Geriatrics, Pain, Pediatrics, Liver Transplantation, Critical Care, Cardiology, and Pulmonary and can easily be arranged in other areas of special interest.

Fellowship Application

Application Requirements
Interested applicants should contact:
Robert M. Arnold, MD
University of Pittsburgh
Fellowship Director
Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics
MUH 932W
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: 412-692-4834
Fax: 412-692-4315
Email: rabob@pitt.edu