Colorado Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program
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The Colorado Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program provides comprehensive
palliative care education and clinical experiences for physicians seeking to
specialize in hospice and palliative medicine. Primary fellowship training
consists of a one year, clinically focused experience, with an optional second
year of mentored research training for those interested in an academic medical
career.
The Colorado Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program provides fellows with
insight and skill in the assessment and management of patients with
life-limiting illnesses in varied inpatient and outpatient community settings.
Upon completion of the fellowship, participants will demonstrate proficiency in
all aspects of hospice and palliative medicine including:
- End-of-life communication
- Ethical and legal decision
making
- Pain in cancer and non-cancer
patients
- Management of non-pain
symptoms
- Medical and neuro-psychiatric
co-morbidities in advanced illness
- Psychosocial and spiritual
support
- Death and dying across
cultures
- Bereavement support for the
family
- Palliative care quality
improvement and research methodology
- Hospice and palliative
approach to care
- Interdisciplinary team work
The Program consists of four key components: 1) Clinical Training, 2) Core
Knowledge and Skills Development, 3) Clinical Teaching Skills Development, and
4) Introduction to Research and Quality Improvement.
Clinical Training
The Colorado Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program represents the
collaborative efforts of prominent health care organizations: University of Colorado
at Denver Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC), University of Colorado Hospital
(UCH), the Veteran’s Administration Eastern Colorado Health Care System
(VA), Kaiser Permanente (KP)/ St. Joe’s Hospital (SJH), Hospice of Metro
Denver (HMD), Life Quality Institute (LQI), and Evercare (EC). Palliative
medicine fellows receive clinical training in diverse settings guided by
faculty with varied backgrounds, and have the opportunity to provide continuity
across a continuum of locales and service models as a result of the
inter-relationships between these organizations.
Clinical Training Summary (example)
|
Training Area
|
Locations
|
Time
|
|
Inpatient palliative care
|
UCH and VA (palliative care consultation)
KP/ St. Joe’s Hospital (consults/ inpatient unit)
HMD inpatient facility
|
Two months
Two months
Two months
|
|
Hospice and Home care
|
HMD home care
HMD nursing home/assisted living facility
|
One month full-time + ½ day/wk
One month
|
|
Long-term care (LTC)
|
Evercare
|
One month
|
|
Home-based palliative care
|
KP Outpatient Palliative Care Services
HMD Pathways Palliative Care Consultation
LQI Pathways Palliative Care Management
VA Home-based Primary Care
|
One month
|
|
Ambulatory palliative care
|
Community-based Total Long-term Care (PACE) OR Chronic Care
Clinic OR HMD Interdisciplinary Team
|
6 months of fellowship, ½ day/wk
|
|
Electives
|
Ethics consultation, Integrative Medicine, Geriatrics,
Geri-Oncology, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, HIV,
Rad-Oncology, Pulmonary/Critical Care, Cardiology, Neurology, Research and
Quality Improvement and others
|
Two months
|
Core Knowledge and Skills Development
Program faculty provides instruction on core topics in palliative medicine
through weekly Palliative Care Conferences. Sessions include a combination of
didactic lecture, interactive small group workshops, role play and standardized
patient exercises. Palliative medicine fellows also participate in (and
periodically facilitate) monthly Palliative Care Journal Club on the oncology
inpatient unit at UCH. Through this experience, fellows develop skills in the
critical interpretation and translation of palliative care medical literature.
Clinical Teaching Skills Development
Fellows of the Colorado Program receive training designed to improve
participants teaching and feedback skills. In addition to video-taped teaching and
role play sessions, fellows are provided opportunities for structured practice
of teaching skills with internal medicine residents, family medicine residents,
medical students, nurses and other interdisciplinary providers. Through the
Life Quality Institute and the Colorado Hospital Outreach Program, fellows
engage in palliative care outreach education for Colorado’s rural communities.
Introduction to Research and Quality Improvement
Through didactic and interactive sessions and focused mentorship, palliative
medicine fellows receive introductory instruction in research and quality
improvement methods. Although not required, the Program strongly encourages all
fellows to complete a scholarly research or quality improvement project during
the one-year training program. Such opportunities are readily available through
core faculty and ongoing projects within the Population-based Palliative Care
Research Network (PoPCRN) – an award-winning, national practice-based
research network of hospice and palliative care organizations. Fellows who
desire an academic career in palliative medicine are encouraged to complete at
least two years of training (dependent on funding availability) and are
required to successfully complete and publish a mentored research project.
Eligibility Requirements
- Completion of an
ACGME-approved residency program.
- Board-certified or
Board-eligible in primary discipline.
- Eligible for a Colorado
Medical License and DEA certification (at entry).
- UCHSC encourages applications
from women and minority candidates.
Application Process
We are currently accepting applications for July 2008. Please provide the
following materials:
- Fellowship Application Form
- Curriculum Vitae
- One-page statement of
fellowship goals
- Three letters of
recommendation
- Medical school diploma and
transcripts
- USMLE scores
Send materials to the following address:
Diane Nash, Program Coordinator
University of Colorado Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Department of Family Medicine
UCDHSC
AO1, L15, 3rd floor, Mail Stop F496
P.O. Box 6511
Aurora, CO 80045
Phone: (303) 724-9755
Fax: (303) 724-9747
Email: diane.nash@ucdenver.edu
For additional information or further inquiries, please contact Drs. Nowels
or Youngwerth at:
David.Nowels@UCHSC.edu
Jean.Youngwerth@UCHSC.edu