General Information || Program Structure || Fellowship Application
The University of Pittsburgh, with the generous support of The Heinz Endowments and the Open Society Institute's Project on Death in America, offers the Senator H. John Heinz III Fellowship in Palliative Care Medicine. The fellowship program offers two options: A 1-year clinical fellowship is offered by the Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics of the University of Pittsburgh and includes a high-volume, interdisciplinary clinical program and the opportunity to receive a certificate in medical education. A 2-year fellowship option extends beyond the clinical year to prepare individuals for an academic career in the growing specialty of palliative medicine, enabling fellows to earn a master's degree either in medical education or clinical research.
This fellowship program has been fully accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
The 2-year program combines the palliative care program's own research and educational resources with the opportunities offered by the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Clinical Research Education's degree programs in clinical research and medical education. These programs provide fellows with didactic training in a broad spectrum of research and educational methodologies, technologies, and tools; exposure to multidisciplinary research and educational 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 hospice and palliative medicine fellows may pursue either a 1-year certificate in medical education or a 2-year master's degree in clinical research or medical education, with a special focus on palliative care.
The fellows' clinical experiences span our quaternary care transplant program, the region's largest cancer program and hospice program (Family Hospice and Palliative Care), as well as our children's and community hospitals. 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 will 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 5 months in the inpatient setting. At least 3 of these months will be spent at our main clinical sites, UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Shadyside, and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. The other 2 required inpatient months can be completed at any of these sites, based on the fellow's choice.
Home Care and Hospice. Fellows will gain extensive experience managing home care and hospice patients through time spent with Family Hospice and Palliative Care, the largest hospice program in western Pennsylvania. Fellows will spend 1 half-day a week in this setting and will spend 1 month doing hospice home visits and 6 weeks at an inpatient hospice facility.
Long-Term Care. Fellows will spend at least 1 month working in a variety of long-term care facilities.
Outpatient Clinic. Fellows will maintain their own outpatient clinic practice under the supervision of the palliative care faculty, spending at least 1 half-day a week for 12 months with either our HIV outpatient pain clinic or our cancer palliative care clinic.
Elective and Supplemental Clinical Experiences. Fellows will spend 3 months on clinical elective experiences. 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, behavioral medicine, HIV care, neurology, geriatrics, pain care, pediatrics, liver transplantation, critical care, cardiology, and pulmonary care and can easily be arranged in other areas of special interest.
The fellowship program is housed in the Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics and the Institute to Enhance Palliative Care, with more than 20 affiliated faculty. We have active research programs with millions in grant support and active relationships with educators and researchers in oncology, ethics, anesthesia, and geriatrics.
Interested individuals may complete an online application. For more information, 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
E-mail: rabob@pitt.edu
Or
Wendy Romeo
Fellowship Coordinator
Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics
MUH 932W
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: 412-864-3173
Fax: 412-692-4315
E-mail: romeowm@upmc.edu