Hospice and Palliative Medicine – Curriculum

The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine’s hospice and palliative medicine fellowship program is a one-year fellowship divided into 13 four-week block rotations. The blocks include a mixture of inpatient and outpatient rotations organized to provide education in the hospital, hospice and ambulatory setting.

The fellowship includes protected time weekly for a continuity clinic in palliative medicine. There will also be time weekly that is dedicated to lectures and monthly journal clubs. The call schedule includes a week of home-based night call during all inpatient rotations and four weekends of work during in-patient rotations annually.

The goal is to optimize the education that can be provided within one year and the well-being of the fellow, allowing plenty of personal time. The early portion of training is focused on the foundation of hospice and palliative medicine with high-volume exposure to the in-patient consult and in-patient hospice settings and the second half of the year allows for opportunities for elective options.

Fellows will conduct one quality improvement or research project during their training, supported by the guidance of the faculty mentors.

 

Hospital Consults 22 Weeks
Inpatient Hospice 6 Weeks
Home Hospice 2 Weeks
Outpatient Palliative Care 4 Weeks
LTAC 2 Weeks
Oncology 2 Weeks
ICU 2 Weeks
Hospice Administration 2 Weeks
Pediatrics 2 Weeks
Research/QI 2 Weeks
Electives 6 Weeks

 

Conferences and Lectures

Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from weekly didactic sessions provided by our experienced faculty, covering essential topics in hospice and palliative medicine.  Didactics will often be centered around textbook reading or paired with key articles in palliative medicine.  Other educational opportunities include:

  • Grand Rounds Weekly
  • Journal Club Monthly – A member of the Texas Consortium
  • Board Review Questions
  • Reading of books commonly referenced in the field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Mentoring

Fellows will be assigned a faculty mentor with whom they will meet with throughout the year of training to assist in providing guidance in their training experience as well as to discuss potential career plans upon completion of training.