Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
The Pediatric Palliative Care and Hospice Program is inviting applications for its one-year, ACGME-accredited Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship.
This fellowship offers a unique opportunity to develop expertise in the compassionate care of pediatric patients with life-threatening and complex conditions, while providing vital support to their families and caregivers. We are seeking a fellow who is passionate about enhancing their skills in pediatric palliative care and hospice, with a focus on symptom management, comprehensive treatment planning, and addressing such aspects of care as psychosocial, cultural, legal, ethical, and spiritual needs of both patients and families. Graduates satisfy the American Academy of Pediatrics requirements for certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
- Develop Expertise in Pediatric Palliative Care
- Enhance Symptom Management Skills
- Cultivate Advanced Communication Abilities
- Prepare for Varied Clinical Environments
- Promote Interdisciplinary Collaboration
- Support Professional Growth and Leadership in Pediatric Palliative Care
- Commit to Cultural Competence and Sensitivity
- Emphasize Ethical Decision-Making and Advocacy
What You Need to Know
Program Aims for the Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
- Develop Expertise in Pediatric Palliative Care: Equip fellows with the clinical knowledge and skills required to manage the complex, multi-faceted needs of pediatric patients with life-limiting conditions, ensuring the provision of compassionate and individualized care.
- Enhance Symptom Management Skills: Provide fellows with the tools to assess and effectively manage the unique physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms experienced by pediatric patients, focusing on improving quality of life and comfort.
- Cultivate Advanced Communication Abilities: Train fellows to develop strong, empathetic communication skills necessary for engaging with pediatric patients, families, and interdisciplinary care teams, especially in challenging and emotionally sensitive circumstances.
- Prepare for Varied Clinical Environments: Provide fellows with the experience and training necessary to care for pediatric patients across a range of settings, including home care, inpatient units, and intensive care units, ensuring that they are prepared to manage patients at different stages of illness.
- Promote Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Cultivate the ability to work within multidisciplinary teams, including physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other healthcare professionals, to deliver comprehensive care that addresses the medical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of patients and families.
- Support Professional Growth and Leadership in Pediatric Palliative Care: Encourage fellows to pursue leadership roles within the field, offering mentorship and development opportunities that promote the advancement of pediatric palliative care through research, advocacy, and innovation.
- Commit to Cultural Competence and Sensitivity: Foster an understanding of and sensitivity to various cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic backgrounds, ensuring that care is personalized and respectful of the unique values and needs of each family and patient.
- Emphasize Ethical Decision-Making and Advocacy: Guide fellows in navigating complex ethical issues and advocating for appropriate, compassionate care at the end of life, while ensuring that the patient’s dignity and family’s wishes are respected.
Curriculum
As part of the Advanced Illness Management team, Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows engage in a comprehensive and dynamic curriculum that blends synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. This curriculum provides a well-rounded, hands-on experience, allowing fellows to participate in continuity of care across various settings, including:
- Perinatal medicine
- Inpatient care
- Home-based hospice
- Palliative care services
- Embedded subspecialty clinic settings
Fellows develop their clinical competence through exposure to a diverse range of disease processes, including, but not limited to:
- Complex Congenital Malformations
- Genetic Syndromes
- Oncologic Illnesses
- Organ failure
The program places a strong emphasis on expert symptom management, focusing particularly on opioid stewardship and the integration of advanced adjuvant therapies, such as ketamine and Precedex infusions. Fellows also gain proficiency in non-pharmacological interventions, including self-hypnosis, acupuncture, and mental health therapies, ensuring a comprehensive approach to patient care.
Educational Opportunities
Educational opportunities are further enriched through a series of scheduled didactic sessions, communication workshops, simulation exercises, journal clubs, and Palliative Medicine Grand Rounds. These learning formats are thoughtfully designed to deepen fellows' clinical knowledge, refine their skills, and encourage reflective practice.
The comprehensive institutional didactic curriculum is further enhanced through a partnership between Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. Fellows from these institutions—representing pediatric, medical-pediatric, and adult hospice and palliative medicine—participate together in additional lecture series and workshops. This shared learning experience not only strengthens networking opportunities but also broadens the fellowship experience by providing exposure to a range of perspectives and expertise. In addition, this fellowship program plays a leading role in a shared national curriculum development and networking initiative among several other Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowships.
These regional and national efforts greatly enhance the educational and networking opportunities for our fellows, fostering valuable professional connections within both the adult and pediatric palliative care communities. This component of the fellowship is considered a key highlight, providing not only academic depth but also continuous opportunities for the development of fellows' professional identities, along with a broad network to support their career progression.
Clinical Experience
During the one-year pediatric fellowship, the clinical experiences are:
- 4 weeks didactic boot camp
- 18 weeks Nationwide Children’s Hospital inpatient consult service
- 10 weeks Nationwide Children's Hospital home-based palliative and Hospice Medicine Program
- 4 weeks The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center James Cancer Hospital inpatient consult service
- 4 weeks The Ohio Health Riverside Methodist Hospital Kobacker Inpatient Hospice
- 2 weeks Outpatient
- 2 weeks Psychosocial
- 4 weeks research/quality improvement
- 4 weeks elective
- 3 weeks (15 weekdays) vacation time
Additionally, there is an embedded year-long experience in both Ethics Program and our Perinatal Palliative Care Program.
Clinical Facilities
Palliative Care and Hospice Program includes both Inpatient Palliative Care and Home-Based Palliative Care services. The Advanced Illness Management (AIM) team consults on more than 450 inpatients per year with wide representation across the hospital.
The Homecare Program has its own home-based palliative and hospice program, with medical management provided by the palliative care faculty and fellow. This unique ability to interact daily with both the inpatient service and home-based programs allows fellows to experience true continuity of care for their patients and families.
Fellows will also have the opportunity to train at partnering adult institutions: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.
Faculty & Fellows
Research
Research education and training are vital to the mission of Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. As a top-ten free-standing pediatric research center and an academic affiliate of The Ohio State University, The Research Institute has an outstanding faculty, dedicated to training and mentoring the next generation of scientists in pediatric research.
Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Advocacy
Advocacy training fosters and encourages interest in child advocacy by early involvement and exposure to its many aspects such as addressing social determinants of health, community collaboration, health finance, health policy and legislative advocacy.
Required Qualifications
- Completion of an ACGME approved residency in internal medicine-pediatrics or pediatrics
- Board eligible or board-certified in internal medicine-pediatrics or pediatrics
How to Apply
Fellowship applications must be submitted online through the Electronic Residency Application Program. Submitted applications should include three letters of recommendation (including one from a residency program director or current employer) and a curriculum vitae.
Applications become available in mid-July and are due by August 1, 2025.
Interviews will be conducted July through October.
Contact
Priyal Patel, DO
Program Director
Priyal.Patel@NationwideChildrens.org
For more information regarding the fellowship, please contact:
Kelly Orr
Fellowship Coordinator
(614) 722-3889
Kelly.Orr@NationwideChildrens.org
