Hospice and Palliative Medicine Education

Medical Education

Physician explaining medication to a patient

The Johns Hopkins Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) Fellowship Training Program received initial accreditation from the ACGME in 2012 and continued accreditation in 2015 and 2023. The goal of our program is to train specialist palliative medicine physicians who excel as clinicians, teachers, team members, and leaders. 

We also hold the goal of developing lifelong learners and catalysts for improving the quality of hospice and palliative medicine across the lifespan and within health systems. 

Program Overview

The HPM fellowship program is a 12-month clinical fellowship. The program has two tracks: Adult and Pediatric. The program includes rotations at different facilities, providing a multitude of clinical settings, patient demographics and acuity. Each site has a dedicated HPM Fellowship site director to guide and mentor the fellow through their rotation. Physician faculty members are all specialists in HPM and provide clinical supervision and teaching as attending physicians for each of the clinical rotations. Fellows work as members of strong interdisciplinary teams in all settings. All fellows come together for a weekly seminar, promoting peer and team learning from a diversity of training backgrounds. All fellows participate in a scholarly project, which may include research, quality improvement, etc. Mentorship is provided to all fellows for these scholarly projects. 

  • 12-month clinical fellowship 
  • Variety of settings, patient demographics and acuity 
  • Each site has a dedicated HPM site director 
  • Physician faculty members are all specialists in HPM 
  • Fellows work as members of strong interdisciplinary teams 
  • Adult and Pediatric Fellows rotate at similar locations 

Meet our current fellows

Explore the Fellowship Experience

Discover what makes our Hospice and Palliative Medicine Education program at Johns Hopkins a unique and rewarding journey

 

Undergraduate Medical Education

 

TIME Course

This clinical four-day course is offered twice a year to ensure that every student has the opportunity to complete it before graduation. Students must have completed at least one core clerkship before taking this course in the eighth week of a core clerkship block. The interdisciplinary faculty use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, assigned reading, team-based learning, small group interactions and use of standardized patients. Invited speakers from the community will also participate. HPM fellows serve as teaching assistants and serve as preceptors to simulated patient encounters.

For more information, click here.

3rd - 4th Year Clinical Elective

The elective will provide an introduction to Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Over 90% of hospitals now have Palliative Care programs based on the randomized clinical trial evidence that shows better quality of life, better quality of care, lower cost and even improved survival compared to usual care. Research opportunities in clinical symptom control (dyspnea, pain, neuropathic pain) and quality improvement (measuring and improving care in the hospital) may be arranged upon request. The curriculum will emphasize the evidence base behind Palliative Care. Clinical experiences include rotation of the inpatient palliative medicine consult team at JHH. 

Course Type: Clinical Research 
Course Director: Danielle J. Doberman, MD, MPH, HMDC, FAAHPM 
Availability/Duration: 2 weeks 
Drop Period: 1 month 

Contact Us

Julie Kurtz
Medical Training Program Administrator, General Internal Medicine
[email protected]
(410) 955-0951