The Palliative Care Program is dedicated to training future leaders in the field of palliative care and hospice. Our program provides a strong core curriculum to all learners while also developing an educational experience tailored to fit each individual’s unique career goals.
We offer multiple ACGME-accredited Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship training programs:
- Traditional Fellowship Program
Our traditional fellowship program is a one-year program open to applicants who have trained in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. Three physicians are accepted into the program per year.
- Mid-Career Fellowship Program
Our mid-career fellowship program is a competency-based, time-variable program that allows physicians to pursue fellowship training while maintaining their existing clinical and professional roles and responsibilities. This fellowship is currently limited to existing Penn Medicine physicians.
- Radiation Oncology Track
Our Radiation Oncology Track is an integrated educational program for highly-qualified recent graduates or mid-career physicians who completed residency training in radiation oncology. The one-year program offers additional experiences in palliative and spine stereotactic radiotherapy, with significant complex re-irradiation case volume. The program meets all requirements for Board eligibility in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, offering the opportunity for dual certification. New residency graduates will be able to sit for both Radiation Oncology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine initial certification exams in the same year. One physician will be accepted to the program each year. This program is not filled through the NRMP match and recruitment occurs on a rolling basis. Please reach out with additional questions or to express interest.
All fellows in our programs receive intensive training in the care of seriously ill patients and their families as part of an interdisciplinary team. They develop expertise in providing patient centered medical care as well as advanced communication skills. In addition to providing excellent clinical training, fellows receive close mentoring from dedicated faculty and are encouraged to engage in mentored educational, scholarly, and quality improvement work during their fellowship. Fellows also participate in scholarly and quality improvement initiatives during their training experience.
In addition, we are committed to helping fellows develop interests outside of medicine and have developed a longitudinal wellness and self-care curriculum.
All fellowship graduates are eligible to sit for the HPM board exam. Applications are accepted through ERAS.
For more information, please reach out to:
Kathryn A. McGrath, MD
Program Director
Email: Kathryn.McGrath@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
How to Apply
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship program at the University of Pennsylvania prides itself on recruiting and training fellows with a variety of clinical experiences and backgrounds.
Post-residency physician applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Completion of an ACGME or AOA-accredited residency program in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, radiation oncology or surgery
- Board-certification in primary specialty or board-eligibility with pursuit of certification
- Demonstration of interest in a career in palliative medicine with experience in education, clinical leadership or research
Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) system beginning in the summer one year prior to the program start. Interviews will be offered electronically and conducted virtually in the early fall. Positions are awarded through the National Resident Match Program (NRMP) match process.
Completed applications should include:
- A personal statement
- Three letters of support including at least one letter from the applicant’s residency program director or Department Chair/Division Chief
- Score reports from USMLE Step 1, 2 and 3
- A curriculum vitae
- Medical school transcripts and MSPE
Please explore our website to learn more about our program. We welcome questions by email, HPMFellowshipProgram@uphs.upenn.edu.