Hospice + Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program - Conferences + Educational Presentations

Educational + scholarly opportunities in hospice + palliative medicine in Boston

Our fellowship offers a wide range of clinical rotations and research projects designed to prepare you for a successful career in hospice and palliative medicine. You’ll gain hands-on experience working with diverse patient populations while engaging in meaningful scholarly activities that advance the field.

Educational + scholarly opportunities

Our program provides a robust curriculum to develop clinical knowledge, communication skills and leadership. Fellows participate in weekly didactics, team meetings and clinical teaching roles. Scholarly activity is strongly encouraged, with mentorship to help develop projects that contribute to the field.

The core curriculum covers symptom management, communication and integration of palliative care principles.
Fellows can serve as teaching assistants for medical student electives, enhancing their educational skills.
Many fellows engage in research or quality improvement projects with faculty guidance, presenting their work at conferences and publishing findings.
Advanced training options are available for fellows interested in further specialization in education or research.

These opportunities ensure fellows graduate as well-rounded clinicians, educators and innovators in hospice and palliative medicine.

For their elective, the palliative care fellow can choose to function as a teaching assistant for the 4th-year medical student elective in end-of-life care. In this role, students read literature relevant to end of life from a variety of fields including ethics, sociology and medicine. The hospice and palliative medicine fellow helps facilitate the class with Dr. Tamara Vesel and Dr. Klemens Meyer.

Scholarly opportunities during fellowship

Interested fellows are encouraged to engage in a variety of projects with an eye toward scholarly output. Recent examples of work carried about by residents, medical students and other learners, mentored by faculty in the division include:

Pilot of integrating palliative care into nephrology clinic
Examining life-sustaining treatment and advance care directives among Chinese American decedents in the ICU
Communication preferences among Chinese Americans with cancer
Impact of cancer on commensality among Chinese Americans
Integration of palliative care into TAVR clinic
Impact of COVID on palliative care perceptions among hospital leadership

Results of such work has been presented at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), the McGill International Palliative Care Congress. Some mentees have co-authored book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on their projects.

Scholarly opportunities beyond fellowship

For qualified fellows interested in obtaining additional experience and expertise in education or clinical research, there are opportunities to apply through a competitive process for an additional 1-2 years of funding.

The Clinical and Translational Science program at Tufts Medical Center provides 1-2 year fellowship slots. The application opens mid-September for admission the following July. Applicants must complete an online application.

The Boston VA also accepts applicants from physicians interested in becoming educational leaders for a 2-year advanced fellowship program. Additional information is available on the VA website.

Palliative care grand rounds + presentations

Our division hosts regular grand rounds featuring leading experts who share advances in clinical care, research, and education. Fellows benefit from exposure to cutting-edge topics and learn to present their own work to professional audiences.

The grand rounds provide a dynamic forum for ongoing learning and professional development.
Fellows develop presentation skills and confidence by sharing their projects and clinical experiences.

This vibrant academic environment helps fellows stay current and connected to the broader palliative care community.

Selected presentations from previous years

April 22, 2021: "Pathways to Wellness: Exploring the Interrelationships between Obesity, Pain Management, and Psychological Factors"
Olutosin “Tosin” Ojugbele, MD

June 17, 2021: "Advance Care Planning in the Chinese Diaspora”
Zhimeng Jia, MD, CCFP, PC

October 21, 2021: “The unique privilege of caring for young adults who are survivors of childhood cancer and hopes for the future”
Lisa Mueller, MD

October 17, 2019: "Conflict Engagement: Strategies for Connecting with Patients, Families, Colleagues and Yourself"
Debra Gerardi, RN, MPH, JD

September 19, 2019: “Opioid-Related Challenges in Palliative Care Patients”
Dustin Patil, MD, Director, Addiction Psychiatry, Tufts Medical Center
Tamara Vesel, MD, Chief, Division of Palliative Care, Tufts Medical Center

June 20, 2019: “A Year in Palliative Care: Education and research at Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Medicine”
Katherine Hicks-Courant, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts Medical Center
Emma Ernst, 3rd Year Medical Student at Tufts University
Bernice Burkarth, MD HMDC FAAHPM, CMO of Home Health Foundation
Benjamin Wessler, MD, Cardiologist at Tufts Medical Center
Tamara Vesel, MD, Chief of the Division of Palliative Care at Tufts Medical Center

May 16, 2019: “Can We Generate a More Sustaining and Inclusive Power of Compassion for our Lives and Work?”
John Makransky, PhD

February 21, 2019: “Dialysis: High Tech Palliative Care"
Klemens B. Meyer, MD

December 13, 2018: “Courageous Parents Network: Using Patient and Family Voices in Pediatric Palliative Care”
Patricia O’Malley, MD

September 20, 2018: “Spirituality and Palliative Care: From Asclepius to P-Values”
Tracy Balboni, MD, MPH, FAAHPM

July 19, 2018: Team and Systems-Based Approaches to Quality and Safety in Pain Management
Daniel B. Carr, MD, DABPM, FFPMANZCA (Hon)

June 14, 2018: “Palliative Care Discussion: Needs Assessment for Bereavement Services at Tufts Medical Center”.
Panel Discussion: Kathy Hershfield, SW; Linda Russo, RN (spouse); Megan DeLisi (parent); Chris Roehr (parent and spouse)

April 19, 2018: “Home Hospice: Debunking the Myths, Understanding the Realities.”
Diana Taylor, SW

February 15, 2018: “Grief and Bereavement: Best Practices for Supporting Bereaved Families”
Sue Morris, PsyD.

January 18, 2018: “Emerging Role of Palliative Care for Patients with Advance Heart Failure”
Jatin Dave, MD

October 19, 2017: “Shifting from Rescue to Right: Palliative Care and Healthcare Reform”
Jennifer Clark, MD

September 21, 2017: “Humanism, Burnout, and Patient Care: Excerpts from a Work in Progress”
Julius Yang, MD, PhD

August 17, 2017: “Difficult encounters in clinical care”
Guy Maytal, MD