Our curriculum is divided into three overlapping and complementary parts: Clinical experience, small group Didactics, and Resiliency training. Each builds upon the others to provide you with the foundation you need for a lifelong practice in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

“UCSF’s status as a Palliative Care Leadership Center helped me to build and grow my own palliative care practice and achieve my goal of starting my own program”.

- Dr. Sameera Rana ‘12

 

Clinical Curriculum

The incredible diversity of San Francisco and UCSF is reflected in the fellowship’s seven clinical training sites. Fellows work in adult and pediatric academic medical centers, a Veterans Affairs hospital, a public safety net hospital, a non-profit hospice, an outpatient cancer center, and a pediatric hospice and transitional care unit. These varied clinical settings provide an unparalleled diversity of patients, medical conditions, cultures, resources, socioeconomics, interdisciplinary teams, and physical spaces.

For more details, including a sample schedule, click here.

Didactic Curriculum

2-4 hours per week are protected for didactic content. These sessions are taught exclusively for our fellows by top clinical faculty and take a variety of formats including lecture, small group discussion, role-play/simulation, workshops, and others. During this time fellows are excused from clinical duties. During a 3-day program orientation and early in the year, sessions are longer and focus on the fundamentals of palliative medicine practice. Later in the year, fellows move on to advanced topics as well as running their own case conferences and engaging in peer teaching. Several elements in the curriculum are also structured as modules or longitudinal themes (e.g., communication, education/teaching, quality improvement) that progress over time, building on earlier work.

Click here for more details, including a complete list of didactic topics.

Resiliency Curriculum

Throughout the year fellows learn and practice self-care methods with Rev. Naomi Saks, an experienced chaplain, learning techniques of both cognitive understanding and emotional self-awareness.

Click here for more details.