Medical Education

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship - Riverside Methodist Hospital

Medical Education

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship - Riverside Methodist Hospital

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Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship - Riverside Methodist Hospital

Every Fellow is a Clinician, a Teacher and a Leader

As an OhioHealth Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellow, you will be embraced by world-renowned faculty, who prepare you to confidently practice in any clinical setting. You will cultivate your teaching skills as you train alongside and then mentor the more than 170 physicians who round with our program. And you will become a leader by helping hospital and program administration make lasting improvements in care delivery.

NRMP Program Code: 1567540F0

Why Choose Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospital

Our fellowship program is designed to bring you up to speed smoothly, while learning from the best minds in the field.

 

Collaborative learning with limitless experiences

Highly Integrative
Collaborate with physicians from all specialties who use an array of approaches to treat patients’ physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Collegial
Train with fellows and learn from faculty from the three major local health systems: OhioHealth, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Pioneering
OhioHealth faculty physicians Charles F. von Gunten, MD, and Frank D. Ferris, MD, are internationally known for their work to improve palliative medicine education and practice standards.

Well-Rounded
Train in a variety of clinical settings, teach physicians in other medical education programs, and pursue personal passions through electives and research.

How We Will Support You

Our strong curriculum and unmatched experiences will be sure to set you up for success. But that’s not all. You will be immersed in an unforgettable culture and have resources available to you that can only be found at an organization like OhioHealth.

Program Requirements

Applicants must have graduated from an ACGME-accredited program in one of the following specialties:

  • Anesthesiology
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Family Medicine
  • Internal Medicine
  • Neurology
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Radiology
  • Surgery
Rotation Opportunities

Our fellows train in diverse care settings across the OhioHealth system and external health systems, which include:

  • OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital: An 850-bed tertiary referral center, with a wide range of specialty medical services, including congestive heart failure, neuroscience, oncology and obstetrics.
  • OhioHealth Grant Medical Center: A 350-bed urban, surgical and Level 1 Trauma Center, with a wide range of medical and surgical services and expertise in geriatric medicine.
  • OhioHealth Hospice: A Medicare-certified hospice program with an average daily census of more than 600. Two-thirds of hospice patients are at home and one-third are in extended care facilities. Full-time palliative medicine physicians are integrated into each interdisciplinary team.
  • OhioHealth Kobacker House: A 32-bed, acute hospice inpatient unit run by palliative medicine physicians. Kobacker House is the only free-standing inpatient hospice facility in Columbus. Faculty and staff provide high-touch and high-tech care, including complex infusions, ventilator support and extubation, effusion taps, interventional pain management and multiple modalities of integrative therapies.
  • OhioHealth Hospice Bereavement program: One of the most extensive bereavement programs in the nation. Over the year, fellows will participate in at least two different bereavement groups, and memorial and holiday services.
  • Nationwide Children's Hospital: A 450-bed academic pediatric teaching hospital with a specialty inpatient palliative care consultation service as well as inpatient and home pediatric hospice services.
  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Palliative Clinic: A part of their robust palliative care service staffed by full-time palliative medicine physicians and members of their interdisciplinary team.
  • Central Ohio Geriatrics: A private practice with several geriatricians certified in hospice and palliative medicine, who care for patients in a number of long-term care facilities across Franklin and neighboring counties.
  • The Center for Symptom Relief: A private clinic with three faculty board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine, who also provide chronic pain consultations at Riverside Methodist. Fellows round with the center for outpatient pain and palliative care experiences, including interventional pain management.
Culture

Our culture at OhioHealth is one of our greatest strengths. We operate as a family, and you will find a high level of camaraderie among OhioHealth fellows and faculty physicians. Our fellows meet frequently throughout the year to share ideas, study together and socialize.

You will get to know the other fellows in the program during a retreat early in your learning experience. A second retreat is held later in the year focused on a topic of choice. Faculty also host specialty dinners throughout the year with leaders in our field from across the United States, which provides a unique opportunity for discussion, reflection and networking.

Wellness

Riverside Methodist is a national leader in the provider wellness field. We regularly use the Mayo Clinic’s Well-Being Index to identify and address burnout and distress, and closely monitor actual work hours and clinic time to keep burnout risk low.

Education about compassion fatigue and resilience is provided during onboarding, and our entire division participates in monthly case conference discussions to collaborate on challenging cases and offer emotional support. You will have biweekly coaching meetings with program leaders, and meet at least quarterly with a bereavement specialist to discuss emotionally difficult cases and experiences in your professional as well as personal life.

Research and Development

Our hospice and palliative medicine fellows are required to complete a scholarly project on a topic of their choosing and present a Grand Rounds at some point during the year. The OhioHealth Research Institute will provide you with the tools you need to plan and conduct your research project, including access to existing research, clinical and data coordination, contract guidance, quality assurance and other types of support.

An expansive simulation environment will also be available to you through the Center for Medical Education + Innovation. This advanced technology allows for hands-on learning through patient simulators in a Virtual Care Unit and clinical skills laboratories.

Outcomes and Placement

We pride ourselves on cultivating growth in all our hospice and palliative medicine fellows. Many choose to remain at OhioHealth, having gained an appreciation for our culture and development opportunities. Each year, one or more graduates of the program join the OhioHealth Hospice and Palliative Medicine faculty, and we continue to keep multiple clinical positions open to graduates who wish to practice long-term in Columbus. Graduates of our program can also be found practicing hospice and palliative medicine across the United States, including directing notable programs at health systems in Arizona, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia.