Online CU Anschutz Fellowship Aims to Expand Palliative Care Workforce
CU Anschutz's online Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship helps mid-career physicians become board certified in palliative care while working. The program aims to address a national clinician shortage through a flexible, part-time model and interdisciplinary care training.
A unique online fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is expanding the palliative care workforce by helping mid-career physicians become board certified in hospice and palliative care medicine without leaving their current jobs or communities. The Community Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship is co-directed by Katherine Morrison, MD, and Maurice Scott, MD, palliative care physicians at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and associate professors of general internal medicine at the CU Anschutz Department of Medicine.
The program is co-sponsored by four medical boards and qualified by six others, offering what Scott described as “a real opportunity to exponentially expand palliative care services.” Palliative care focuses on more than just medical needs, prioritizing patients’ psychosocial, spiritual, and physical wellbeing, and supporting caregivers and loved ones. It serves patients with serious illnesses such as cancer, congestive heart failure, and Parkinson’s disease who are still pursuing curative treatments, distinguishing it from hospice care.
The value of the interdisciplinary model became evident in the case of a middle-aged male patient with metastatic gallbladder cancer. Over about 10 days, the team connected with the patient, his wife, and members of his church; the day before he died, he said, “I have seen the spirit of the Lord. It is time for me to go.” His care was transitioned to focus on comfort, and he died. The family later invited the care team to his funeral. Morrison also recalled a young adult female patient with a rare cancer who received palliative care alongside aggressive treatment; the patient created origami cranes for hospital staff.
At UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, palliative care is delivered by an interdisciplinary team of social workers, chaplains, therapists, and palliative medicine clinicians. Scott noted that while this model is “really fortunate,” it is also “rare.” The fellowship aims to expand such services nationwide by training physicians remotely.