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The Pain and Hospice and Palliative Care fellowship training programs in the Department of Medicine offer a one- and two-year program of clinical practice and research training. Individuals who have completed a residency in family practice, internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or psychiatry may apply. Medical oncology fellows may also participate. Individuals who have completed residency training in anesthesiology are encouraged to apply to the Anesthesiology Pain Management Fellowship offered by the Pain Service in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. Individuals who have completed residency training in psychiatry should consider applying for the Clinical Fellowship Program in Psychosomatic Medicine and Psycho-Oncology offered by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
The fellowship program has two tracks: 1) pain medicine and 2) hospice and palliative medicine. Fellows successfully completing the pain medicine track will be eligible to sit for the Pain Medicine Certification Examination administered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Fellows successfully completing the hospice and palliative medicine track will be eligible to sit for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Certification Examination administered by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Purpose
The program's purpose is to train physicians to become specialists in either pain or palliative medicine. Due to the high prevalence of cancer pain, the requirements of both boards are able to be met by the one program. Regardless of the training track, the focus of training and research will be the development of expertise in:
- Diagnosis and treatment of pain syndromes associated with cancer and cancer therapy
- Diagnosis and treatment of non-pain symptoms associated with cancer and other life-threatening illness
- Diagnosis and treatment of the neurological, psychiatric, and psychosocial complications of cancer and other life-threatening illness
- Clinical research methods used to address symptom control and quality of life
- Basic principles and practical applications of the medical ethics and legal aspects of pain management and palliative care
- Spiritual, religious, and existential aspects of care
- Cultural aspects of care
- Care of the imminently dying patient
Year One
During the first year, the trainee rotates through the inpatient PPC Consultation Service, where approximately 40 to 60 consultations per month are seen and managed with daily involvement by the attending staff. Trainees also rotate through the inpatient PPC Unit, where acute palliative care is provided to patients with cancer and other life-threatening illness. In the PPC Ambulatory Clinic, fellows see patients with the attending physicians. These patients are referred from the inpatient PPC Consultation Service, other outpatient clinics, or from outside institutions. The outpatient experience allows fellows to follow patients over time and across care settings and to learn about community services and supports for patients and families. Fellows on the pain medicine track generally rotate through the Anesthesia Pain Service and the Physiatry Service. Fellows on the hospice and palliative medicine track rotate through the Palliative Care Service at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and receive hospice experience from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice Program and Calvary Hospital.
Year Two
Fellows completing a second year of training devote the majority of their time to research. These fellows enroll in a year-long research methodology course and attend the weekly PPC research meeting. PPC research generally focuses on but is not limited to:
- Studies of the prevalence and characteristics of pain and other symptoms (e.g. fatigue, depression, nausea, anorexia) in various tumor types
- Studies to assess the safety and efficacy of novel analgesic treatments
- The application of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic models for the use of analgesic drugs
- The development of pain and non-pain symptom-assessment tools
- Studies that address the common ethical dilemmas encountered in the care of patients with terminal illness and pain
Laboratory research in molecular pharmacology is also available. Research will be determined by the trainee in consultation with the PPC Fellowship Program Director and one of the PPC faculty members, who will serve as research mentor.
- Program Director
- Application Deadline
- Open
- Length of Program
- 1 to 2 years
- Eligibility
Applicants must have completed a family practice, internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or psychiatry residency from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and attained qualification to sit for the board examination in their specialty. All applicants must have completed USMLE Steps I, II, and III.
Foreign medical graduates with equivalent qualifications are also eligible to apply. They must have completed all three of the USMLE examinations and hold a valid ECFMG certificate.
- Number of Positions
- 5 to 6
- How To Apply
Please send us your CV*, a personal statement, and three letters of reference addressed to Dr. Alexie Cintron, MD, MPH. One letter must be from your current program director. Subsequently we will send you a Graduate Medical Education Application and other paperwork.
*Your CV must include all positions held from medical school to the present, including any positions or programs that were begun but not completed. All time periods must be explained, in the format Month/Year to Month/Year, and in chronological order starting with the most recent. Additionally, please include the date on which your CV was last revised.
The personal statement should cover the following:
- Career Plans
What are your clinical, research, and educational goals? What are your expectations of a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering?
- Palliative Care
Discuss what sparked your interest in working with cancer patients and in the field of palliative medicine.
- Pain Management
Discuss why you are interested in focusing on pain and symptom management.
- Additional Information
All trainees participate in the weekly teaching and conference activities of the Service. Trainees attend the weekly PPC Grand Rounds and Medicine Grand Rounds at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Trainees are responsible for presenting clinical cases at the Service's daily multidisciplinary rounds, as well as at the weekly PPC Multidisciplinary Service Meeting. Didactic sessions are held throughout the year on a wide variety of topics related to pain management and palliative care. All fellows are required to complete scholarly work. This includes but is not limited to conducting a journal club presentation, preparing and delivering a talk for the weekly fellows' conference, and giving a presentation at PPC Grand Rounds. Fellows are encouraged to complete a research project of their choice with mentorship from one of a member of the PPC faculty. In the past, fellows' research projects have resulted in publications or in abstracts presented at scientific meetings.
Acknowledgement
The Barbara Ziegler Palliative Care Educational Program is dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Pain and Palliative Care educational and research activities. The Barbara Ziegler Palliative Care Education Program supports the Pain and Palliative Care Fellowship.
- Contact
- Cheryl James
- E-mail
- jamesc@mskcc.org
- Phone
- 212-639-2282
- Address
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10065
