POPC Education

The Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care (POPC) provides robust and innovative education and training opportunities to our providers. We believe that strong interdisciplinary education equips clinicians to provide the highest quality of care to our patients and their families. Our teaching is learner-centered, and our education and training programs are varied and diverse.

Education and Training

We offer our faculty:

  • Psychosocial Oncology Grand Rounds
  • Palliative Care Grand Rounds
  • Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care Faculty Seminar
  • POPC Research Seminar

Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care

Co-directed by leaders in the field at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Hospital, the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care aims to ease suffering and enhance the quality of care for patients and their families dealing with life-threatening and/or serious illness, through fostering leadership and supporting outstanding educational programs in palliative care. By educating future generations of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, the Center serves as a national and international resource for the best practices in palliative care education and practice.

Leadership

James A. Tulsky, MD
Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Chief, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Course Offerings

  • Practical Aspects of Palliative Care (PAPC): A Foundational Program in Palliative Care for New and Experienced Clinicians
  • Palliative Care Education and Practice (PCEP): A Course for Palliative Care Clinical and Education Leaders
  • Art & Science of Palliative Nursing (ASPN): A Course for Nurses in Palliative Care Basics
  • Palliative Care for Hospitalists and Intensivists (PCFHI): A Course for Hospital-based Clinicians

Fellowship Programs

The Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship Program is a one-year interprofessional program that trains future leaders in the comprehensive, interdisciplinary care of seriously ill patients and their families. Four types of fellowships are offered:

  • ACGME-accredited physician fellowships that train eight to nine fellows per year in pediatric or adult medicine
  • Three nurse practitioner fellowships that train a total of three or four fellows per year (one in pediatric palliative nursing and two or three in adult medicine palliative nursing)
  • A pediatric palliative care social work fellowship that trains one fellow a year
  • A palliative care pharmacy residency that trains one resident a year

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Research Fellowship in Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care is a two-year fellowship directed toward physicians, psychologists, doctorally-prepared nurses, social workers, and other clinicians who wish to prepare themselves for an academic research career in palliative care or psychosocial oncology. The goal of this fellowship is to train early investigators to move these fields forward through the conduct of high quality research. For additional information, please email POPCResearchFellowship@partners.org.

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