AAHPM reached out to the 2024 Emerging Leaders to gain insight into what motivated them to pursue leadership positions and what they find more fulfilling in their experiences. Lauren Treat, MD has been recognized as one of the exceptional individuals chosen as a 2024 AAHPM Emerging Leader in Hospice and Palliative Care.
Who has most influenced your work and how have they shaped your contributions?
Drs. Christina Vaughan and Benzi Kluger were the two who were most influential in my early career as they helped me feel validated in bringing palliative medicine more formally into child neurology practice. I continue to be so appreciative of the entire neuropalliative community and humbled to be a part of such a passionate, skillful, and ambitious group.
What is the significance to you of being recognized as a “Emerging Leader” in Hospice and Palliative Medicine?
Being recognized as an emerging leader in HPM is significant to me because it brings greater visibility to pediatric neuropalliative medicine, both within HPM as well as within neurology.
What is your aspiration for the evolution of hospice and Palliative Medicine?
My aspiration is to help the pediatric neurology community better acknowledge and value the human side of our work as compared to just the physiologic. Neurologists rely so much on quantifiable data and yet also recognize the profound impact of non-measurable forces (ex: motivation, joy, sadness, etc.). I love getting to help colleagues rediscover ways to connect with their humanity as they also use their valuable expertise to manage neurological disease.
Learn more about the AAHPM 2024 Emerging Leaders in Hospice and Palliative Care and view a full list of all current and past Emerging Leaders.