AAHPM launched a comprehensive study tool, the HMDC PREP, for those preparing for the Hospice Medical Director Certification Exam coming up in May. The tool includes 75 case-based questions, rationales and active links to references. According to Dr. Porter Storey, executive vice president of AAHPM and a reviewer of HMDC PREP, “This new online tool … Read moreHMDC PREP – Assess your knowledge of hospice medicine
By Eric J. Hall, president & CEO, HealthCare Chaplaincy Network When the latest Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care guidelines were announced at last year’s AAHPM annual conference, project co-chair Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, FAAN, FPCN, research scientist at City of Hope, said, “Quality palliative care includes all eight domains. If you are not … Read moreFindings of first empirical data on contributions of chaplain interventions in palliative care
Last October, I was fortunate enough to attend the National Palliative Care Research Center’s “Kathleen M. Foley Research Retreat” as one of AAHPM’s Research Scholars. The annual Foley Retreat brings together the country’s leading experts in palliative and hospice care research to discuss the state of the science, set priorities for future research, and allow … Read moreReflections of the AAHPM Research Scholars Program and the NPCRC Foley Retreat
Larry Beresford Are accumulated job stresses affecting your ability to provide high-quality hospice and palliative medicine to your patients? Do you have strategies for easing or managing the stresses of this work? Given this field’s ongoing workforce challenges, it can’t afford to lose a single practicing hospice and palliative medicine physician to job stress or … Read moreAre You in Danger of Burnout?
So how is the leadership thing working out? Palliative care, hospice care and healthcare in general has evolved into the most complex team sport of all time. And getting people to move cohesively around a simple common ground effort should not be that hard…but it is. Some try the bull-horn approach (I did that for … Read morePhysician Engagement & Influence in Organizational Management
There is much talk in health care, especially in the fields of palliative and end-of-life care about “Advance Care Planning.” And rightly so. For those with advanced illness, this process is critical to patients receiving the treatment they want and only the treatment they want. The process done well clearly improves patient’s perceived quality of … Read moreAdvance Planning: More Than Care Decisions
Tanya Stewart, MD FAAHPM It’s late afternoon when you receive a call from a home health nurse about a patient you’ve known for 12 years. Mr. Jones is 70 years old with multiple chronic medical conditions contributing to four hospitalizations in six months. He was referred to home health two weeks ago as part of … Read moreBeyond Traditional Care Management
I want to express my sincere gratitude to the organizers and sponsors of the seventh annual Kathleen M. Foley Palliative Care Retreat and Research Symposium. This was my second time attending the retreat designed to provide a forum for interdisciplinary palliative care researchers. Participants include grant recipients from the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) … Read moreCommunity Inspiration
In June 2013 the AAHPM board approved the following priorities, including the addition of a senior level staff position fully dedicated to overseeing workforce, leadership, and academic initiatives for the Academy. General 1. Addition of 1.0 FTE staff position (Director level) dedicated to workforce, leadership and Academic initiatives. One clear outcome of the workgroups is … Read moreAAHPM Workforce Priorities
Steven Prior, MD I started All Things Palliative (ATP) in December 2012 as a way to cope with the vast amount of medical evidence for which I, as a front-line palliative care physician, felt responsible. Of the many things I’ve learned over the past 10 months, the most eye-opening has been just how enormous this … Read moreComing to Grips with Evidence-Based Medicine