Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Message from the Program Director

Thank you for your interest in the Creighton University Hospice & Palliative Medicine (HPM) Fellowship in Omaha, Nebraska. This one-year clinical fellowship will prepare you for a fulfilling career as a leader in hospice and palliative care through a combination of inpatient, ambulatory, home-based, and long-term care experiences.

Our program enjoys an integrated Core Lecture Series with other HPM fellows in the Omaha metro area, which promotes camaraderie and professional development. It also boasts a unique integration with Creighton’s Medical Humanities program, which we believe will enhance our graduates’ practice and leadership in the field.

We hope that through their practice of hospice and palliative care, graduates will live out Creighton's Ignatian values of:

Cura Personalis: caring for the whole person - body, mind, and spirit
Forming & Educating Agents of Change: adopting critical reflection and responsible action as moral thinkers and ethical leaders
People For and With Others: pursuing equity and justice for the marginalized

We hope you will reach out to learn more about this program.

Best,

Kate McKillip, MD
Program Director

About the Program

Mission Statement

The Creighton University fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine is dedicated to creating transformative physician leaders who will, through excellent clinical care, operational innovation, and scholarly rigor, contribute to the promotion of local, regional, and national practice of hospice and palliative care.

Vision

Through a unique pedagogy incorporating the Medical Humanities into clinical and academic work, graduates will emerge as experts in both managing complex suffering and contextualizing its presence in a complex world.

Program Aims

Fellows will complete thirteen credit hours toward a Masters of Arts in Medical Humanities & Ethics as part of the integrated didactics for the hospice and palliative medicine fellowship.

Semester 1

Introduction to the Medical Humanities (3 credits)
Introduction to Bioethics (3)

Semester 2

Research Methods and Writing (3)
End-of-Life Care in the Clinical Setting (3)
Professional Identity Formation in Healthcare Education (1)

Fellows will perform at an aspirational level of "expert" in direct observation of their care of the holistic needs of patients, families, and colleagues. (Cura Personalis)

Fellows will complete a scholarly project that addresses quality improvement or healthcare disparities related to hospice and palliative medicine. (For and With Others)

Fellows will be experts in teaching foundational principles in hospice and palliative medicine, as evidenced by their evaluations as teaching instructors with medical students. (Agents of Change)

ABIM Subspecialty Exam

Graduates of the fellowship program are expected to take the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) subspecialty examination in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Fellows participate in board review sessions during the fellowship. Graduates are expected to perform well on board exams and have ample employment opportunities in their subspecialty.

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Training Locations

The principal fellowship training facility is the CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center, with additional clinical experience at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and in ambulatory, home based, and long term care settings. All training facilities are in Omaha, Nebraska and are a short driving distance from each other. Automobile transportation is strongly recommended.

Learn more about Creighton University Medical Center

Application Process

Creighton University offers a one-year subspecialty training program for physicians who have completed postgraduate training in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical education (ACGME) residency program. The fellowship is accredited by the ACGME and is approved for one fellow per year.

Qualifications

Our program is accredited through the ACGME. Fellowship applicant eligibility guidelines are outlined in the ACGME Hospice and Palliative Medicine Program Requirements.

To be eligible for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, an applicant must have completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency.

Timeline

Our recruitment for academic year 2024-2025 will participate in the NRMP Fellowship MATCH and will use ERAS for applications.

ACGME Requirements

NRMP Fellowship MATCH

ERAS Application

Meet Our Team

Our fellowship benefits from the presence of a state-wide interdisciplinary team that includes nurses, a palliative social worker, a palliative chaplain, and several experienced physicians, advanced practice nurses, and a physician assistant.

Inpatient Consult Service at CUMC

Pauline Felker, DNP, ACHPN
Lindsey Kreikemeier, BSW
Domingo Maynes, MD
Kate McKillip, MD
Rev. Barbra Lenz, MD

Ambulatory Palliative Care

Heather Morgan, MD

Hospice

Clayton Hoberman, DO

Long Term Care

John Harris, MD

Pediatric Palliative Care

Patrick Lloyd, DO

Curriculum

Lectures are given to all HPM fellows in the Omaha area in an integrated Core Lecture Series.

Fellows will spend seven months on inpatient palliative consults and one month on elective at CUMC. Throughout the year, fellows will spend three months on hospice, during which time they have 20% time protected for research and scholarship. There is one one-month long rotation at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. Outpatient clinic alternates with the Core Lecture Series one afternoon every other week. Fellows will round twice monthly at a long term care facility. Medical humanities graduate level course work will be integrated into the curriculum.

Sample Schedule

Monthly
- July - Consults at CUMC
- Aug - Consults at CUMC
- Sept - Hospice at St. Croix
- Oct - Consults at CUMC
- Nov - Consults at CUMC
- Dec - Pediatrics at Children’s
- Jan - Hospice 2 at St. Croix
- Feb - Consults at CUMC
- Mar - Consults at CUMC
- Apr - Elective at CUMC
- May - Hospice 3 at St. Croix
- Jun - Consults at CUMC

Medical Humanities (Aug-Dec)
- Introduction to the Medical Humanities (3 credits)
- Introduction to Bioethics (3)

Medical Humanities (Jan-May)
- Research Methods and Writing (3)
- End-of-Life Care in the Clinical Setting (3)
- Professional Identity Formation in Healthcare Education (1)

Longitudinal experiences throughout the year
- Long term care (providing at least 100 hours over the course of the year)
- Core Lecture Series
- Ambulatory Palliative Care