Rotation Schedule
The HPM fellowship at Summa Health is a 12 month clinical fellowship with fellows rotating on monthly basis. You can view our sample schedule or find additional information about each rotation below.
Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Service, Inpatient Hospice, and Palliative Care
- 4 months throughout the fellowship
- Fellows will learn to provide comprehensive palliative care for acutely ill hospitalized patients, develop skills in prognostication, pain & symptom management, care coordination, and effective communication, and learn to provide basic psychosocial & spiritual support to patients with advanced, complex, and terminal illness
- Over the course of the year, fellows will take the lead with performing consultations, leading interdisciplinary team meetings, and leading family meetings
Outpatient Hospice
- 3 months throughout the fellowship
- Fellows will gain experience working with a Medicare-certified hospice program, learn to provide palliative/end of life care in hospice-related venues (home, nursing home, inpatient hospice), and develop the skills to become an effective hospice medical director
- Over the course of the year, fellows will assume greater responsibility in their role as the hospice medical director
Long Term Care
- 1 month
- Fellows will develop skills in assessment, management, evaluation, and treatment of patients in the rehabilitation setting, and they will achieve expertise in the geriatric model of care in the long term care, outpatient, and home settings
- Fellows will also understand the administrative and regulatory requirements affecting patient care in various skilled and long term care facilities
Oncology
- 1 month
- Fellows will rotate in the palliative oncology clinic with a fellowship-trained faculty member to learn more about indications, principles, and application of palliative chemotherapy
- Fellows will gain experience in outpatient medical oncology, radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, orthopedic oncology, and hematology oncology
Pediatric Palliative Care
- 2 weeks
- Fellows will gain experience providing care for chronically and/or terminally ill pediatric patients and develop skills in prognostication, pain & symptom management, advance care planning, and providing psychosocial & spiritual support as it relates to pediatric patients and their families
- Fellows will also learn about addressing ethical issues in pediatric palliative care and gain experience in team-based care for pediatric patients
Research
- 1 month, split into 2 week increments
- Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the conception, implementation, and presentation of an individual research or QI project that adds to the evidence based in palliative medicine and/or improves the care of patients with Summa Health System
- Fellows also have one half day of research per week during their off-service rotations
Selective
- 2 weeks
- Fellows can choose to rotate with:
- Inpatient Palliative Care at Akron
- Inpatient Palliative Care at Barberton
- Hospice
- Palliative Pharmacy
- Palliative Oncology
- Spiritual Care
- Complex Care
- Pain Stewardship
- HPM Administration
- Depending on the Fellow’s preference and career goals, we can add additional sites to this list
Elective
- 1 month, split into 2 week increments
- Fellows can choose to spend the two week block with one service or spend time with a few departments to enhance their skills in desired areas
- Electives can be designed to fit the specific interests of the fellow
- Some popular electives include:
- Addiction Medicine
- Psychology
- Critical Care
- Hospital Administration
- Pain Management
- Stand-Alone Hospice Facilities
- Rural Hospice
- Pastoral Care
- With enough notice, we can make almost any idea for an elective work! New ideas are always welcome
Continuity
- Clinic: Fellows have 1 half day of outpatient clinic each week for the entire fellowship. During the palliative medicine clinic time, fellows will develop skills necessary to provide consultative and shared primary care for ambulatory patients with advanced complex illness and palliative needs. They will also learn to provide comprehensive assessment and manage physical, psychosocial, and spiritual problems in the ambulatory setting.
- Research: Fellows are given 4 weeks of research time, in addition to one half day of research per week during off-service rotations (long term care, pediatrics, and oncology). During this time, fellows may work on research projects, journal clubs, case conferences, conference abstracts, and more. Fellows work alongside the program director, Dr. Politis, and research director, Dr. Jennifer Drost, to implement quality improvement projects or research specific topics related to the field.
Call Schedule
- Weekend call: 1 weekend per month
- Holiday call: 2 holidays per year
- Night call:
- 2 nights per week on inpatient rotations
- 2 nights per week on hospice rotations