Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Welcome to our Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship!

Our mission is to train:

Leaders who can help move the field of Hospice & Palliative Medicine forward.

We accomplish this through:

Clinical Excellence for patients at all stages of serious illness by performing whole-person assessment, skillful symptom management, interprofessional collaboration, and empathic and adept communication with patients and their families.
Diverse clinical experiences at a major academic hospital, a hospice center, a longitudinal care facility, critical access hospitals, telemedicine and patients’ homes. Our program particularly dedicates time to rural palliative care.
Dedicated academic workshops on clinical skills, evidence-based medicine, leadership development and population health, also covering health systems, value-incentive payment models and quality improvement.
Opportunities for collaboration on academic pursuits through the Vermont Conversation Lab and TalkVermont, a partnership with VitalTalk and Ariadne Labs that emphasizes person-centered goals of care conversations throughout our health network.
A commitment to self-care and resilience, including workshops on narrative medicine, Balint groups and structured reflections.

We seek fellows from all backgrounds and specialties. If you are a physician with a demonstrated passion for Hospice and Palliative Medicine, we hope you will consider applying to join our community.

We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Stephen Berns, MD

Program Director, Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

UVM Health Network Hospice & Palliative Medicine values diversity as a driver of excellence in both the clinical and academic setting. We embrace diversity in its broadest forms, encompassing and exploring the dimensions of not only racial and ethnic diversity, but also gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief, thought or philosophy, disability, education level, socioeconomic background, Veteran status, and life experience.

We actively seek diversity and inclusion within our community and seek fellows who will continue to foster this important mission.

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program

Why Choose GME at the UVM Medical Center

The UVMMC Palliative Medicine service believes in and seeks to foster true interdisciplinary care... We are committed to meeting the spiritual and existential needs of our patients, their families, and one another.

Nancy Wood, MDiv

Manager of Spiritual Care & ACPE Certified Educator

Vermont offers everything I need for sustainability- a close knit and caring community, the beauty of all four seasons, mountains, lakes, opportunities for live music, arts and good food!

Taylor Zak

Clinical Social Worker at Porter Medical Center

What I value most about this fellowship is the variety of clinical settings that we have the opportunity to learn in, and the enthusiasm for teaching shown by the clinical faculty at each site. Everyone is truly invested in helping us develop the skills needed to feel prepared for whatever career path we may choose after training.

Elizabeth Dougherty, MD

Fellow '24

The best part of UVM is being at a high paced, intense, academic center but with the feeling of friends and colleagues collaborating to provide the best care. From day one you feel like a valued member of the team and all ideas are examined and valued.

Matthew Gervais, MD

Fellow '24