National Survey Defines Essential Outpatient Training for Palliative Care Fellows
A national cross-sectional survey published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management examined what outpatient palliative care clinicians believe should be prioritized in hospice and palliative medicine fellowship training. Among 136 respondents from across the United States, seven of 51 proposed topics were selected by more than two-thirds of clinicians as essential for outpatient readiness.
The highest-priority areas centered on applying core palliative care skills in ambulatory settings, including management of pain and non-pain symptoms, mood disorders, and goals of care conversations. Clinicians also emphasized training in longitudinal opioid management, including buprenorphine and methadone use, opioid tapering, and care for patients with comorbid substance use disorders.
The authors conclude that outpatient palliative care education remains underdeveloped and that a shared, scalable curriculum could help standardize training and better prepare fellows for ambulatory practice as outpatient palliative care programs continue to expand.