by Emily Muse, AAHPM Manager, Communities and Programs
Saturday was the opening of the American Medical Association House of Delegates Annual Meeting 2011. One of the featured events was the eighth annual AMA-MSS Medical Specialty Showcase.
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine was invited to exhibit at this event and took the opportunity to educate current medical students about the field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Eager medical students visited booths exploring what options may be available to them. In narrowing down these career directions they asked a lot of questions, “Is HPM strictly for Family Medicine Residents ?”, “How long is a Fellowship in HPM? ”, “Can I practice HPM if I am a pediatrician?” , “What are the boards that sponsor this subspeciality” and “How many HPM fellowship programs are there?”. By the halfway point of the day I was “questioned out”! It was then that a young gentleman approached the booth. Before I could speak, he immediately introduced himself and said
“My Dad is a member of your organization, he just took the certification exam, I felt like I needed to stop by. I am not sure this is the right career path for me, but I know what a difference Palliative Care makes.”
It was so sincere and genuine, I almost asked if he would like to stay and work at the booth for the rest of the allotted time! While he moved on through the crowd investigating other medical specialties and subspecialties I was reminded that Hospice and Palliative Care is much more than the answers to the basic questions about fellowship. It is a philosophy of care that is driven by clinicians committed to patients as they navigate life limiting or life challenging conditions.