Clinical Scholars Program

San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine
San Diego, CA

• About the Site
• Sample Schedule
• Faculty
• Location Information

About the Site

The Center for Palliative Studies, a nationally renowned research and education program at San Diego Hospice, is involved in palliative medicine studies with leading medical centers around the world and hosts the largest Palliative Medicine Training Program in the Nation. Since 2000, we have sponsored a tiered approach to midcareer physician education. All of our programs for mid-career physicians focus on clinical knowledge and skill acquisition. We have used EPEC as the core curriculum for knowledge and clinical experiences for skill development.

Visiting Scholars will have the opportunity to train in our Inpatient Care Center (ICC), experience a home visit, and visit our 12-bed hospice unit in the Glenbrook Skilled Nursing Facility.

The Inpatient Care Center is a 24-bed acute care center licensed as a special hospital in the State of California. Average length of stay is seven days. Onsite radiology and pharmacy services are available. The unit runs at 98% occupancy; about ½ of admissions come from local hospitals with symptoms out-of-control. Of particular interest to visiting physicians are the acuity of care and intensity of symptom control interventions that are generally not permitted in standard hospitals.

The Home Hospice Program of San Diego Hospice Corporation cares for patients throughout San Diego County. Patients are cared for both at home and in extended care facilities. Average daily census runs at more than 850 patients per day.  Patients are also cared for in the AIDS Case Management Program.  These patients all have advanced disease with palliative care needs. The hospice provides Case Management services through a nurse, social work team and an AIDS Palliative Medicine Specialist Medical director. Current census exceeds 150 patients per day.

The Children’s Program cares for terminally ill children and their families. Team members work closely with the staff at Children’s Hospital and pediatric programs in other hospitals in San Diego County. In addition, the Early Intervention Program works with pregnant women who are carrying children with possible fatal anomalies identified early in the pregnancy. Average daily census is about 20.

The 19 physicians in the medical department see consultations in any of the major hospitals referring patients to the program.  Organized palliative care services are staffed at the University of California, San Diego-Moores Cancer Center (350 new consults/year), and Scripps Mercy Hospital (500 new consults/year).

Training dates are available throughout the year, excluding July 1-31.

Sample Schedule

Below is a sample schedule. After we receive the completed application we will work with each visiting scholar to create a schedule that closely reflects their goals and objectives. The schedule can include any of the following:

• Inpatient care experience / pain and symptom management / interdisciplinary group rounds
• Home visit
• Visit to Skilled Nursing Facility
• Noon conferences with case & articles, interactive discussions (1 hour)
• Visiting Scholars' Education sessions (2 hours)
• Shadow MD at UCSD Moores Cancer Center
• Talk with Clinical Medical Director of our SDHPC unit at Scripps Mercy Hospital (can’t shadow due to hospital regulations)
• Breaking Bad News—Std. Patient (1 hour) i.e., giving bad news, goals of care
• Time with Integrative Therapy practitioners (i.e., aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, et.al.)
• Talk with various administrative and research staff

Faculty

The following faculty will be involved in training visiting physicians:

Kim Bower, MD
Gary Buckholz, MD
Frank Ferris, MD
Laurel Herbst, MD
Silvia Garcia, MD
Charles Lewis, MD
Gilbert Naco, MD
Steven Oppenheim, MD
Julie Prazich, MD
Renee Smilde, MD
Jeff Stoneberg, MD
Annette Vollrath, MD
Charles von Gunten, MD PhD
Barbara Bailey, RN CNS
May Bull, RN
Sharon O’Mary, RN
Roslyn Allina, MSW MCR LCSW
Noreen Carrington, MA LMFT
Rosene Pirrello, Pharm D

Location Information

Nearest Airport:  San Diego International Airport

Visit this training site's Web site for further information on their programs and services.