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Hi all;
I start med school in the fall, and though I obviously haven't decided on my direction post-medschool, palliative care and hospice is something I'm very interested in.
I thought I would post on here to see if there were any FPs who got involved in this aspect of care either through a fellowship or some other post-grad training.
I currently volunteer at hospice, and I find it to be a most rewarding experience; it seems that the intersection of IM, psychiatry, social work, pain medicine, and spirituality probably make for a diverse and exciting workplace.
But is there a "stigma" attached to palliative medicine? Since it isn't cure-driven, and since so much of it is "trial and error" or not quantitative (i.e., pain control, psychiatric crossroads), do you run the risk of losing your diagnostic and procedure-related skills? Do other physicians see palliation as "less important" or "less impressive" or secondary?
Is hospice/palliative medicine something that can be done full time without losing those qualities as a physician which make you a good diagnostician and treatment instrument?
Or is this something that should be done one to two days a week, complementing a two/three day office schedule?
Thanks for any and all help/anecdotes/info you can provide!
I start med school in the fall, and though I obviously haven't decided on my direction post-medschool, palliative care and hospice is something I'm very interested in.
I thought I would post on here to see if there were any FPs who got involved in this aspect of care either through a fellowship or some other post-grad training.
I currently volunteer at hospice, and I find it to be a most rewarding experience; it seems that the intersection of IM, psychiatry, social work, pain medicine, and spirituality probably make for a diverse and exciting workplace.
But is there a "stigma" attached to palliative medicine? Since it isn't cure-driven, and since so much of it is "trial and error" or not quantitative (i.e., pain control, psychiatric crossroads), do you run the risk of losing your diagnostic and procedure-related skills? Do other physicians see palliation as "less important" or "less impressive" or secondary?
Is hospice/palliative medicine something that can be done full time without losing those qualities as a physician which make you a good diagnostician and treatment instrument?
Or is this something that should be done one to two days a week, complementing a two/three day office schedule?
Thanks for any and all help/anecdotes/info you can provide!