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Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship Coordinator
Maria Anich
Mariah.Anich@mercy.net
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program at Mercy Hospital is dedicated to training physicians to provide both compassionate care and exceptional clinical service. We train our fellows in a team approach that focuses on managing pain and other distressing symptoms associated with serious illness with the goal to ease suffering and to enable the best possible quality of life for our patients and their families.
The Mercy Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship program trains two post-residency physicians per year and the fellowship is one year in length. Clinical rotations include inpatient consult service, outpatient palliative care clinic, long term care facilities, pediatric palliative care and home or facility based hospice care. Elective rotations include oncology, pulmonary critical care, ethics, radiation oncology, cardiology, neurology, geriatrics, research, quality improvement and geriatrics.
Mercy Hospital is the second largest hospital in St Louis with 979 licensed beds. We serve a diverse population in terms of race, culture, socio-economic status and geographic location. We have a robust and well integrated Palliative Care service at Mercy that was founded in March of 2004 and which serves as the backbone of our fellowship training program. Our program has been Joint Commission Certified since 2013. Our HPM fellowship has a strong emphasis on clinical practice, including individualized mentoring by our core faculty of board certified hospice and palliative medicine physicians, as well as the opportunity to work with our experienced palliative care trained nurse practitioners, social workers, chaplains and other interdisciplinary team members. Further training in core knowledge and skills will be provided through didactic lectures, small group sessions, palliative care journal club, case presentations and structured reflection. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their clinical teaching skills while working closely with Critical Care fellows, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Transitional Year residents, nursing students and nurse practitioner students. Fellows will be introduced to research and quality improvement methods and a patient safety and quality improvement project will be required.
Why Mercy HPM?
Fellows train in a high-volume clinical environment within Mercy’s palliative care program. As part of a well-integrated interdisciplinary team in a community-based practice, fellows gain valuable real-world experience caring for patients with serious illness. The program provides strong preparation for a variety of practice settings, with opportunities to individualize training based on career goals. Fellows also benefit from close mentorship throughout the year, including extensive one-on-one faculty support during inpatient rotations.
Core Rotations
The inpatient rotation provides exposure to a wide variety of patients requiring consultation for goals-of-care discussions and complex symptom management. They work closely with an interdisciplinary team, including social workers and chaplains, to support patients and their families. Most rotations take place at Mercy Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center with a specialized burn unit, with one month spent at SSM St. Louis University Hospital.
This rotation offers experience in home-based hospice care alongside Mercy hospice clinicians, with participation in the full scope of hospice services. Fellows develop an understanding of the roles of each member of the hospice interdisciplinary team and participate in weekly team meetings led by the hospice medical director. The rotation also includes one week at BJC’s inpatient hospice facility, Evelyn’s House.
Fellows work with Pathways, the interdisciplinary pediatric palliative care team at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, providing care to children with complex medical conditions and support to their families.
In the long-term care setting, fellows work with physicians in Mercy’s Post-Acute practice, caring for patients across independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.
Educational experiences include monthly journal club in collaboration with St. Louis University’s palliative care and geriatrics programs, as well as participation in the monthly MAPPIT (Managing Addiction and Pain in Palliative Interdisciplinary Teams) journal club. Fellows attend Grand Rounds twice a month through the virtual HAPC program and participate in a quarterly regional palliative care educational event, where each fellow delivers one presentation. In addition, fellows present at Mercy Internal Medicine Grand Rounds.
- Initial Application: Applications are submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The application cycle begins in early July each year.
- Application Review: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis from mid-July through early October. Applicants must have completed a residency program in the United States. Visa sponsorship (H-1 or J-1) is not available. Both recent residency graduates and physicians seeking a mid-career transition are encouraged to apply.
- Interview: Selected candidates are invited to interview beginning in late July, with invitations extended on a rolling basis until interview sessions are filled. Interviews are conducted virtually in alignment with national Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) program practices, typically occurring between late August and early October.
Core Faculty
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