Hospice Experience: part of the aging theme
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
As part of the Reynolds Aging Theme Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania, all medical students participate in a hospice visit during the Family Medicine Clerkship. Hospice and palliative care is an important part of caring for older adults. A growing number of hospice enrollees are older adults and those with non-cancer diagnosis (i.e. dementia, COPD, CHF). During the Hospice Experience, students spend approximately 3 hours with a volunteer member of the hospice interprofessional team which allows for 1-2 hospice patient/family visits.
- To appreciate the reasons a patient/family select hospice as an active treatment option
-
To review the different roles of the hospice interdisciplinary team members and to identify how the hospice team approach benefits a patient/family
Students at the University of Pennsylvania attend an older adult home visit during their first semester of medical school, followed by plenary lectures on healthy older adults for comparison and contrast. In addition, students attend plenary lectures on hospice and palliative care as well as participate in small group discussions prior to the Hospice Experience.