A Vocation of Palliation

I consider myself a "late bloomer," since I never encountered the practice of palliative care during medical school in the Philippines, nor during my internal medicine residency in the USA. It was 3 years into my first job after finishing residency, working both as a hospitalist and an urgent care physician, when I came to an early morning session on end-of-life care at a large medical society meeting. That talk changed my life. I now see palliative care as being more than a "profession" or a "medical specialty." It is my vocation, as serendipitous events called me into this line of work. For more than 5 years now, I have been practicing palliative care, both in the inpatient and outpatient settings, at our institution's cancer center. In this article, I reflect on my experiences during fellowship, and how I continue to derive satisfaction and joy from teaching palliative care to different levels of learners and through the meaningful connections I form with patients and their loved ones.