Grief Training in Palliative Care Fellowships.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Palliative Care
• Psychology

Background:

• No prior studies have evaluated grief and bereavement curricula within U.S. Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) fellowship programs.
• Professional grief and bereavement are critical yet underrecognized aspects of palliative care training and practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current state of grief and bereavement curriculum in HPM fellowship programs.
• To understand program directors' attitudes towards grief and bereavement training for fellows.

Main Methods:

• A 14-item survey was distributed to ACGME-accredited HPM fellowship Program Directors.
• The survey assessed program demographics, curriculum emphasis, grief/bereavement programming, and attitudes toward training.

Main Results:

• A 63% response rate was achieved, with most programs being academic and having few fellows.
• 90% of programs dedicate only 0%-10% of curriculum to grief/bereavement; fellow involvement is often low (53%).
• While most programs offer debriefing (55%) and mental health resources (41%), content and fellow engagement vary significantly.

Conclusions:

• Program directors overwhelmingly agree that grief and bereavement training is important for HPM fellows.
• Current training is highly variable in dedicated time, content, and fellow involvement, indicating an underrecognized need.
• Disseminating best practices is essential to standardize grief and bereavement curricula and ensure HPM fellow competency.