Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship

The pediatric-track fellowship curriculum includes three months of adult hospice and palliative medicine and eight months of pediatric palliative and hospice care. 

• The adult medicine rotations include one month of general palliative care consultation in a very busy adult medical-surgical hospital and two months of adult hospice care, divided between in-patient hospice units and in-home hospice and palliative care service provision.
• The pediatric rotations include seven months of in-patient focused palliative care consultation and one month of community-based pediatric home hospice and palliative care. 

The perinatal-track fellowship curriculum includes three months of adult hospice and palliative medicine, four months of pediatric palliative and hospice care, and four months of perinatal palliative care.

• The adult medicine rotations include one month of general palliative care consultation in a very busy adult medical-surgical hospital and two months of adult hospice care, divided between in-patient hospice units and in-home hospice and palliative care service provision.
• The pediatric rotations include three months of in-patient focused palliative care consultation and one month of community-based pediatric home hospice and palliative care. 
• The perinatal rotations include four months of divided time with prenatal consultations and rotations with multidisciplinary providers from Chicago Institute for Fetal Health, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Genetics, NICU, CICU, and more.

Pediatric-track and perinatal-track fellows participate with adult medicine fellow colleagues in a regularly occurring didactic series that includes journal club, case presentations, psychosocial cases as well as exploration of related literary works (fiction, poetry, essays). There is also a monthly Regional Fellows Conference with palliative medicine fellows from the Chicago area and a longitudinal seminar on oncology-focused symptom management.  The pediatric palliative care team also conducts weekly self-education sessions and perinatal fellows will participate in a seminar series designed for perinatal palliative care that features regional and national experts in neonatology, palliative care, and bioethics. 

• Lurie Children’s Medical Education and Training
• Lurie Children’s Office of Pediatric Fellowship Programs

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine seeks to attract inquisitive, motivated fellows and is committed to providing them with every opportunity for success. We encourage a diverse and inclusive work environment that allows each trainee to achieve their personal goals.

For more information on Northwestern’s commitment to diversity, please see the McGaw Diversity & Inclusion page, the Northwestern McGaw Underrepresented Residents & Fellows Forum and Feinberg School of Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Pediatrics Diversity & Inclusion

Fellows must complete a scholarly project that is typically focused on quality improvement. In addition, many faculty members have ongoing projects related to scholarly work, clinical research, or ethics as it pertains to pediatric palliative care and fellows are encouraged to pursue opportunities to participate in these projects.

• Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute Video
• Trainee Stories: Kyle MacQuarrie, MD, PhD Video

Lurie Children’s Hospital is a nationally ranked acute care hospital. The clinical experience for palliative care fellows encompasses the care of children on virtually all subspecialty services. About 40 percent of our patients have primary clinicians from oncology, hematology and stem cell transplantation. The care of these patients involves intensive symptom management as well as complex psychosocial and spiritual care needs. Additional patient populations include those with severe heart disease, including chronic heart failure, patients awaiting heart transplantation and newborns with complex congenital heart disease. We also provide care for children with neuromuscular disease, such as spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, children with leukodystrophies, other neurodegenerative processes and intractable seizure disorders. In addition, fellows will have exposure to children with progressive lung disease, with intestinal failure and/or end-stage liver disease and children with incompletely controlled immunological/rheumatological conditions. We actively collaborate with colleagues in our pediatric intensive and neonatal intensive care units. Fellows will also have an opportunity to participate in consultations involving perinatal palliative care.

We aim to equip fellowship graduates with excellent medical/pharmacologic and psychosocial skills to manage complex symptoms and provide sensitive and appropriate counseling and support for difficult decisions and appropriate guidance for advanced care planning in the setting of life-limiting illness.

Applicants must have or plan to have completed an accredited pediatric residency program prior to the start of the fellowship. Applicants may also have completed other subspecialty training in pediatrics. Applicants must be board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics (APB) or eligible to sit for the ABP’s certifying examination in general pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty. We encourage interested individuals with additional pediatric subspecialty training to consider applying. International medical graduates are welcome to apply but must meet specific criteria, including a valid ECFMG certificate and documentation of U.S. citizenship or a valid green card or visa as per the requirements set forth by Northwestern McGaw Medical Center.

Applicants may begin submitting applications through the online Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) in the summer of the year prior to the anticipated fellowship start date. Please note that applicants must direct their materials to the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at Northwestern’s McGaw Medical Center select the separate pediatrics track that pertains to our program. Please contact us directly with any questions about the pediatrics track.

 The application requirements are spelled out in ERAS and include:

• Online application
• Current curriculum vitae
• Personal statement
• Recent photograph
• Copies of USMLE or COMLEX scores
• Medical school transcript
• Three letters of recommendation, including one from the residency program director.

Due to need to review all applications and select individuals for interviews, individuals should submit their completed applications as early as possible. Interviews start in September and continue until October or early November.

Discover the many ways our faculty are impacting children's health beyond the hospital.

Each year, as many as 20 third-year pediatric residents travel to Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania, to participate in an educational initiative that provides exposure to the management of complex pediatric diseases in a low-resource setting. Learn more about this extraordinary opportunity.

Housestaff training through McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University provides diverse and challenging clinical experiences and world-class education located in the heart of the beautiful city of Chicago. Learn more via the links to the McGaw website below.

• Why Northwestern?
• Diversity & Inclusion

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