Promoting Specialty Diversity in Hospice and Palliative Medicine: A Call to Action

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic amplified not only the well-established gap between the supply of the palliative care workforce and the demand for palliative care services across a wide range of specialties, but also the importance of diversity in rising to the challenges of our time. 1 Kamal AH Bull JH Swetz KM Wolf SP Shanafelt TD Myers ER. Future of the palliative care workforce: preview to an Impending Crisis. Am J Med. 2017; 130: 113-114 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (119) Google Scholar , 2 Kamal AH Wolf SP Troy J et al. Policy changes key to promoting sustainability and growth of the specialty palliative care workforce. Health Aff (Millwood). 2019; 38: 910-918 Crossref PubMed Scopus (71) Google Scholar , 3 Cooper Z Bernacki RE. To face coronavirus disease 2019, surgeons must embrace palliative care. JAMA Surg. 2020; 155: 681-682 Crossref PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar , 4 Shalev D Nakagawa S Stroeh OM et al. The creation of a psychiatry-palliative care liaison team: using psychiatrists to extend palliative care delivery and access during the COVID-19 crisis. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020; 60: e12-e16 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar , 5 Dundin A Siegert C Miller D et al. A pivot to palliative: an interdisciplinary program development in preparation for a coronavirus patient surge in the Emergency Department. J Emerg Nurs. 2020; (S0099-1767(20)30286-5) Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar , 6 DiversityEquity & Inclusion Strategic Plan. American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2022http://aahpm.org/uploads/Final_Revised_D__I_Strategic_Plan_Approved_3_13_19.pdf Google Scholar The pool of physicians represented under the 10-member multispecialty board recognizing Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) is critical for filling this workforce gap and for bridging specialty palliative care and the parent specialties. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, emergency medicine physicians, and others outside the field of internal medicine (IM) are critical emissaries both to and for palliative care. These clinicians, educators, and researchers promote primary palliative care education in their parent specialties, foster acceptance and receptivity to palliative care interventions among their primary specialty colleagues, and build the programs and evidence base that ensure patient access to palliative care across the full spectrum of serious illness. They also bring diverse knowledge, skills, perspectives, and experiences to HPM, informing and shaping the field and augmenting its capacity to serve the needs of a broad range of patients and families. 7 Bassette E Salyer C McCammon S Veazey Brooks J Spoozak L Value of hospice and palliative medicine fellowship after surgical training: bridging the gap for improved patient care. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2022; (Epub ahead of print)10499091221128966https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091221128966 Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar