Primary Care Hospice/Palliative Care Fellowship
The UTHSC HPM Fellowship is an ACGME accredited, adult and pediatric program that trains 5 fellows annually. The training utilizes inpatient, hospice and ambulatory settings to provide fellows with the knowledge and experience they need to deliver high quality care along the age and disease continuum. This includes intensive symptom management, intentional communication skills in discussion of goals of care, advance care planning, redirection of care and transition from a focus of cure to comfort. Our mission is to train our fellows to provide this care with a compassionate patient- and family-centered approach while maintaining appropriate balance in self-care, self-reflection and professional boundaries.
Applicants
Fellowship applicants submit applications through ERAS.
ERAS 2021 Fellowship Application TimelineAims
- Provide comprehensive didactic and clinical teaching that produces high quality Board Certified HPM physicians.
- Develop compassionate, patient- and family-centered physicians who integrate self-reflection, self-care and work-life balance to maintain longevity of practice while providing excellent patient care.
- Develop leaders and life-long learners who focus on quality improvement and clinical research.
Activities
- Didactic: Multiple settings with HPM Board certified supervision within interdisciplinary teams (IDT) in a rich academic environment with all the primary and subspecialty programs participating. The Fellows have an 8-day boot camp, weekly formal didactics, bedside teaching and monthly journal club.
- Clinical: Clinical settings include a full range of patient care services, other consulting physicians and non-physician caregivers with expertise in all aspects of pain and non-pain symptom management for pediatric and adult patients including a unique pediatric community-based program providing home care, palliative and hospice care.
- Wellness: Monthly debriefs in safe environment, weekly focus on meaning of work and self-care modeled by faculty.
- QI/Research: Fellows have a faculty mentor for QI/Research, workshops, broad statistical and research design support staff.
- Leaders: Faculty are leaders in the field who individually mentor, model and promote leadership growth. Fellows are encouraged to present minimally at one national meeting.
Why Memphis?
Memphis... Home of the Blues... Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll... Barbecue Pork Capital
of the World. Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, Memphis is a:
- Sports town (Grizzlies, Tigers, Redbirds, FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and Memphis 901 FC)
- Foodie town (Tastin' 'Round Town, Barbecue Festivals, Bucket Lists Eats)
- Outdoor town (Shelby Farms, Memphis Zoo, Big River Crossing)
- Music town (Elvis Presley's Graceland, Stax Records, Blues Hall of Fame)
- Art town (Go South Main, Broad Avenue Arts District, River Arts Fest)
Memphis is also the healthcare hub of the Mid-South. UTHSC faculty, residents, fellows, and staff can be found at:
- two phenomenal children hospitals (Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)
- one of the busiest trauma centers in the country (Regional One Health)
- a top-ten ranked cardiac surgery hospital (Baptist Memorial Hospital)
- a hospital with a state-of-the-art transplant institute (Methodist University Hospital)
- a hospital that serves almost 200,000 veterans a year from 53 different counties in the area (Memphis VA Medical Center)
There's no better time than now to choose Memphis!
Faculty
Melody J. Cunningham, MD, FAAHPM
Program Director, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Medical Director, Threads of Care, Palliative Care Program, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Education
- Medical School, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Internship, Residency and Chief Residency in Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Harvard Medical School
- Fellowship in Transfusion Medicine, Harvard Combined Program
Board Certifications
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- American Board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- American Board of Pathology
W. Clay Jackson, MD, DipTh
Associate Program Director, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Medical Director, Palliative Care Services, West Cancer Center
Faculty Appointment
- Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Education
- Residency, University of Tennessee/Baptist Tipton Family Medicine
- Medical School, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Graduate, Diploma of Theology, Oxford University
Board Certifications
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- American Board of Family Medicine
- American Board of Pain Medicine
- Academy of Integrative Pain Management
Justin Baker, MD, FAAHPM
Associate Program Director, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Chief, Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Director, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Education
- Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- Internship, Residency and Chief Residency in Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Board Certification
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- American Board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- American Board of Pediatrics
Erica C. Kaye, MD, MPH
Associate Program Director of Research, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Member, Director of Student Research; Division of Quality of Life and Palliative Care, St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Education
- Medical School, Harvard Medical School
- Internship and Residency in Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, TN
- American Board of Pediatrics
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- American Board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Amanda Linz, MD, MS, FAAP
Associate Program Director, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Attending, Threads of Care, Pediatric Palliative Care Team, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Education
- Medical School, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
- Internship and Residency in Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK
- Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK
- Fellowship in Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN
- Fellowship in Physician Scientist Training Program, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- American Board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- American Board of Pediatrics
Austin Dalgo, MD, MA
Senior Associate Program Director, University of Tennessee Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Attending, Threads of Care, Pediatric Palliative Care Team, Le Bonheur Children’s
Hospital
Director, Center for Bioethics and Health Equity, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Education
- Hospice and Palliative Care - University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 2015-2016
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, 2011-2015
- University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine, 2007-2011
- American Board of Pediatrics
- American Board of Internal Medicine
- American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Additional FacultyCurrent FellowsFormer Fellows