The Pediatric Advanced Care Team at CHOP offers a one-year clinical fellowship to train physicians in hospice and palliative medicine. During this fellowship, trainees:

• Provide palliative care consultation in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Provide phone-based symptom management and psychosocial support to pediatric hospice patients, their families and local hospice teams.  
• Participate in weekly interprofessional palliative care education.
• Teach fellows, residents, medical students, nurses and hospice staff in a variety of settings.
• Explore palliative care interests of their own through their scholarly project.

Fast facts about the program

• Duration: One-year clinical fellowship
• Positions available: Two per year
• Applicant qualifications: The program is designed for two trainees beyond the PGY 3 level. The program will accommodate excellent candidates completing a residency in pediatrics or pediatric subspecialty fellowships.

Why choose us?

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are ideally situated to provide outstanding clinical training and professional mentorship in pediatric palliative care. Graduates from our fellowship have gone on to start and grow pediatric palliative care programs across the country.

CHOP has developed one of the largest pediatric palliative care services in the country with more than 400 consults each year. Our team cares for infants, children, teenagers and young adults across the institution. Our large interdisciplinary team includes a robust psychosocial staff that is dedicated exclusively to the care of children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. 

The attending physicians who direct the program and oversee clinical care represent many subspecialties and include eleven physicians certified by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Fellows train in an environment that values clinical excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, education, quality improvement, and research. Faculty within the Pediatric Advanced Care Team are actively engaged in academic work across multiple areas of pediatric palliative care, providing fellows with opportunities for professional and scholarly growth throughout the fellowship year.

Funding for the Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is provided by the generous support of the Y.C. Ho/Helen and Michael Chiang Foundation.

The history, expertise and compassion that make Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia unique are also what makes it the best place for medical trainees.

Fellowship Program Leadership

Rosie (Laura) Musheno-King, MD
Fellowship Program Director 
mushenokil@chop.edu

Shalini Maitra, MD
Fellowship Associate Program Director
maitras@chop.edu

Vicki Reeves, BS
Fellowship Program Coordinator
reevesv@chop.edu

Fellowship curriculum

Core rotations

• 21 weeks on inpatient palliative care service (CHOP)
• 11 weeks on outpatient palliative care service, including ambulatory palliative care and home hospice management (CHOP)
• 4 weeks long-term care experience with complex care service (CHOP)
• 4 weeks hospice
  • 2 weeks home hospice (Penn Hospice)
  • 2 weeks inpatient and home hospice (Hospice and Community Care)
• 4 weeks elective of choice
• 2 weeks scholarship
• 4 weeks vacation

Scholarly project

As part of the fellowship, all fellows will design and implement a scholarly project in the domains of education, quality improvement or research. Fellows are provided with protected time spread throughout their year and mentorship from faculty is available in all domains.   

Didactic educational program and conference schedule

The didactic component of the Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine is designed to augment the clinical experience as well cover topics not traditionally found in a clinical setting.

The Interprofessional Palliative Care Education Series is a joint venture between the Palliative care teams at CHOP and Penn Medicine. Every Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. - 9 a.m., September through June, we meet as interdisciplinary teams for grand rounds, case conference and journal club. 

Dedicated fellowship didactics are held one afternoon a week throughout the fellowship year. These small group didactics bring the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellows from both CHOP and Penn together with core faculty, guest speakers and members of all interdisciplinary teams. Topics covered include pain and symptom management, communication, psychosocial and spiritual assessment, bereavement, developing a palliative care team, hospice regulatory topics and wellbeing.

Across the Map: Our Graduates

How to apply

Our fellowship program participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) universal application process and in the National Resident Matching Program. Please visit AAMC’s website for an application and information about our program.

Our program number is 5404132013. We do accept international medical graduates from AAMC-approved medical schools, and we support J and H1-B visas.

ERAS applications are reviewed in July and August. Interviews are conducted in August through October. The Match occurs in the late fall with fellows starting the following July. We encourage open communication with the program director and coordinator throughout the application process.

Instructions for application

The following information should be submitted to ERAS:

1. Complete application as provided through ERAS
2. Personal statement: Please include a single page statement describing the following: your interest in pursuing training in pediatric palliative care; the goals you hope to achieve in training; and your plans after fellowship.
3. Curriculum Vitae
4. Three letters of reference
5. Dean's letter from medical school
6. Medical school transcript
7. Recent photograph
8. Copy of parts 1, 2 and 3 of the USMLE, taken within the seven-year time frame as required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or equivalent scores
9. If a graduate of a medical school outside the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico, valid ECFMG certificate or one that does not expire prior to the start of the fellowship
10. If not a citizen of the United States or permanent resident, copy of current, appropriate visa

Other requirements

To carry out its mission, it is of critical importance for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to keep our patients, families and workforce safe and healthy and to support the health of our global community. CHOP requires all workforce members and trainees who work in patient care buildings or who provide patient care to receive an annual influenza vaccine. Employees may request exemption consideration for CHOP vaccine requirements for valid religious and medical reasons. Please note start dates may be delayed until candidates are fully immunized or valid exemption requests are reviewed. In addition, candidates other than those in positions with regularly scheduled hours in New Jersey, must attest to not using tobacco products.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.  CHOP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or any other legally protected categories in any employment, training, or vendor decisions or programs. CHOP recognizes the critical importance of a workforce rich in varied backgrounds and experiences and engages in ongoing efforts to achieve that through equally varied and non-discriminatory means.