Palliative care boards with geriatrics fellowship?

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sunset823

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Hey all,
I'm a not even started PGY-1 but I am doing a program that combines IM and Geri. I am interested in palliative care and possibly onc in the future, but I don't want to do 3 (possibly 4 with heme/onc) fellowships, so I was wondering if one could become board certified in palliative care with just a Geri fellowship (and maybe Geri onc, either way I'll be working with a lot of palliative patients). Thanks!

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Eww. That sounds horrible to me.

Just do IM and then Heme/Onc. Add a one year hosp/palliative if you want to.

Don't see the need for a special year of geriatrics. Your about to get three years worth of old Gomers in IM.
 
My understanding is that fellowship training in Geriatrics does not make one board-eligible for the Hospice & Palliative Care boards.

It sounds like you really like working with elderly patients and don't shy away from tough situations, including their decline and death. I think it is a little early to tell what will unfold for you. Within the timeframe that you will need to make decisions, it will likely become clearer what training you will want to pursue to meet your goals.

One thing to bear in mind is that palliative care per se is really just good doctoring. If you do not train in HPM, but pay attention and seek out learning and training experiences in communication and symptom management, and then practice those skills whenever you get a chance. Plus you pick the brains of HPM subspecialist consultants, including mid-levels. And, ask for help from HPM subspecialists for tough cases. Then you will do a great job by your patients throughout their dynamic wellness-disease trajectory.

Bear in mind too, that it takes all kinds, but that not all kinds get that it takes all kinds.

Good Luck!
 
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to double count or even triple count fellowship work. The training that you do in that fellowship only counts for that fellowship. So, if you want to do fellowships in all three, they will only count to those. IM will have lots of geriatrics and Palliative Medicine has that too. I did fellowships in medical oncology and palliative medicine and really enjoy what I do. You only have a limited time in your professional life to actually practice, and one does so much training as it is, so I would recommend truly evaluating what you really want to do.
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