Learning Tracks

To offer options to meet each individual’s career goals and background, the Palliative Medicine Fellowship program at Mount Sinai has created three separate learning tracks. The programs vary in length and focus. Only physicians considering a career in academic medicine – as either a clinician-investigator or clinician-educator – are eligible for the fellowship program at Mount Sinai.

Each track has a degree of flexibility and can be tailored to meet the needs of individual physicians. Fellows in each of these tracks have the option of pursuing an additional year(s) of protected time for research at Mount Sinai if they desire a career as a clinician-investigator. These individuals are required to obtain a Master of Science in Clinical Research through the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) over the course of their time at Mount Sinai.

If you have questions about the tracks or your eligibility to pursue one of them, please send an e-mail to palliativecare@mssm.edu.

Track One

Combined Training at Mount Sinai in Palliative Medicine and a Subspecialty of Internal Medicine

Fellows in this track integrate their training in palliative medicine with another fellowship at Mount Sinai. Precedents at Mount Sinai exist for combined training in hematology/oncology, geriatrics, cardiology, pulmonary/critical care, nephrology, and infectious disease. Other options can be arranged as well.

This track is designed to be at least one year in length in addition to the standard length of fellowship training in the other chosen subspecialty.

Track Two

Palliative Medicine Training at Mount Sinai for Individuals Board-Certified/Eligible in a Subspecialty of Internal Medicine

This track is designed for individuals who either have completed training in a subspecialty of internal medicine, are currently enrolled in another fellowship, or who plan to complete another fellowship after receiving palliative medicine training at Mount Sinai. This track is designed to be one year in length and can be tailored to complement the candidate’s other areas of specialization. An example of a candidate in this track includes a fellow who completed her geriatrics training at another institution and then enrolled in a one-year palliative medicine fellowship at Mount Sinai. Another individual enrolled in a one-year palliative medicine fellowship at Mount Sinai after completing her residency and then went on to complete her oncology training at another institution.

Track Three

Palliative Medicine Training at Mount Sinai for Individuals who intend to specialize only in Palliative Medicine.

This track is designed for individuals who have completed residency training in internal medicine, family medicine, or other fields whose parent body is a co-sponsor of the certificate of additional training in palliative medicine (e.g. emergency medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation). This track is for physicians who do not intend to complete subspecialty training in another field and who intend to have a career in academic palliative medicine, as either a clinician-educator or clinician-investigator. This track is at least two years in length – half of this time is devoted to clinical care while the other half provides protected time to complete a research project or develop a curriculum. Since palliative medicine is firmly based in the principles of internal medicine, individuals who have completed training in fields such as emergency medicine or physical medicine and rehabilitation may be required to complete additional coursework/rotations before they begin their clinical work at Mount Sinai.