Psycho-Social-Spiritual

At the end of the fellowship, fellows will be able to support patients and families in the psychosocial domain and in the spiritual and existential domain (EPA 11 & 12). To this end, fellows are provided with a rich network of interprofessional faculty to teach psychosocial skills and work collaboratively with chaplains and social workers on clinical services, who all offer guidance and mentorship. Fellows will work with attending physicians to learn how to assess patient coping and provide psychosocial support. Fellows will also learn to address patient and family suffering and identify needs within the spiritual and existential domain with basic assessment followed by appropriate interventions and referrals. Finally, particular attention is paid to teaching fellows about bereavement care (EPA 9), especially distinguishing between normal grief and more pathological responses to loss. Fellows participate in a series of didactic sessions led by two bereavement experts, make mentored bereavement calls, and participate in weekly and biannual remembrance activities.