AAHPM Assessment Workgroup: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Assessment Needs and Directions

Briana Ketterer; Laura Dingfield; Katie H Stowers; Katherine Morrison; Amos Bailey; Hilary Flint; Gary Buckholz; Laura J Morrison; Holly Yang; Stephen Berns

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.12.009

AAHPM Assessment Workgroup: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Assessment Needs and Directions

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Dec 19:S0885-3924(24)01210-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.12.009. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Oregon Health and Science University (B.K., K.H.S.), Portland, Oregon USA. Electronic address: kettereb@ohsu.edu.
² Perelman School of Medicine (L.D.), Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
³ Oregon Health and Science University (B.K., K.H.S.), Portland, Oregon USA.
⁴ University of Colorado School of Medicine (K.M., A.B., ), Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁵ Cincinnati Children's Hospital (H.F.), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
⁶ University of California San Diego (G.B.), San Diego, California, USA.
⁷ Yale School of Medicine (L.J.M.), New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁸ Scripps Health System (H.Y.), San Diego, California, USA.
⁹ Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (S.B.), Burlington, Vermont, USA.

PMID: 39709136
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.12.009

Abstract

Context: Medical education is moving towards competency based medical education (CBME). This provides opportunities and challenges for the field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM). The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) created the Assessment Workgroup to spearhead a shared vision and process to implement high-quality assessment of fellow performance.

Objectives: The workgroup solicited the assessment experiences of program directors (PD) and recently graduated fellows across HPM fellowship programs to understand the needs of the community and inform the group's next steps.

Methods: In 2022, a RedCap survey was emailed to HPM PDs asking about the methods of fellow assessment in their program and their confidence in those methods. Those PDs then sent a similar survey to their graduating fellows. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative analysis of narrative responses was conducted by the workgroup.

Results: 56 PDs and 64 fellows responded. Nearly 50% use four or less assessment tools. Fellows reported greater confidence in assessment tools compared to PDs (83% vs. 68%). The most common assessors were physicians followed by interdisciplinary faculty. Many PDs (61%) reported no formal training in assessment and most reported dissatisfaction with faculty development in assessment (66%).

Conclusion: There is a lack of training and resources for HPM PDs in fellow assessment, and a need for faculty development. Fellows are engaged and should be invited as collaborators in this work. The AAHPM Assessment Workgroup is creating a nationally available resource of tools and accompanying faculty development materials.

Keywords: Assessment; competency based medical education; faculty development; fellowship; hospice and palliative medicine; program directors.