The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program, developed jointly by Hospice of Chattanooga, Inc., and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, was granted “accredited” status by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education on January 24th. The one-year-old Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship Program is among the first hospice fellowships to receive accreditation in the nation and one of two to be accredited in Tennessee. The fellowship program allows physicians who choose to become certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine to show a commitment to providing quality care when patients and their families are managing the physical, psychological, and spiritual issues associated with life-limiting illnesses.
The accreditation will open dialogue for improving how hospices, hospitals and nursing homes care for patients with chronic progressive illnesses, as well as end-of-life issues. The UT College of Medicine Chattanooga’s Department of Internal Medicine has been instrumental in sponsoring the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, which began in July 2008. Valencia Clay, MD, serves as Fellowship Program Director, and Terry Melvin, MD, is Associate Program Director for the fellowship. Dr. Melvin is also Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Hospice of Chattanooga, Inc.
The program’s first fellow, Musharraf Navaid, MD, from Laurinburg, NC, is a physician in Internal Medicine who began his training in July 2008.
Dr. Navaid has elected to gain additional experience in Hospice and Palliative Medicine that he will later utilize in his home state.
For further information about the hospice fellowship, contact Gigi Ellis, Fellowship Program Coordinator, Hospice of Chattanooga, at 423 553-1815 or Pamela Scott, Director, Graduate and Medical Student Education at the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga, by calling 423 778-7442. Also, visit www.utcomchatt.org for fellowship information.