This spring students at the University of Notre Dame gained insight into the delivery of care to patients and families dealing with serious advanced illnesses. The university, in partnership with Center for Hospice Care (CHC), once again offered the course “Introduction to Hospice and Palliative Care” that was designed by Dr. Dominic Vachon, Director of Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine and Mike Wargo, COO and vice president of the Hospice Foundation.
The five-week class covered a variety of topics focused on hospice and palliative care and was taught by CHC staff including physicians, social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors and other hospice and palliative care support staff. Community collaborators contributed subject matter emphasizing the unique needs associated with perinatal and pediatric palliative care and spoke to the importance of advance care planning.
While students from any major may enroll in the course, those with an interest in pursuing a career in medicine find it particularly worthwhile. As one student noted, “While I once believed that hospice and palliative care was an expiration date on one’s life, I now see hospice and palliative care as a crucial service which allows patients to die surrounded by loved ones, achieve incredible goals, and peacefully arrive at death in the comfort of physicians who can prioritize their needs.”
Dr. Aimee Heerd, the Vera Z. Dwyer fellow in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the IU School of Medicine, expressed similar sentiments during the annual fellow reception held at the Mishawaka campus in April. One of three hospice and palliative medicine fellows at the School of Medicine, she was hosted at CHC this year through the ongoing and generous support of the Vera Z. Dwyer Charitable Trust.
Dr. Heerd recalled an encounter with a patient's mother, who expressed sincere gratitude for being there for her child from birth to death, leaving a lasting impact on her as a healthcare provider. “I cried,” she shared. “Despite what is arguably the tragedy of a child dying before his own mother, she was able to offer a beautiful testimony of how profound it is to care for those who have a serious illness or are dying. I am so grateful to be here among my faculty, who have taught me the science of hospice and palliative care. But truly, who we learn the most from is our patients and their families.”