Geriatric Psychiatry is an integral part of palliative care and hospice. Physicians of all specialties are poorly trained to attend dying patients. In this elective rotation fellows will have an opportunity to manage end of life patients on inpatient ward, outpatient clinics and home hospice. Psychiatric issues include depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, terminal agitation, and counseling of both patient and family. Medical management of pain and symptom control will be covered in more depth than during the rehabilitation core rotation. Fellows develop skills managing interdisciplinary teams, become familiar with novel routes of drug administration and understand the role of social workers, nurses and clergy in the care of the terminally ill. Skills are expanded in both delivering “bad news” and teaching others to cope with this difficult task. Exploring ethics of end of life care are also discussed as parts of current clinical cases.
Faculty: Judith Kitzes MD, Erika Kettler MD, Walter Forman MD, Carla Eide MD
