We educate physicians to provide high-quality palliative and hospice care to those coping with serious illness. We focus on skilled communication, exemplary pain and symptom management, as well as culturally-sensitive, whole person care.
505-272-4868
“I was particularly drawn to the fellowship because of its focus on providing excellent and comprehensive palliative care for underserved populations, including Native Americans.” Rebecca Adler, MD Palliative Care Fellow
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is a 12-month, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited program that offers a distinctive opportunity to train in a setting that blends academic excellence with a deep commitment to community care. As the only academic medical center and Level 1 Trauma Center in New Mexico, UNM provides fellows with a dynamic and diverse clinical environment where they learn to care for patients with serious illness through a whole-person, trauma-informed lens.
This one-year fellowship emphasizes the importance of addressing all dimensions of suffering - physical, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and existential. Fellows are immersed in interdisciplinary care, working closely with teams that include physicians, nurses, social workers, spiritual care, and other specialists. Together, they develop care plans that reflect each patient’s values, goals, and lived experiences.
A unique feature of the program is its focus on serving New Mexico’s under-resourced populations, particularly rural Native American communities. As a safety net hospital in a rural and ethnically diverse state, UNM offers fellows the chance to engage deeply with issues of health equity, cultural humility, and social determinants of health. Fellows are encouraged to approach care with curiosity, respect, and a commitment to justice.
Training spans a variety of settings, including inpatient consults at UNM Hospital and the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center, outpatient clinic, adult and pediatric hospice, and clinical electives. This breadth ensures that fellows graduate with the clinical skills needed to provide high-quality palliative care across the continuum. In addition to clinical work, fellows participate in scholarly projects, quality improvement initiatives, and community engagement, fostering leadership and academic growth.
Graduates of the UNM fellowship are prepared to lead with compassion, advocate for vulnerable populations, and deliver care that honors the whole person. For those seeking a program that combines rigorous training with a mission-driven approach to medicine, we invite you to apply to our program.
We are approved for up to four fellows per year. The application seasons begins in July of 2026 and our fellowship positions are filled through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). Our program ID number for the NRMP is 1962540F0.
Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and follow national guidance regarding our application and interview timelines. We are participating in program signaling this year.
We will begin receiving applications on July 15, 2025 for the 2026-2027 fellowship year.
In addition to the basic ERAS application requirements, we request three letters of recommendation:
We accept applicants from a variety of primary specialities, with recent fellows from emergency medicine, family medicine, and internal medicine backgrounds. Eligible applicants must be board-eligible or board-certified in any of the following primary specialties:
Anesthesiology
Emergency medicine
Family medicine
Internal medicine
Neurology
Obstetrics and gynecology
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Psychiatry
Radiology
Surgery
New Mexico is a majority-minority state with Hispanic persons and American Indians constituting the majority of the population in the state. We are committed to seeking and educating applicants from diverse backgrounds.
For more information about Hospice and Palliative Medicine Match, visit the AAHPM website.
Our program strives to foster clinical excellence, intellectual curiosity, cultural humility, critical reflection and compassion through clinical experience, evidence-based practice and mentorship, with a goal of developing palliative medicine physicians who have lifelong learning, teaching and self-care skills.
Curriculum
A partnership with Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico allows our fellows to rotate with the palliative medicine service at this critical access Indian Health Service hospital adjacent to the Navajo Nation.
Three weeks of vacation may be taken during any of the rotations; a maximum of two weeks can be taken at once. UNM GME has a generous leave package available for fellows. Please be aware, individual board organizations place limits on leave and training time that may be less than the generous support offered by UNM GME.
Train future teachers, innovators and leaders in palliative medicine by modeling use of evidence-based medicine and active learning and teaching in formal and informal settings. Advocacy for patient-centered care is a tenet in our program, with a focus on cross-specialty collaboration and professionalism.
The fellowship begins with a core educational “Boot Camp” series which covers key topics in palliative medicine.
The program trains physicians in interdisciplinary approaches to patient care through team teaching and exposure to a variety of hospice and palliative medicine environments at the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Veterans Administration Medical Center and in the New Mexico community.
Fellows work with our board-certified palliative medicine physicians who have:
The team also includes palliative medicine-trained and experienced nurse practitioners, social workers, a spiritual care specialist and narrativist, registered nurses, the Director of UNM’s Art in Medicine program, and administrative support persons.
Our program strives to foster clinical excellence, intellectual curiosity, cultural humility, critical reflection and compassion through clinical experience, evidence-based practice and mentorship, with a goal of developing palliative medicine physicians who have lifelong learning, teaching and self-care skills.
Curriculum
A partnership with Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico allows our fellows to rotate with the palliative medicine service at this critical access Indian Health Service hospital adjacent to the Navajo Nation.
Three weeks of vacation may be taken during any of the rotations; a maximum of two weeks can be taken at once. UNM GME has a generous leave package available for fellows. Please be aware, individual board organizations place limits on leave and training time that may be less than the generous support offered by UNM GME.
Train future teachers, innovators and leaders in palliative medicine by modeling use of evidence-based medicine and active learning and teaching in formal and informal settings. Advocacy for patient-centered care is a tenet in our program, with a focus on cross-specialty collaboration and professionalism.
The fellowship begins with a core educational “Boot Camp” series which covers key topics in palliative medicine.
The program trains physicians in interdisciplinary approaches to patient care through team teaching and exposure to a variety of hospice and palliative medicine environments at the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Veterans Administration Medical Center and in the New Mexico community.
Fellows work with our board-certified palliative medicine physicians who have:
The team also includes palliative medicine-trained and experienced nurse practitioners, social workers, a spiritual care specialist and narrativist, registered nurses, the Director of UNM’s Art in Medicine program, and administrative support persons.
L. Emily Cotter, MD
Fellowship Program Director
Division of Palliative Care
Department of Internal Medicine
1 University of New Mexico
MSC10-5550