The Memorial Hospital of South Bend and Center for Hospice Care have collaborated to offer a comprehensive and immersive HPM Fellowship. Fellows work closely with expert interdisciplinary teams, develop advanced communication skills, build meaningful patient relationships, and benefit from mentorship by experienced faculty. Unique opportunities include potential collaborative research through the University of Notre Dame and international engagement through the Center for Hospice Care’s partnership with Global Partners in Care. By training in a regional health system and a deeply experienced community hospice, caring for patients and families across settings, diagnoses, and stages of life; graduates can expect to leave prepared to become confident, compassionate leaders in hospice and palliative medicine.
The purpose of the HPM fellowship is to train Physicians where hospice and palliative care are practiced across the full spectrum of serious illness care, including:
- Inpatient consultation
- Home and Inpatient hospice care
- Outpatient and Home-based palliative care
- Pediatric palliative medicine
Fellowship Application Timeline
- Applications accepted through ERAS July-August
- Interviews will be held September- October
- NRMP Match Day is early December
- Please Note
- We are unable to offer fellowships to residents with visas
- We accept 1-2 fellow per year
Overview of Training
Our accredited program complies with the ACGME guidelines set forth for goals, objectives, and competencies. Details are as follow:
- Ambulatory & Home- Based Palliative Care Medicine Rotation
- Provide longitudinal management of the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of patients receiving palliative care in both clinic and home environments.
- Collaborate with primary care providers, subspecialists, and community partners to ensure coordinated, value-concordant care.
- Demonstrate proficiency in upstream communication, including early goals-of-care discussions and advance care planning before a crisis arises.
- Understand the operational, regulatory, and billing distinctions between outpatient/home-based palliative care (Medicare Part B) and the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
- Inpatient & Home Hospice Rotation
- Provide comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence‑based hospice care in multiple settings across CHC’s twelve-county service area (inpatient, home, community, rural).
- Demonstrate progressive autonomy in hospice assessment and management.
- Integrate symptom management, communication, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary teamwork to reduce suffering and align care with patient goals.
- Function effectively across systems while advocating for patient‑ and family‑centered care.
- Inpatient Palliative Care Rotation
- Provide comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence-based palliative care to hospitalized patients with serious illness.
- Demonstrate progressive autonomy in conducting inpatient palliative care consultations.
- Integrate symptom management, communication, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary teamwork to reduce suffering and align care with patient goals.
- Function effectively within the hospital system while advocating for patient- and family-centered care.
- Long- Term Care Palliative Care
- Provide comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence‑based palliative care to residents of long‑term care facilities.
- Demonstrate progressive autonomy in symptom management and goals‑of‑care discussions in the long‑term care setting.
- Integrate symptom management, communication, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary teamwork to reduce suffering and align care with patient goals.
- Navigate long‑term care systems effectively while advocating for patient‑ and family‑centered care.
- Pediatric Palliative Care
- Provide compassionate, developmentally appropriate, and family-centered palliative care to pediatric patients across age groups and care settings.
- Demonstrate competence in age-adjusted assessment, pediatric symptom management, and communication with children and families.
- Integrate ethical pediatric decision-making frameworks and interdisciplinary team collaboration into clinical practice.
- Function effectively within pediatric hospital systems and community resources while advocating for high-quality pediatric palliative care.
Additional Aspects of the Fellowship
Lifespan Palliative Medicine
Pediatric Palliative Care
- Pediatric consultation, family-centered care, and complex symptom management
- Hospice and inpatient exposure for children with serious illness
Adult & Geriatric Palliative Care
- Oncology, cardiac, pulmonary, neurologic, and frailty-related serious illness
- End-of-life care and complex decision making for adults and older adults
Long-Term Care Experience / Wellbrooke of South Bend
- Skilled nursing, chronic serious illness management, and care transitions
- Interdisciplinary collaboration in long-term care settings
Longitudinal Didactic Curriculum
- Weekly conferences, case discussions, and journal review
- Quality improvement, communication skills, and professional development
Research Opportunities
- Explore scholarly collaboration, including potential opportunities with the University of Notre Dame
Global Palliative Care
- Engage through Center for Hospice Care’s partnership with Global Partners in Care
Requirements for graduation
Satisfactory completion of our 12-month training program in accordance to AGME guidelines.
Fellowship design
The strong community partnership between Memorial Hospital of South Bend and Center for Hospice Care has created a comprehensive foundation for the Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship. The multifaceted collaboration offers immersive training experience in inpatient consultation, hospice, home-based care, ambulatory palliative medicine, long-term care, and pediatric palliative medicine.
Training is co-directed by Nicholas Kerr, D.O., and Karissa Misner, D.O., alongside an interdisciplinary team including APCs, social work, and spiritual care providers.
Training emphasizes the essential skills of modern serious illness care:
- Symptom management and communication
- Goals-of-care and family meetings
- Hospice leadership and interdisciplinary care
With only up to two fellows accepted annually, trainees receive individualized mentorship, direct faculty access, and meaningful longitudinal clinical relationships.
External candidates are strongly encouraged to arrange an audition rotation at Memorial by November of their third year of residency.
Compensation & Benefits
Compensation and benefits for fellows are reviewed annually and subject to change including change in pay after board certification & Medicare credentialing.
Get to know us
2027-2028 Fellow:
Faculty
Nicholas Kerr, DO
HPM Fellowship Director
Karissa Misner, DO
HPM Fellowship Assistant Director
Contact Information:
Applications for 2028-2029 academic year will re-open May 2027- August 2027.
We offer an audition rotation for second and third-year residents who are interested in applying to the HPM fellowship. This can be a 2- or 4-week rotation. We highly encourage audition rotations by October PGY3.