Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Training Program

Program Director:
Dylan Sherry, MD
Current Fellow:
Michelle Pedersen, DO

Our mission is to train leaders and clinicians in the care of patients with serious illnesses.

The Supportive Oncology and Palliative Care Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center offers a one-year, ACGME-accredited fellowship in partnership with Temple University Hospital (TUH).  Fellows will benefit from exposure to a wide diversity of patients, practicing palliative care with experienced interdisciplinary teams at several different practice sites. Each year one trainee will be accepted into the program.

This fellowship is ideal for trainees seeking a deep knowledge of palliative care within oncology, and for those wishing to grow their skills in outpatient palliative care. A culture of nursing excellence, patient advocacy and patient-centered care make Fox Chase a superb place to learn the collaborative, interdisciplinary field of palliative care.  The partnership with Temple University Hospital expands each fellow’s experiences caring for patients in a busy, urban, academic hospital. Temple University Hospital serves some of the most economically challenged urban areas of Philadelphia, with a mission to provide quality healthcare to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. Our service area is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with 25% of individuals having incomes below the federal poverty level. Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine also ranks 9th in the country for graduating African American physicians, and 20% of the total enrollment consists of students from groups underrepresented in medicine. Fellows also rotate with Penn Medicine Hospice Services in the homes of patients throughout the Philadelphia area, and in their inpatient hospice unit, Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse. Fellows will participate in an ongoing educational curriculum and quality improvement initiative during their fellowship year.  Fellows will have one-on-one mentorship and opportunities to participate in clinical research.

Our fellowship provides a flexible, diverse, and stimulating year, with close mentorship and a unique focus on developing outpatient palliative care skills.

About Fox Chase Cancer Center

Fox Chase Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Center includes a 100-bed hospital devoted entirely to cancer patients, an outpatient center which includes a facility for clinical cancer prevention and research, one of the oldest and most nationally recognized high risk programs in the country, and the Institute for Cancer Research.  The Center has a residency in radiation oncology, as well as fellowship programs in a variety of areas, including medical oncology and urologic oncology. The Center is also home to an SSO-approved General Surgical Oncology Fellowship. Residents from Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine and other regional institutions also rotate at the Center.

About Temple University Health System

Temple University Health System (TUHS) is a $1.6 billion academic health system dedicated to providing access to quality patient care and supporting excellence in medical education and research.   The Health System consists of Temple University Hospital (TUH); TUH – Jeanes Campus; TUH-Episcopal Campus; TUH-Northeastern Campus; Fox Chase Cancer Center, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center;  Temple Transport Team, a ground and air-ambulance company; and Temple Physicians, Inc., a network of community-based specialty and primary-care physician practices. 

TUHS is affiliated with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), established in 1901, is one of the nation’s leading medical schools.  Each year, the School of Medicine educates approximately 840 medical students and 140 graduate students. Based on its level of funding from the National Institutes of Health, Temple University School of Medicine is the second-highest ranked medical school in Philadelphia and the third-highest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Temple Health refers to the health, education and research activities carried out by the affiliates of Temple University Health System (TUHS) and by the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.  TUHS neither provides nor controls the provision of health care. All health care is provided by its member organizations or independent health care providers affiliated with TUHS member organizations. Each TUHS member organization is owned and operated pursuant to its governing documents.