Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care for Physician Associates Specialty Review

Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care for Physician Associates Specialty Review is a comprehensive review and guide for PAs who wish to study and practice for the Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care. It features 215 questions with multiple-choice answers across 11 chapters that are organized into three sections: Essential Aspects of Serious Illness Patient Care, Managing Suffering and Distress, and Care Transitions, Including End-of-Life. The fourth and last section, ＂Practice Essentials,＂ contains two unique chapters on Hospice Essentials and Communication Essentials. These two chapters reinforce the two most fundamental facts of the PA profession: that PAs are trained in the fundamental skills of compassionate and attentive listening, and that they are lifelong learners in clinical medicine. Both chapters address topics that are not part of the blueprint for the CAQ but are nonetheless essential to the professional practice of a PA who is employed by hospice or interacts with any part of hospice in the world of palliative medicine.

Each item featured in the book contains a case study in the question stem, followed by a discussion of the multiple choices that addresses why one option is correct while the others are not. This rich clinical material can enhance the knowledge and understanding of not just PAs training for the CAQ, but any physician or allied health professional involved in palliative medicine and hospice.

Nadya Dimitrov, DPM, PA-C, DFAAPA, is Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Education, Stony Brook University

Rebekah Halpern, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Fetal and Neonatal Institute, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit

Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, The Elizabeth Hospice; Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego

Martha L. Twaddle, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, HMDC, The Waud Family Medical Director, Palliative Medicine & Supportive Care, Northwestern Medicine - North Region, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Richard J. Ackermann, MD, Palliative Medicine Physician, Atrium Health, Navicent Medical Center