Future Physicians Seek End-of-Life Skills

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun. 21, 2010 - Beginning today, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Foundation - VITAS End of Life Education Fellowship Program welcomes six medical students who will spend the next six weeks immersing themselves in end-of-life (EOL) care issues, developing communication skills, studying the psychological, sociological, cultural and spiritual aspects of death and dying and designing a plan for integrating EOL education into the curricula of their medical schools and residency programs.

Students will be part of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® interdisciplinary hospice teams in South Florida. The teams consist of doctors, nurses, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors and volunteers. They will also be expected to research and develop end-of-life curricula to be implemented at their medical schools and to be shared on the web with medical schools across the nation.

“As the country faces an aging population, future physicians must be able to communicate and provide the best possible care for their patients facing death,” says John Brockman, AMSA national president. “AMSA urges all medical schools and residency programs to provide training to educate medical students and residents in issues of death and dying.”

For more information, please visit http://amsa.org/eol.

About VITAS
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is one of the nation’s largest providers of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 45 hospice programs in 16 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS employs 9,702 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients’ homes, but also in the company’s 30 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the Fourth quarter of 2009, VITAS reported an average daily census of 12,322.  Visit www.vitas.com.

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) operates two wholly owned subsidiaries: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter.

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The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Foundation, founded in 1962 to support the work and mission of AMSA, provides physicians-in-training with unique educational and career development and enrichment opportunities, research projects, and innovative community impact programs. Celebrating its 60th Anniversary, AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at www.amsa.org/.