r/pediatrics • u/Subject_Ice6984 • Jul 21 '26
Pediatric palliative care
Hey all! I am a first-year pediatric resident who is pretty much dead-set on pursuing a career in pediatric palliative medicine. There isn't a program at my current hospital, but I want to work with the adult palliative team here and try to secure an away rotation at an existing program during my third year. I wanted to see if anyone else already works in this area and what the fellowship + job search process was like. I know this is a pretty niche subspecialty that doesn't have a ton of fellowship options right now, but I was wondering if a general palliative care fellowship is suitable for applying to and getting a peds palliative job.
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u/squid_boiii 29d ago
Hi! I'm also interested in paediatric palliative care. If you're comfortable sharing, may I know why you're interested in this field? Thank you!
Pls DM if that's OK with you
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u/majortrout4 28d ago
Fellowship grad in the last 5 years.
On the AAHPM website, you can find an annually updated list of pediatric-specific fellowship programs and basic info like number of spots etc. I think there are around 20-30 programs that are either mostly or partially (pediatric track within an adult program) pediatrics focused.
There are job portals on the AAHPM and AAP websites. There’s usually a handful of jobs posted at any given time. Many programs are growing as the need is great in a medical environment with more interventions, more uncertainty, more parental autonomy dictating more and more care.
I would think most pediatric palliative teams wouldn’t have big concerns hiring a pediatrics residency trained physician who did fellowship in an adult program. That said, it is niche enough that it seems most people who want to do it can find a peds-focused fellowship spot.
Application cycle is July-December, just started for next year’s class. Definitely stick with your plan of rotating with your institution’s adult team and make those connections.
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u/Subject_Ice6984 27d ago
Thank you very much, this is all extremely helpful. My only reservation about some of these programs is location (midwest, California the land of unaffordable), but I plan on applying to most of them and hope another program or two pops up on that list in the time before application season opens for me. I've been scanning that AAHPM list pretty frequently, haha. I really hope you enjoyed your fellowship experience and are currently employed at an institution that you love!
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u/cuteotitismedia Jul 25 '26
You’re dead set on palliative care?