Palliative Medicine primarily aims to enhance the quality of life and care for individuals and their families facing serious illnesses. As an academic division, our mission is to advance the field of Palliative Medicine through excellence in teaching, research, and clinical practice. As providers of Palliative Medicine, we seek to foster a culture of clinical practice that embraces person-centered care, the relief of avoidable suffering, and shared decision-making.

The USF Division of Palliative Medicine was established in 2008. Since then, we have trained over 50 fellows from various disciplines and contributed to the development of the Palliative Care program at Tampa General Hospital. Our division has expanded in recent years, comprising faculty members who teach, deliver clinical care, and assist in managing a large interdisciplinary team of providers. While we often see patients in crisis and near the end of life, we are also consulted on patients in many other settings. For instance, those being considered for cardiac devices and organ transplants, frail elders facing complex ethical and clinical decisions, and oncology patients with symptoms related to their treatments.

As a discipline, we have shown that the involvement of Palliative Care benefits patients, families, clinicians, hospitals, and healthcare systems.