We are thrilled to see two of our PaRC and University of Pittsburgh faculty honored for their work as physicians!

Congrats! Dr. Jane Schell co-authored guidelines for conservative management of kidney disease. From the Palliative Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics.

Read more on our website. Congrats Dr. Schell! www.palcare.pitt.edu/news/dr-jane...

Part of the ‘nephrology toolbox’: ASN releases conservative kidney management guidance The American Society of Nephrology issued new kidney health guidance on conservative management as a practical treatment option for patients with kidney failure. The guidance was published in the Jou...

"...but the more we see conservative management as part of what we do, the more meaningful it’s going to be in the care we provide." www.healio.com/news/nephrol...

Dr. Schell and co-author Dr. Susan P.Y. Wong were interviewed by gohealio.bsky.social. "We’re starting to become a collective community that understands how to approach and deliver conservative management. There’s no magic ingredient to changing our culture...

Dr. Jane Schell served as a co-author on the new guidelines published by the American Society of Nephrology for conservative management of kidney failure. The guidelines were published in JASN: journals.lww.com/jasn/fulltex...

#hapc26 starts tomorrow! Download the app or visit the conference website to build your profile + schedule. Pick up your badge tonight or Wednesday after 9am to avoid peak lines. With 2,500+ attendees expected, early pickup = stress-free start. https://ow.ly/z4mu50Youys

#hapc26 preconference attendees! Before heading to your precon session, please be sure to pick up your badge at Registration. Registration is open early, so give yourself a few extra minutes to check in and get settled. We can’t wait to kick off a great day of learning with you!

Who else is going to be at #hapc26 in San Diego next week?

We've been hard at work planning events for students, residents, trainees, and early career attendings again this year. Personally? I'm super excited for dueling pianos 😎.

Hope to see you there!

Journal of Palliative Medicine: Sage Journals

Journal of Palliative Medicine's website is currently being migrated over to the Sage platform and all JPM content will be freely available on the new Sage site for two months during this transition: journals.sagepub.com/home/PLM

To what extent is it our job as consultants to manage or attend to clinician distress? What happens when that clinician distress leads to conflict? #medsky

Guests Sara Johnson, Yael Schenker, & Anne Kelly.

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp385
😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

The 2026 AAHPM Annual Assembly takes place March 4–7 in downtown San Diego and now’s the perfect time to start planning your trip. Discounted hotel rates are filling fast — we’re already 59% booked. Plan now: aahpm.org/education-events/annual-...

Are Slow Codes ever ethical? We dive into the gray area of CPR, shallow compressions, walk don't run, compassion with deceit, outcomes vs values, bioethics vs real world, trust, + more. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp378
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Drs. @ginapiscitello.bsky.social and @hauschildt.bsky.social discuss their research on hospital policies influencing clinician approaches to decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment among patients admitted to an #ICU: www.chestnet.org/guidelines-a...
@gretchemaben.bsky.social

Changing paradigms of studies in kidney diseases - PubMed Recognizing kidney disease as a major global health issue, the International Society of Nephrology convened a 2-day international, multi-stakeholder meeting to develop a road map for advancing…

Dr. Jane Schell is a co-author on a new roadmap from the International Society of Nephrology for advancing clinical research in nephrology. Read the results from the working group:

Dr. Kelly Harris was senior author on this qualitative study by a Pitt Med student on terminology used by clinicians in fetal cardiology consultations with family caregivers. Read more: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41007075/

What's on your mind? A qualitative analysis of concerns and self-management strategies among older adults with advanced cancer - PubMed Originally registered with ClinicalTrials.gov on March 7th, 2016, ID# NCT02712229.

This secondary analysis of a primary palliative care trial, co-authored by several PaRC faculty members, examines the concerns and self-management strategies of older patients with advanced cancer. Read what they found: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40782786/

Engage: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial of a telehealth-delivered psychosocial intervention to decrease symptom interference in patients with advanced cancer - PubMed This trial is one of the first to evaluate the efficacy of an ACT-based intervention for patients with stage IV cancers, yielding important information about ways to reduce suffering in this patient…

ICYMI: Dr. Justin Yu is a co-author on this protocol paper describing the ENGAGE RCT, an intervention which applies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for stage IV cancer patients in underserved areas. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40834926/

Pharmacist-led Opioid Deprescribing Pilot Clinic within Outpatient Palliative Care - PubMed Opioid deprescribing clinic was time-intensive and patients required close monitoring for implementation of patient-specific opioid deprescribing plans.

An opioid de-prescribing pilot led by a palliative care pharmacist was safe and effective at reducing doses of opioids for patients in remission from cancer but time-intensive. Read about the program: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40749899/

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2025 Nov;70(5):503-513.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.07.033. Epub 2025 Aug 11. Assessing Perceptions of Positive and Negative Content within Goals of Care Notes, Gina M Piscitello, Emiliano Garcia-Fuentes, Robert M Arnold, Jane Schell, Katrina E Hauschildt.

What sorts of comments in EHR notes do patients and healthcare providers consider to be "negative"? Dr. Gina Piscitello found disagreement in a recent study, available from @JPSMjournal.bsky.social: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40803567/

Justin A Yu K23 Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Congratulations to Dr. Justin Yu, who was recently awarded a K23 award to pursue a pilot study of an intervention for caregivers of children with medical complexity. Read more: www.palcare.pitt.edu/dr-justin-yu...

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2025 Aug;70(2):e129-e136. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.04.007. Epub 2025 Apr 17. Characterizing the Documentation of Time-Limited Trials in Goals of Care Notes Gina M Piscitello, Robert M Arnold, Jane O Schell, Jacqueline M Kruser

Dr. Gina Piscitello writes on the lack of documentation of time-limited trials in goals of care notes. Read more from the study team in @jpsmjournal.bsky.social: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40252856/

Dr. Jane Schell Awarded Fellowship – Palliative Research Center Palliative Research Center

Palliative Care Section Chief Jane Schell has been accepted to the Institute on Healthcare Improvement Fellowship program through a scholarship from the John A. Hartford Foundation. Her project will develop & measure a palliative dialysis intervention.

Congratulations to Rene Claxton, MD, MS, recipient of the UPMC Physician Excellence Award – Senior Physician Excellence in Clinical Care! 🌟 She's celebrated for her exceptional patient care, groundbreaking educational innovation, & deep commitment to uplifting colleagues & trainees.

Assessing the Content of Goals of Care Documentation for Hospitalized Patients With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias. Gina Piscitello, Jennifer Lingler, Katherine Ramos, Yael Schenker, Robert M Arnold, Jane Schell.

Dr. Gina Piscitello is first author on a study of goals of care documentation for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Co-authors include other PaRC faculty. Read more from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40318049/

Dr. Christine Kistler is senior author on this study characterizing advance care planning directives documented in a large primary care network. Read the findings: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Advance Care Planning: How Can We Improve Access and Uptake? | Podcast | ASCO Publications Dr. Chino welcomes Dr. Yael Schenker to discuss a new clinical trial testing the best way of engaging patients with Advance Care Planning (ACP), the process of understanding personal values, life…

Dr. Yael Schenker was interviewed about advance care planning on the AJCO Oncology Practice Podcast. Listen here: ascopubs.org/do/advance-c...

Read a summary of the study's results: www.mcknights.com/news/goals-o...

Journal of Pain & Symptom Management (@jpsmjournal.bsky.social) Advancing #PalliativeCare, #Hospice and Symptom Research Official Journal of AAHPM and NHCPO #hapc #hpm #hapcResearch Acct led by @ctsinclair.bsky.social Website: jpsmjournal.com

Dr. Gina Piscitello found in a new study that goals of care conversations held with the specialty palliative care service, and those held within the first 48 hours of admission, were associated with significant positive patient outcomes. Read the results: jpsmjournal.bsky.social

Course Development and Integration of a Skills-Based Assessment for an Elective Palliative Care Course - PubMed Integrating skills-based assessment was an objective way to assess the impact of our palliative care elective course on student pharmacist skill development. The course improved student attitudes and…

Faculty in the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and UPMC's Palliative and Supportive Institute recently developed and piloted a palliative care elective course for pharmacy students. Read about the course:

Current and former PaRC faculty and staff are coauthors on this paper which proposes a three-phase model of cancer pain. Read more in Cancer: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40931912/