Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) | Fellowships

We offer a one-year pediatric palliative care clinical training program for those who have completed a general pediatrics residency. The fellowship is focused on advancing pediatric pain management, palliative care, and quality of life concerns. Information for the academic year fellowship is as follows:

Qualifications

• board-eligible or board certified in pediatrics or one of its sub-specialties
• commitment to a career in pediatric palliative medicine

Responsibilities

• The trainee will become familiar with comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation and management of children with diverse advanced illnesses and their families, and will be responsible for the care of inpatients and outpatients in varied settings, including an academic teaching hospital, hospice/home care, and chronic care.
• The trainee will be trained as a clinician-educator through supervised experiences in the teaching of pediatric palliative care.
• The fellow also may join in ongoing research projects, and arrangements may be made for one to two years of more intensive research experience.

Inquires should be addressed to:

Shih-Ning Liaw, MD, FAAP
Senior Physician, Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital
Program Director, Harvard Interprofessional Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship
Instructor, Harvard Medical School
450 Brookline Ave.
Boston, MA 02215

Office: 617-632-4293
Fax: 617-582-7271
Email: Shih-Ning_Liaw@dfci.harvard.edu

The Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) is an interprofessional care team dedicated to improving symptoms and quality of life in children with advanced illness, and their families. The team, which includes physicians, advanced practice nurses, a registered nurse, a nurse case manager, and social workers, provides services at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

PACT offers a full-time, 12-month Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Fellowship. The pediatric nurse practitioner fellow will train alongside two physician fellows and one social work fellow in this distinctive interprofessional program. The fellowship includes mentored clinical supervision on PACT across settings (inpatient, outpatient, community, bereavement) in the care of children with serious illness and their families in the domains of communication, pain and symptom management, psycho-social assessment and management, advance care planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and various delivery models in palliative care.

The mission of the Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital is to train future leaders in pediatric palliative care by embracing interprofessional education and diverse perspectives to promote excellence in communication, teamwork, symptom management, and professional growth and resilience in caring for seriously ill children and their families.

What to expect

The pediatric and adult interprofessional palliative care fellows attend educational/training sessions together throughout the year. The learning activities (and supervision) are intertwined with the clinical work. The fellowship starts in July with intensive summer didactics that focus on the fundamentals of palliative care (e.g. a core curriculum of symptom management, communication, advance care planning, working on inter-professional team). In the fall, fellows have half-day didactic sessions (1-2/month) in addition to clinical work/academic projects distributed across the fellowship year.

Academic requirements include:

• Quality improvement curriculum and project
• Presentation at Palliative Care Grand Rounds
• Abstract submission and attendance at Annual Assembly for HPNA/AAHPM
• Nursing-specific seminars that are held throughout year (e.g. exploring imposter phenomenon, nursing research, preparing for HPNA certification, and career planning)
• Retreats: teaching, resiliency, and leadership retreats (each one day in duration)

Clinical requirements include:

• Inpatient clinical service rotations
• Outpatient clinical service rotations
• Community-based clinical service rotations
• Elective rotations

Mentorship:

Mentoring by nurse preceptors and interprofessional faculty enhance the fellow’s integration of concepts into specialty nursing practice. Mentors share their expertise, offer advice, and help the mentee develop skills and insights relevant to their personal and professional growth.

2025-2026 application information

Applications will be accepted through Boston Children’s Hospital.

The PACT NP Fellowship Application timeline for the upcoming academic year that begins July 2025 is as follows:

• Nov. 1, 2024 to Jan. 3, 2025: Applications accepted
• February and March 2025: Interviews
• March 2025: Applicant selection announced

Qualified candidates will have:

• Master’s of Science in Nursing from an accredited program.
• Board certified or board eligible by Jan. 31, 2025: Pediatric Primary Care, Pediatric Acute Care, or Family Nurse Practitioner
• Licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse in Massachusetts prior to the start of the fellowship in July 2025, with the authority to prescribe controlled substances to all ages. Prior experience as a nurse or nurse practitioner preferred.

Interested candidates should submit:

1. Application via Boston Children’s Hospital

Required supplemental materials should be sent to Jenna Freitas, Fellowship Director, at jenna.freitas@childrens.harvard.edu.

1. Resume/CV
2. Unofficial graduate school transcript
3. Personal statement describing your interest in palliative nursing, learning objectives for the fellowship year, and goals for advancing palliative care in the nursing field (500 word limit)
4. Three letters of recommendation that include at least one clinical and one academic reference

For more information about the PACT NP fellowship please contact Jenna Freitas, MSN, RN, CPNP, BCH/DFCI Pediatric Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Director, at jenna.freitas@childrens.harvard.edu.