Diana C. Halloran, MD
PGY 5
University of Florida College of Medicine
Dr. Halloran graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine and completed her emergency medicine residency at Northwestern.
"Throughout my emergency medicine residency I was continuously drawn to the field of palliative medicine. I particularly am interested in the intersection of palliative care with patient stories and narrative medicine. I am excited to be one of the hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) fellows at IU for the 2024-2025 academic year!"
Alexis N. Kaiser, MD
PGY 5
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Kaiser graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed her neurology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine along with a clinical ethics fellowship at the Fairbanks Center of Medical Ethics.
"I am so excited to join the Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship at IU School of Medicine! Throughout neurology residency I have been drawn to patient stories and the changing sense of identity that often accompanies neurological illnesses. I am passionate about the intersection of neurology and palliative care."
Melissa M. Pearson, MD
PGY 4
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Dr. Pearson graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed her residency in family medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas.
"I am thrilled to join the HPM fellowship this year! End of life discussions and goals of care have been an integral part of my practice as a hospitalist in small communities in Indiana and I am looking forward to enhancing these skills and others throughout the fellowship."
Mary C. Christy, MD
PGY 5, Combined Geriatrics-Palliative Medicine Fellow
Indiana University School of Medicine
Christy graduated from IU School of Medicine in May 2020. She completed residency in internal medicine at IU School of Medicine in June 2023.
"I have known that I hoped to someday become a physician for as long as I can remember. Ultimately, it was my deep connection to my grandparents, all of whom I unfortunately lost towards the end of high school, that drove me to develop a strong interest in geriatrics, and after a few particularly poignant patient/family experiences throughout my residency, my heart started pulling me towards palliative care as well."
Testimonials
“The year I spent in this program was the most enlightening (and most fun) year of my career to date. I chose this program due to its outstanding faculty and its culture of compassionate, patient-centered care, and it was everything I’d hoped for and more. There are so many opportunities to form meaningful connections with patients and families, and the faculty and staff are wonderfully warm and supportive. I learned a lot medically/academically, but even more importantly, this fellowship helped me to grow personally/emotionally/spiritually and prepared me well for the next phase of my career as a full-time palliative medicine specialist.”
“Eskenazi Hospital is a wonderful home base for the fellowship, exhibiting a culture of service to the community that is truly inspiring.”
“Everything I learned during the inpatient hospice experience turned out to be tremendously useful in my current job, as I have a much better understanding of how inpatient hospice works.”
“PalliTalk conference in Madison was exceptional, primarily for its stated purpose to further develop communication skills, though also for networking with peers in the palliative care world and building camaraderie with my co-fellows.”
“The reputations of the fellowship faculty as great clinicians, as well as educators and mentors, attracted me to the program. The HPM fellowship offered a wide variety of experiences in the all-to-brief year of fellowship training. I knew the core inpatient palliative care rotations would allow me to develop the skillset necessary to function as an inpatient palliative care physician, though I also appreciated the amount of elective time available to pursue my own interests and experiences that I otherwise may never have had.”
“The inpatient palliative care rotations gave me confidence in my ability to transition fairly easily into an inpatient palliative care position. I did leave Indiana to practice in a different state, though found no significant barriers in obtaining a position elsewhere.”
“The international elective in Eldoret, Kenya gave me an opportunity to join an inpatient palliative care team at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, the site of a sustained, decades-long partnership that has become a model for global health work. While facilities and resources may vary from the US, I found my role on the team to be similar to that of the inpatient palliative care rotations. My time was predominantly spent having goals of care conversations with patients (often via interpreter) as well as symptom management. The team and patients there are familiar with having international visitors, so I did not feel to be a significant distraction, but rather an extra provider who could help the team accomplish the day's work. During my time, there was a nurse who had recently joined the palliative care team. I often would work with her and she would help with interpreting while I was able to provide education on palliative care topics (medications, communication strategies, prognostication).”
“This program also offers excellent work-life balance with focus on physician wellness.”