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Graduate Medical Education

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship

The Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship Program is designed to shape future leaders in hospice and palliative medicine through meaningful, personalized training and a strong foundation in clinical excellence.

Program FacultyCurrent Fellows

Welcome from the Program Director


Preeya Desh, MD

Welcome to the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Broward Health North!

We are excited to introduce you to our one-year, ACGME-accredited Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) Fellowship at Broward Health North. Our program offers comprehensive training in both primary and specialty palliative care, with a strong focus on hospice services. Fellows care for a diverse community across age groups, diagnoses and socioeconomic backgrounds, delivering compassionate, culturally sensitive care.

Located in beautiful South Florida, our fellowship emphasizes strong clinical training and an outstanding work-life balance. Fellows complete the majority of their rotations at Broward Health North, with additional experiences at Broward Health Medical Center, Broward Health Rehabilitation Center, Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital and VITAS for inpatient and community hospice.

What makes our program unique?

  • Flexibility to personalize your training: Fellows are encouraged to shape their learning journey to meet their career goals — whether in clinical care, education, leadership or research.
  • Broad specialty welcome: We invite applicants from anesthesiology, emergency medicine, critical care, family medicine, geriatrics, gynecologic oncology, hematology-oncology, internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics and surgery. Whether you are early or mid-career, our program is designed to meet you where you are as an adult learner.
  • Scholarly opportunities: Fellows are paired with mentors early in the year to develop meaningful scholarly projects, with support to present or publish their work.
  • Global and Humanities focus: Fellows engage in global palliative care initiatives and enjoy protected time each month for the Humanities in Palliative Care curriculum, exploring narrative medicine, art, music therapy and creative expression.

At Broward Health North, you’ll find a welcoming team, outstanding mentorship and an opportunity to build a career that is both fulfilling and sustainable.

Thank you for considering us. We encourage you to learn more and discover how our fellowship can help you achieve your professional and personal goals.

Preeya Desh, MD
Program Director
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Director: Preeya Desh, MD

Coordinator: Marlin Silber

Contact Us:
954-876-2591
[email protected]

Training Blocks & Sites: Download PDF

About the Program


Training Compassionate Leaders in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Broward Health North’s Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship is committed to providing comprehensive, evidence-based training that prepares physicians to become confident, autonomous specialists. Our fellows develop the knowledge, clinical skills and philosophy of care required to practice at the highest professional and ethical standards.

Throughout the fellowship, trainees learn to deliver compassionate, patient-centered care to a socioeconomically and culturally diverse patient population. They gain critical experience coordinating care across multiple healthcare settings and working within — and leading — interdisciplinary teams that include physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, nurses, pharmacists and chaplains.

Our program is designed with flexibility to support a wide range of career paths, whether in clinical practice, education, community-based care or academic medicine. Fellows are encouraged to build independence, resourcefulness and leadership skills that will ensure their success in any setting they choose.

At Broward Health North, we are proud to offer a training environment that combines rigorous clinical preparation with mentorship, creativity and opportunities for growth.

Program Highlights

  • Educational resources, including memberships to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), and access to relevant textbooks and handbooks
  • Mentorship for scholarly activity aligned with personal interests and career goals
  • Monthly wellness sessions exploring “Humanities in Medicine” through narrative medicine and expressive arts
  • Optional exposure to global health palliative care based on interest
  • High-volume clinical experience across the full spectrum of palliative care (including oncology, heart and lung disease, and dementia)
  • Comprehensive lecture series and didactics covering the fundamentals of hospice and palliative care, subspecialty topics, ethics, and psychosocial care
  • Weekly interdisciplinary team meetings, case conferences, board review sessions, journal clubs, and Grand Rounds
  • Communication workshop and opportunities to teach
  • Flexibility to curate elective rotations that support individual educational goals

Elective Opportunities to Personalize Your Training

At Broward Health North, we believe that your fellowship year should align with your unique career goals. Our program offers a wide range of elective opportunities to help you build the skills and experiences most relevant to your future practice.

Elective options include:

  • Specialty Palliative Care (e.g., Hematology/Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Pain Management, Psychiatry)
  • Ethics
  • Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, Psychosocial Care with Psychologists and Social Workers
  • Global Health
  • Narrative Medicine
  • Research and Scholarly Work
  • Hospice Administration
  • Other experiences based on your interests and career aspirations

We encourage fellows to thoughtfully curate their elective experiences, with mentorship and support from our faculty, to help them grow into confident, compassionate leaders in palliative care.

Curriculum

Our comprehensive curriculum is designed to equip fellows with the skills and knowledge necessary for success in Hospice and Palliative Care. Fellows will gain expertise across a broad range of topics to prepare them for various clinical, educational and academic careers in this field.

  • Comprehensive, intentional training in the fundamentals of palliative care, including pain and symptom management for patients with serious illnesses
  • Diagnosis and treatment of the psychosocial elements of cancer and other complex conditions
  • Cultural, spiritual, religious and existential aspects of palliative medicine
  • Care of imminently dying patients, including management of terminal symptoms and support for bereavement and grief
  • Hospice eligibility, history and philosophy, and the delivery of hospice care
  • Pediatrics in palliative care, including age-appropriate communication, pediatric diseases and symptom management
  • Holistic approaches to the care of seriously ill patients
  • Clinical research methods in palliative care, with critical review and application of relevant scientific literature
  • Board review, journal club, ethics discussions, case conferences, interdisciplinary team meetings and Grand Rounds
  • Intensives in communication, including workshops, meaningful feedback and opportunities to teach communication to medical students and residents
  • Electives tailored to career goals:
    • Elective 1: Choose from specialty palliative care fields such as hematology/oncology, radiation oncology, cardiology, nephrology, pulmonary, critical care, psychiatry and others
    • Elective 2: Choose from ethics, chaplaincy/spiritual care, psychosocial care with a psychologist or social worker, global health, narrative medicine, research, hospice administration and more
View Training Blocks and Sites

Applications

All applications are processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

We participate in the National Residency Matching Program and do not accept any applicants outside of the Match.

NRMP #: 1892540F0

Application Review and Interview Selection Procedures

Invitations to interview are sent by email via ERAS, and interviews will be conducted virtually.

Thank you for your interest in the Hospice and Palliative Care program at Broward Health North. We strongly encourage interested applicants to apply to our program and learn about its unique features through the interview process. We look forward to hearing from you.

Meet Our Faculty and Fellows

Get to know the dedicated fellows and expert faculty behind our Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship Program at Broward Health North. Our team is committed to advancing compassionate, evidence-based care for patients with serious illness through hands-on training, interdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship rooted in real-world experience.
Program FacultyCurrent Fellows

Program Leadership

Preeya Desh, MD - Program Director, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program, Broward Health North
Palliative Care Medical Director, VITAS Healthcare

Dr. Preeya Desh is board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, with fellowship training at Columbia University/NewYork-Presbyterian. She holds primary board certification in Pediatrics and completed a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Brown University.

Dr. Desh currently serves as the Program Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Broward Health North and as the Palliative Care Medical Director for VITAS Healthcare. Since 2020, she has provided interdisciplinary palliative care in both inpatient and community settings, with a focus on advancing quality and access to serious illness care. She is a Clinical Affiliate Assistant Professor of Hospice and Palliative Care in the Department of Medicine at Florida Atlantic College.

Dr. Desh is an active member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), where she previously served as Chair of the Global Health Special Interest Group. Her academic interests include global palliative care delivery, narrative medicine and medical education. She is engaged in international palliative care initiatives and regularly mentors learners in both clinical and scholarly capacities.


Orly Hadar, MD - Associate Program Director, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program, Broward Health North
Palliative Care Medical Director, VITAS Healthcare

Dr. Orly Hadar specializes in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Chicago Medical School in 2016, completed her Internal Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Florida in 2019, and served as Chief Resident in 2020. She further advanced her training with a Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Since completing her fellowship, Dr. Hadar has served as a palliative care consultant and hospice physician with VITAS Healthcare, where she provides expert, compassionate care for patients with serious illness.

In her role as Associate Program Director of the Broward Health North Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Dr. Hadar organizes the program’s Palliative Care Grand Rounds, mentors fellows in clinical development, and contributes to curriculum innovation. She is deeply committed to education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and fostering the next generation of palliative care leaders.

Dr. Hadar is an active member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and the American College of Physicians (ACP).