Internal Medicine APC Awarded 2020 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) Scholarship
Congratulations to Rachel Montague, a nurse practitioner in the Division of General Internal Medicine and the University Supportive and Palliative Care Program, for a scholarship awarded from the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF).
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) established the conference scholarship program to provide financial assistance to nursing professionals for attending educational conferences that augment their professional development and leadership skills in hospice and palliative care. This competitive scholarship requires each applicant complete a detailed essay, submit a comprehensive resume, and provide a professional letter of reference from a supervisor/director.
Each year, a conference scholarship review committee consisting of HPNF board members and HPNA members selects an average of 7 nurses from the applicant pool. In addition to funding for the conference, this year’s scholarship recipients will be honored at the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) Certification Luncheon during the March 2020 Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care in San Diego, CA.
In recent years, other members from the University Supportive and Palliative Care Program have been awarded this scholarship and represented the University of Utah and their unique team at the Annual Assembly on the national stage.
Rachel's firm committment to improving her palliative care skills include seeking feedback from patients, and participating in educational activities such as weekly didactic talks, journal club presentations, and communication skills training. She recently participated in an SOS team quality improvement project looking at care provided to patients in the last 30 days of life; she and her team were able to successfully submit an abstract for a presentation on survival outcomes for cancer patients who are given antineoplastic therapy at the 2017 ASCO Palliative Care symposium.
In summary, she is a dedicated and talented palliative care provider whose team fully support her attendance at the upcoming Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care. The Department of Internal Medicine looks forward to Rachel's future leadership within the growing field of palliative medicine.