The Georgia Cancer Plan’s Palliative Care Workgroup Chair, Dr. Kim Curseen, recently joined the GeriPal Live Podcast to discuss the state of palliative care training and how it impacts patients living with serious illness.

Dr. Curseen selected for discussion a recent article by Harry Han, MD, published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM), which surveyed palliative care fellowship programs across the country. The study found that, on average, clinical fellows spend five weeks in outpatient care compared to 24 weeks in inpatient settings.

During the conversation, Dr. Curseen and the hosts explored the imbalance between training in outpatient versus inpatient care—a gap that matters because most people with serious illnesses spend the majority of their lives outside the hospital, where ongoing support and symptom management are critical. They also highlighted the limited training opportunities in non-oncology palliative care, an area of growing need as programs expand to serve patients with diverse conditions.

Dr. Curseen’s thoughtful discussion underscores the importance of aligning palliative care education with real-world patient needs and advancing access to comprehensive, community-based care across Georgia and beyond.

Listen to the full episode on the GeriPal Podcast