Combined geriatric / Hospice and palliative Medicine fellow
Mary C. Christy, MD
PGY 5
Indiana University School of Medicine
Christy graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine in May 2020. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at IU School of Medicine in June 2023.
Why did you choose the Indiana University School of Medicine Geriatrics/Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program?
"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 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 at CHC 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.”