Jane deLima Thomas, MD, FAAHPM

Thomas

Clinical Director, Adult Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center

Associate Director, Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship

Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Educational and professional experience
1990-1995 BS in Biology, Northeastern University
1995-2000 MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
2000-2003 Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency, Yale University
2003-2004 Geriatrics Fellowship, Yale University
2005-2006 Palliative Care Fellowship, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)
2006- Attending Physician, DFCI and Brigham and Women’s Hospital

 

Current teaching and research interests

Jane deLima Thomas, MD, FAAHPM’s academic focus is teaching clinician self-awareness in communicating with patients, families, other clinicians, and learners. She teaches medical students, residents, fellows, and CME audiences about communications skills such as breaking bad news, having goals of care discussions, and managing patient requests for hastened death. Additionally, she has taught nationally about mindfulness of emotion in the clinical encounter, the role of hope in palliative care, and clinician self-care. Her publications include giving feedback to learners, interprofessional communication in palliative care, managing misunderstandings about prognosis, and self-care for clinicians caring for patients with advanced cancer. Her teaching has roots in her clinical practice as a palliative care physician; the desire to teach others to be effective, empathic communicators springs from her own deep pleasure when she can achieve that with her patients.