The Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care (HMS CPC) has offered courses for more than two decades that build the skills and knowledge needed to be effective practitioners. Through courses like Palliative Care Education and Practice (PCEP) and Practical Aspects of Palliative Care (PAPC), faculty from across the Harvard Medical School network of hospitals have engaged palliative care clinicians throughout the world.
Courses from the HMS CPC are characterized by the expertise and experience of an exceptional faculty, innovative teaching designed specifically to strengthen practice, and welcoming learners to a global community. We look forward to welcoming you to our distinctive learning experiences.
Core Practice of Palliative Care
May 13-15, 2026 Live Virtual Via Zoom
Core Practice of Palliative Care is a new three-day live virtual course via Zoom that will focus on palliative care skills development for adult and pediatric interprofessional clinicians of all specialties. Register here to strengthen your skills, deepen your knowledge, and enhance your contributions to an interdisciplinary team caring for patients and families with serious illness. Core Practice of Palliative Care succeeds and builds on the success of the Palliative Care Education and Practice (PCEP) course.
The course features deliberate skill development through interactive case-based sessions, skills practice with simulated patients, structured feedback, and guided reflection, with an emphasis on serious illness communication, whole person assessments, and state-of the art symptom management. Participants will leave with practical tools that they can immediately apply in daily practice. Designed and led by an interprofessional team of adult and pediatric clinicians, this course is intended for all members of a care team to join a generous global learning community and to learn with exceptional faculty from across the Harvard Medical School network.
Core Practice of Palliative Care is designed for patient-facing clinicians across disciplines and specialties, especially clinicians who are interested in enhancing their primary palliative care skills, palliative care champions, clinicians joining palliative care teams without prior fellowship training, and fellowship-trained clinicians seeking to refresh, deepen and sustain their skills. Please contact us for more information at pallcare@partners.org.
Research Methods in Supportive Oncology (RMSO)
- Application Deadline: February 9, 2026
An intensive 6-day workshop for early-stage researchers
This NCI-funded intensive 6-day workshop will provide an overview of fundamental methods, such as study designs, qualitative and survey methods, and approaches to data analysis in supportive oncology research. Over the course of the workshop, participants will write a complete study protocol under the direct mentorship of expert faculty in the field of supportive oncology. Participants will continue to receive assistance after the workshop from their workshop mentors to help in the implementation of their studies at their home institutions.
Massachusetts General Hospital Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine Grand Rounds Course Bundle
Explore a new learning experience from the HMS Center for Palliative Care, the Mass General Brigham Office of Continuing Professional Development, and the Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine.
Register now to earn 15 CMEs through the viewing of 15 one-hour video sessions from the Massachusetts General Hospital Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine Grand Rounds. The presenters are invited from the Harvard Medical School network of hospitals and from institutions across the county who address high priority issues in caring for patients and families at end of life. Sessions span a wide range of topics related to palliative care and geriatric medicine to inform effective, patient-centered practice based on leading research. This learning experience is designed for all members of a palliative care team: Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Nurses, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Chaplains, and other professionals.
We strongly encourage teams to enroll together and to benefit from the shared experience and common language from these sessions. Group discounts are available – please inquire at pallcare@partners.org.
Foundations of Palliative Care | Harvard Medical School Professional, Corporate, and Continuing Education
A focused approach for entering the practice of palliative care
The new Foundations of Palliative Care course is designed for participants to gain primary palliative care knowledge and skills, with an emphasis on whole person assessment, whole person support and symptom management, and serious illness conversations.
Instructors in Foundations of Palliative Care include clinicians from across the Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals in the Boston area. The course leadership team is an interdisciplinary group that reflects the learning opportunity for a wide range of roles on an interprofessional palliative care team.
Foundations of Palliative Care is intended for practitioners caring for Adult, Pediatric, and Adolescent patients. The skills and knowledge built through this course in assessment, communication, and grief and bereavement are applicable to clinicians working across a wide range of settings.
Please contact us at pallcare@partners.org for more information.