Innovations in End-of-Life Care
an international journal of leaders in end-of-life care

Dr. Puchalski is an Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and Division of Geriatrics and Director of Clinical Research and Education at the Center to Improve Care of the Dying, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. She also serves as a consultant with the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) as Director of Education where she develops programs for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate medical education on spirituality, end-of-life care and cultural issues in medicine. She has also chaired a task force with the AAMC on developing guidelines for teaching in these domains. Dr. Puchalski co-chaired a national education conference entitled "Spirituality, Cross-Cultural Issues and End-of-Life Care: Curricular Development." As a result of her efforts, spirituality and medicine courses are gaining increased visibility in medical education. Dr. Puchalski is the co-convenor of the Spirituality Task Force of the Robert Wood Johnson Last Acts Campaign.

Dr. Puchalski completed her bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Master's degree in Biology at UCLA and her MD at George Washington University School of Medicine. She has also completed a course in Spiritual Formation at the Shalem Institute in Washington, D.C.

[Return to Featured Innovation]