6th Annual U.S. Celebration of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day: A Virtual Coming Together


6th Annual U.S. Celebration of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day: A Virtual Coming Together Banner



Date & Location
Monday, October 6, 2025, 8:00 AM - Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 6:40 PM, Online

Specialties
Specialties - General and Family Practice, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Hospitalist, Integrative Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, Nursing, Pain Medicine, Patient or Caregiver, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work

Overview

Access to palliative care is a basic right and a critical component of universal health coverage, ensuring the highest attainable standard of health for individuals with serious illness and their caregivers.

In recognition of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD)—an annual day of action to celebrate and advance hospice and palliative care worldwide—we invite you to join a complimentary virtual conference hosted in the United States. Now in its sixth year, this event is co-sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Supportive Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

This conference serves as a global platform to foster cross-cultural community building, scientific dissemination, and experiential wisdom sharing. Multiprofessional and multidisciplinary leaders at the forefront of research, policy, and clinical practice will present on diverse topics across the domains of palliative care, including pain and symptom management, psychological and spiritual care, cultural humility and ethics, evidence-based advocacy, care for historically minoritized and marginalized populations, and social science perspectives in serious illness. We intentionally integrate and amplify the voices of people with lived experience of serious illness throughout this event.

Highlights of this innovative and impactful two-day event include:

  • Specialized breakout sessions featuring experts in traditional and alternative medicine, end-of-life care, surgical palliative care, and pediatric palliative care. 

  • A dedicated session will explore patient and caregiver perspectives, offering meaningful insights into their lived experiences.

  • The Palliative Story Exchange, an inclusive forum for interprofessional palliative care clinicians to safely share experiences and reflections with peers

  • Presentations from palliative care leaders around the world will highlight global progress since the implementation of the 2014 World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 67.19 on Palliative Care.

  • Interactive discussions with interprofessional and global faculty will focus on the implications of palliative care for patients, families, and communities worldwide—advancing both practice and scholarship.

This conference focuses on the care of individuals with serious illness and their caregivers. It is designed for a broad national and international audience of healthcare professionals—including, but not limited to, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, chaplains, psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, and patient advocates—regardless of specialty or prior experience in palliative care or oncology. This conference is complimentary for all participants, and we proudly welcome all members of the community to attend.

To ensure broad accessibility, the program will be delivered virtually via Zoom across two half-day sessions. All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET), U.S.

  • Day 1: Monday, October 6 | 8:00 am – 1:20 pm (ET)

  • Day 2: Tuesday, October 7 | 12:00 pm – 6:40 pm (ET)

Following the conference, registrants will receive access to an online syllabus featuring select PDF slides from faculty presentations and recorded session videos.


Objectives
At the conclusion of this conference, learners will be able to:

  1. Apply interdisciplinary and interprofessional approaches to address patient and family needs across palliative care domains to improve quality of life and alleviate suffering.
  2. Address health disparities in hospice and palliative care with actionable methods to promote social justice.
  3. Describe advocacy efforts to expand access to, and quality of, palliative care globally.
  4. Describe evidence-based approaches and advances in symptom management, serious illness communication, bereavement, spiritual care, end-of-life care, and advance care planning in adult and pediatric populations.
  5. Explore and incorporate culturally appropriate palliative care interventions that are sensitive to individual beliefs, values, and practices across resource settings.
  6. Describe spiritual and existential considerations throughout the serious illness trajectory and employ best practices using interdisciplinary and interprofessional models.

Registration

This conference is complimentary for all participants; however, registration is required. Please click the “Register” tab above to complete your Zoom registration. For any questions regarding registration, contact us at uswhapcday@mskcc.org.

If you are registered for this conference and are no longer able to attend, please email cme@mskcc.org to cancel you registration. For additional details on our cancellation terms, please review our Cancellation Policy.

"Industry professionals" are welcome to attend Continuing Medical Education events at MSK for their own educational purposes. View our Registration Policy for Industry Professionals for more information.


Accreditation

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 11.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 11.25 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Continuing Education for Licensed Psychologists in New York State*

This event offers 11.25 NYS Psychology Contact Hours.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0166.

Applications have been submitted for ANCC Nursing Contact Hours and New York State Social Work Contact Hours.

*Not all states accept New York State Contact Hours. Please check with the licensing board in your state for guidance on their acceptance of the credit types offered for this course.