Serious illness communication—sharing difficult news, responding to strong emotions, navigating complex decisions, and discussing end‑of‑life care with humility and compassion—is essential to high‑quality health care, yet it is often inconsistently taught in health professions education. The Serious Illness Communication Training Collaborative exists to ensure that learners at UMass Chan develop these skills intentionally, longitudinally, and with expert guidance, while supporting faculty as reflective, skilled, and purpose‑driven educators.

What We Do

• Develop and sustain a community of interprofessional educators skilled in teaching serious illness communication
• Align and strengthen longitudinal curriculum using shared competencies and curriculum mapping
• Support faculty development through evidence‑based teaching approaches, including VitalTalk pedagogy
• Serve as an incubator for innovative educational activities in communication, palliative care, and humanism in medicine
• Advance scholarship and dissemination to inform institutional and national practice

Who It’s For / Who’s Involved

Interprofessional faculty, students, and educational leaders across UMass Chan Medical School, with collaboration spanning medicine, nursing, and health professions education.

How We Work

• Faculty development and shared teaching frameworks grounded in best practices
• Curriculum mapping and collaborative redesign to create cohesive learning experiences
• A community‑of‑practice model that fosters connection, reflection, and shared purpose

When & Where

A multi‑year, institution‑wide collaborative based at UMass Chan Medical School, beginning with medical education and expanding across interprofessional programs.

Impact

The Collaborative advances HEALL’s mission by developing educational leaders who teach complex, human‑centered skills with scholarly rigor, compassion, and joy—strengthening learner preparedness and the culture of care across the institution.