Susan D. Block, MD

Chief, Division of Psychosocial Oncology
and Palliative Care,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and
Brigham & Women's Hospital

Co-Director,
Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care

44 Binney St.
Boston, Ma. 02115
Phone: 617-632-6181
Fax: 617-632-6189

Educational and professional experience:

1972 A.B. Stanford University
1977 M.D. Case Western Reserve University
1977-80 Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston
1979-82 Residency in Psychiatry, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA
1982-85 Medical Director, Hospice of Cambridge
1982-86 Director of Psychiatry Primary Care Training, The Cambridge Hospital
1982-95 Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
1983-88 Assistant Director, The New Pathway Project in General Medicine Education
1988-93 Associate Director of Training & Education, Mass. Mental Health Center
1992-98 Director of Medical Education Evaluation Research, Department of Ambulatory Care/Prevention, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School
1994- Associate Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital
1995- Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Ambulatory Care and Prevention
1998- Chief, Division of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital
1999- CoDirector, HMS Center for Palliative Care
2000-06 Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Medicine)
2006- Professor of Psychiatry

Current teaching and research interests:

During my training, I found myself most engaged by the psychological challenges that occur in helping people negotiate their way through serious illness. Throughout my career, I have worked at the interface between psychiatry and medicine with a particular focus on end-of-life care. As an educator, my central interest has been in humanizing medical education and practice. In recent years, I have devoted all of my professional energies to building the field of palliative care, both locally and nationally. In addition to PCEP, we run other Harvard educational programs for faculty, fellows, residents, and students. I am also involved in a variety of national activities to develop palliative care competencies, define the expectations for palliative care fellowship training, and as a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. My research interests focus on mental health issues in end-of-life care and medical education.

If you have additional questions, please contact us via e-mail at: pallcare@partners.org .