Minnesota medicine
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Palliative care specialists focus on meeting the needs of patients with serious and/or life-threatening illnesses. These physicians have expertise in managing complex pain and nonpain symptoms, providing psychosocial and spiritual support to patients and their families, and communicating about complex topics and advance care planning. ⋯ At the core of this field, however, are physicians who trained as internists and are boarded by the American Board of Internal Medicine. This article discusses the central principles of palliative care and explores its growth in two areas: oncology and critical care medicine.