Director, Outpatient Palliative Care
Tufts Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine
Boston, MA, US
Mary K. Buss, MD, MPH
Current Role(s):
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program Director
Director, Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic
Associate Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine
Brief Biography: Dr. Buss, a medical oncologist and palliative care physician, is a leader in ambulatory palliative care clinical practice and has pioneered the development of two palliative medicine fellowship training programs.
Dr. Buss joined Tufts Medical Center in 2022 with the goal of expanding the ambulatory clinic and opening a fellowship. Her clinical practice is primarily in the outpatient setting, where she enjoys working with and learning from colleagues of other specialties. Through collaboration with colleagues, she is developing novel models for enhancing the delivery of palliative care to patients with serious illness. Previously, she practiced at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) as both a medical oncologist and a palliative medicine specialist. There she opened an outpatient palliative care clinic in 2013, started the Hospice Palliative Care Fellowship in 2017 and oversaw the expansion of the Section of Palliative Care.
Her scholarly work, which includes over dozens of peer-reviewed publications, focuses on improving the integration of palliative care into the care of patients with cancer and other advanced illnesses. She is invested in developing and studying the impact of innovative models for delivering palliative care to patients and improving the educational experience of palliative care clinicians in the ambulatory setting. Dr. Buss has co-designed communication skills curricula for oncology fellows, pulmonary/critical care fellows and internal medicine residents as well as taught communication skills at workshops across the country through VitalTalk. She loves mentoring trainees and early career faculty in scholarly and quality improvement projects. In 2015, she received a Cunniff-Dixon Early Career Physician Award from the Hastings Center, which recognizes physicians who advance end-of-life care. She is an active member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), serving as the co-chair of the annual assembly in 2020.
Dr. Buss graduated with honors from Williams College with a degree in Bio-Medical Ethics and thesis entitled, On Life’s Edge: The Role of Autonomy in End-of-Life Medical Decisions. She completed her medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine, followed by residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Hematology-Oncology fellowship at BIDMC and a Palliative Care fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Outside of work, she shares a house with three amazing daughters, a supportive husband, and a very spoiled dog. Faith and church inform her world view, helping her make sense of suffering seen in the incredibly gratifying work of supporting the seriously ill and their families.
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Monday, May 6, 2024
7:16 AM – 7:31 AM CT
How to Teach This: How to Take it Home and Spread the Word
Monday, May 6, 2024
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