Defining Clinical Excellence for Palliative Care Specialists: A Concept Whose Time Has Come

Experts in the field of palliative care in the United States (U.S.) have defined competence, or “good,” mainly for programs, trainees, or providers of primary palliative care. Our interprofessional workgroup of palliative care specialists proposes that setting a standard for clinical excellence, or “great,” applicable to palliative care specialists of all professions will elevate the field in the U.S. by providing an aspirational target usable for individual assessment and self-assessment, highlighting the common ground between team roles, and promoting a deeper understanding of teamwork, utilization, and productivity. We call for research that utilizes inclusive methods and broad representation of diverse voices to design a vivid, practical, and evidence-based definition of clinical excellence for palliative care specialists.