In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Mark Skiba, MD, PhD, a current Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellow at UMass Chan. We recently caught up with Dr. Skiba to learn more about his clinical interests, why he chose UMass, and his favorite place to travel!  

Hometown? 
Chicopee, MA  

What are your clinical and research interests?  
To improve the communication skills of providers to foster a more therapeutic relationship with patients.  

Why did you choose UMass for your fellowship? 
Coming back to UMass to do my fellowship is like coming back home. I first started my relationship with UMass in 1990 when I started five years of postdoctoral research in the Department of Biochemistry.  I entered medical school and graduated from UMass in 1999, then completed my residency in Internal Medicine at UMass. I was a hospitalist at Milford Regional Medical Center until I was accepted into the Hospice and Palliative Medicine program. It is a privilege to come back to UMass, which is so vibrant, and to be working with people who are knowledgeable, supportive, and committed to patient care. UMass provides many opportunities for growth and for that, I’m very grateful. UMass has given me the opportunity to “follow my bliss”.   

Where is your favorite place to travel for vacation? 
Acadia National Park in Maine. It is one of the most beautiful and accessible national parks. If you like to kayak, bike, or hike then that is the place to go. I have many fond memories of many great hikes in that park.  

Who is your favorite author? 
Joseph Campbell, “If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”