Jason Webb, MD, has been with Duke since his house staff training in internal medicine and psychiatry. He remained for a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine, served a chief resident year, and then joined Duke faculty in July 2014 with a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He was promoted to Assistant Professor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in 2017.
Dr. Webb has served a number of critical roles as a faculty member at Duke that integrates his clinical, research and academic interests. He served as a member of the School of Medicine’s Curriculum Committee and Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the Duke Center for Palliative Care. He currently serves as the Program Director for the Duke Hospice and Palliative Medicine Program, and was appointed Director of Education for the Duke Center for Palliative Care in 2016. He is known as an outstanding role model and mentor to a number of the residents, fellows and junior faculty. He also has a bi-weekly clinic at the Duke Cancer Center where he provides consultative palliative care and psycho-oncology services.
Research integrating mental health and palliative care
Dr. Webb has established himself as a leading regional and national authority on integrating palliative medicine and oncology, with a focus on symptom management of cancer pain and psychiatric comorbidities. His research work includes ongoing collaboration with faculty in the Department of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapies, both at Duke and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he serves as the lead palliative care clinician at Duke on two randomized controlled trials integrating early palliative care for patients with hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplantation. His work has led to several key review publications on integrating mental health and palliative care including first/senior author publications in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, and the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM). He has published expert reviews on the development of population-based palliative care education for the American Society on Aging as well as three book chapters on palliative medicine and symptom management in cancer patients. Finally, he has served on the editorial board of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s, peer-reviewed electronic publication that is published monthly in JPSM. In this role, he has mentored five Duke palliative care fellows on publications for the critical article summaries.
Respected mentor
In addition to his success in education, Dr. Webb is growing into an outstanding mentor and teacher. His has mentored several trainees at the medical student, resident, and fellowship levels. His commitment to mentorship is also evident by the number of publications he has with his mentees in support of their early career development.
National recognition as advocate for HR1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA).
On a national level, Dr. Webb has growing recognition. He has served as a committee member for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) on the guideline committee for supportive care. He currently serves on the editorial board of the National Cancer Institute/NIH Physician Data Query for Palliative and Supportive Care, where he sits on the editorial committees for peer-reviewed physician and patient references in several areas. He has been very active nationally with the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine where he has served on their Annual Assembly Scientific Committees, reviewing abstracts and case reports, as well as the chair of several special interest groups. He has provided advocacy and policy work for the AAHPM and traveled to Washington, DC to advocate for HR1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). Dr. Webb’s advocacy for North Carolina, and the dedicated work of the members of the AAHPM, led to the bill passing the US House in 2018.
Due to the importance of his teaching and research, Dr. Webb has been an invited lecturer at more than 50 seminars at Duke, regionally, and nationally. He has received special recognition through professional awards from AAHPM, including the Hearst Leadership Scholar Awards, an Inspiring Hospice and Palliative Care Leader Under Age 40, and has been named a Fellow of the AAHPM. He has been honored at Duke for the excellence of his clinical care including the Joseph R. McClellan Scholar Award from the Duke Department of Medicine, and the Strength, Hope and Caring Award from Duke University & Health System. He has also been honored as a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and named to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.
Next OHSU Section Chief of Palliative Care!
With this exciting news of his promotion also comes some disappointing news for us. Dr. Webb has chosen to move closer to family in Oregon and will be taking on the role of Section Chief of Palliative Care at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). His last day with Duke will be August 15. While we are sad to see him go, we wish him continued success in his future and we appreciate the many wonderful years he has given us.