Sharona Sachs, MD

Academic Focus & Systems Work

Physician with multidisciplinary training in oncology, pulmonary/critical care, and hospice and palliative medicine, whose academic work has centered on the design and scaling of decision support and communication models for serious illness care.

Across academic medical centers and integrated health systems, work has included founding and directing multidisciplinary clinical programs, developing diagnosis- and frailty-triggered care pathways, and creating experiential communication curricula embedded into routine clinical workflows. Teaching, scholarship, and leadership have focused on translating complex, uncertainty-laden decision-making into structures that can be taught, replicated, and adapted across settings.

Academic Appointments & Leadership

Intermountain Health / Colorado Permanente Medical Group (CPMG)

Denver, CO | 2016–2025
Faculty, Palliative Care
Co-Founder & Senior Faculty, Palliative Medicine Fellowship

• Co-founded the Palliative Medicine Fellowship and helped establish durable regional training capacity.

• Designed and delivered multispecialty communication curricula for internal medicine, family medicine, surgical residents, and palliative medicine fellows.

• Integrated simulation, bedside coaching, and facilitated debriefing into fellowship and residency education.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center / Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Lebanon, NH | 2009–2016
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Palliative Care)
Clinical Director → Interim Section Chief → Section Chief, Palliative Care

• Directed clinical, operational, and educational activities of the Palliative Care Section during a period of significant growth.

• Designed and implemented diagnosis-triggered palliative care pathways for medically frail hospital medicine and ICU patients.

• Created structured co-management models across ICU and hospital medicine services.

• Developed department-wide goals-of-care communication curriculum integrating simulation, bedside coaching, and case-based teaching.

• Served as communication mentor for high-stakes conflict navigation and complex decision-making.

Stony Brook University Hospital / SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine

Stony Brook, NY | 1998–2005
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care)
Founder & Director, Lung Cancer Evaluation Center
Founder & Director, Medical Step-Down Unit

• Established one of the first multidisciplinary lung cancer centers nationally, integrating coordinated diagnostics, communication support, and rapid evaluation pathways.

• Improved time-to-diagnosis, patient experience, and continuity of care; generated >$2.5M/year in downstream institutional revenue.

• Designed and operationalized a medical step-down unit for high-acuity patients, improving transitional care and interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Produced multiple peer-reviewed publications and abstracts from program outcomes.

UT Southwestern Medical Center / Dallas VA

Dallas, TX | 1996–1998
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care)

• Provided senior clinical and teaching leadership for residents and fellows in pulmonary, critical care, and internal medicine.

University of South Carolina School of Medicine / Dorn VA

Columbia, SC | 1995–1996
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care)

• Led clinical education in complex pulmonary disease and critical care medicine.

Education & Training

BA, English Literature, cum laude — University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
MD, summa cum laude — SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY

Postgraduate Training:

• Residency, Internal Medicine — Duke University Medical Center

• Fellowship, Hematology/Oncology (clinical year) — Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

• Fellowship, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine — Duke University Medical Center

• Fellowship, Hospice & Palliative Medicine — Capital Hospice & Palliative Care

Board Certification & Licensure

Board Certification:

• Hospice & Palliative Medicine — ABIM

• Previously board certified: Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine
  
  State Licensure:
  NY (active), CO (active); NH, VT, VA, TX, SC, NC, PA (inactive)

Educational Leadership & Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

I teach communication and decision-making as relational, meaning-centered practices supported through deliberate skill-building, mentorship, and modeling. My approach emphasizes experiential learning, reflective practice, and real-time feedback at the bedside, with the goal of embedding communication teaching into everyday clinical workflows and developing durable, scalable educational structures.

Curriculum Development & Program Leadership (Selected)

• Palliative Medicine Fellowship curriculum design and longitudinal trainee development (Intermountain/CPMG).

• Multispecialty communication curricula for internal medicine, anesthesia/pain, nephrology, critical care, and surgical trainees (Dartmouth-Hitchcock).

• Communication simulation programs and OSCE-style assessments for serious illness interactions (Dartmouth-Hitchcock).

Clinical & Bedside Teaching (Representative)

• Bedside communication coaching during high-stakes family meetings and ICU encounters.

• Teaching and assessment in objectively structured clinical encounters (OSCEs).

• Interdisciplinary, case-based teaching rounds.

• Mentorship of fellows, residents, advanced practice providers, and faculty.

Selected Teaching Topics

Communication in serious illness; Shared decision-making in critical care; Navigating conflict in patient–family–clinician encounters; Prognostic communication in ICU and oncology; Ethics of decision-making in medically frail populations; High-stakes goals-of-care conversations; Pain management and symptom palliation; Multidisciplinary lung cancer care.

Scholarship & Research

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Vergo, MT, Sachs, S, et al. Acceptability and Impact of a Required Palliative Care Rotation with Prerotation and Postrotation Observed Simulated Clinical Experience...on Primary Palliative Communication Skills. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2017.

• Sachs S, Bilfinger TV. Impact of PET on clinical decision-making… Chest. 2005.

• Sachs S, Bilfinger TV, Komaroff E. Size-corrected PET predicts metastases… Clinical Lung Cancer. 2005.

• Sachs S, Weinberg RL. Pulmonary rehabilitation for dyspnea… Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care. 2009.
  
  Complete publication list available in the full academic CV.

Honors & Recognition

• Elected to the Geisel Academy of Master Educators

• Teaching Excellence Awards — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

• Teaching Excellence Awards — Intermountain/CPMG

• 5280 Magazine Top Doctor — Palliative Medicine

• Alpha Omega Alpha — SUNY Buffalo

Professional & Institutional Service (Selected)

• ICU–Palliative Care integration leadership (Dartmouth-Hitchcock).

• Fellowship program development and communication education committees (Intermountain/CPMG).

• Multidisciplinary lung cancer team leadership (Stony Brook).

• Faculty mentor for fellows, residents, and interdisciplinary clinicians across institutions.

Community Engagement

Community lectures and outreach on communication, symptom management, decision-making, hospice, and advance care planning; collaboration with Visiting Nurse Associations, senior education programs, and hospice organizations.