Shireen N. Heidari

Bio

Shireen Heidari, MD is a palliative care and family medicine physician. She works as part of the inpatient palliative care consult team providing complex symptom management and support for patients and families facing any stage of a serious illness. Dr. Heidari is the program director for the Stanford University Hospice and Palliative Fellowship and is thrilled to be part of mentoring future hospice and palliative care clinicians across medical specialities and disciplines. From 2018-2022 she served as the rotation director for students, residents and fellows on the Stanford inpatient palliative consult service. Dr. Heidari was also the clinical lead for the Stanford site of the PERIOP-PC Study, which involved collaboration with the surgical department to evaluate the impact of surgeon-palliative care team co-management for patients and family members preparing for major upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

Dr. Heidari has written about the impacts of isolation and stigma around healthcare workers seeking help for their mental health in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and The Intima. She hopes that by sharing her own story, she can continue being part of this conversation as we advocate for culture change in medicine and more sustainable practice.

Before moving to northern California, Dr. Heidari attended medical school at Boston University, completed her residency at UC San Diego where she served as chief resident, followed by palliative fellowship at UCLA. Her interests include early palliative care integration, narrative medicine, and expanding primary palliative care skills for all clinicians. Outside of her clinical and mentorship work, she is likely writing creatively or outside chasing her border collie.

Clinical Focus

• Palliative Medicine

Academic Appointments

• Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health

Administrative Appointments

• Program Director, Stanford University Hospice and Palliative Fellowship Training Program (2022 - Present)

Honors & Awards

• Annual Division Teaching Award, Stanford Medicine - Division of Primary Care and Population Health (2020)
• Chief Resident, Family Medicine, University of California, San Diego (2014-2015)
• Tomorrow’s Leader Award, American Academy of Family Physicians (2013)
• Member, Gold Humanism Honor Society (2011-present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Chair Elect, Fellowship Director Special Interest Group, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) (2023 - Present)
• Member, Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) Wellness Committee (2022 - Present)
• Member, Pegasus Physician Writers at Stanford (2016 - Present)
• Member, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) (2015 - Present)
• Member, American Medical Association (AMA) (2012 - Present)
• Member, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) (2012 - 2020)

Professional Education

• Medical Education: Boston University School of Medicine (2012) MA
• Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2016)
• Fellowship: University of California, Los Angeles CA
• Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine, Family Medicine (2015)
• Chief Resident, University of California San Diego, Family Medicine
• Residency: University of California San Diego (2015) CA