Wendy Gabrielle Anderson, MD

Clinical Professor

Wendy Anderson is a Palliative Care Physician and Professor in the UCSF School of Medicine. Her work focuses on serious illness communication and using implementation science to promote generalist palliative care. She is senior faculty for VitalTalk, a nonprofit that teaches serious illness communication, and directs the San Francisco Bay Area VitalTalk Hub. She currently leads a California Health Care Foundation funded mentored implementation program that supports specialist palliative care teams in nine California public health care systems to integrate palliative care into the usual care provided in partner service lines. Past projects include work with hospitalist physicians (https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/clinical-topics/palliative-care/) and ICU bedside nurses and (IMPACT-ICU, http://vitaltalk.org/resources/impact-icu/). Clinically, Dr. Anderson attends on the Supportive & Palliative Care Service at San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center.
Education
2019 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California San Francisco
2013 - Senior Faculty, VitalTalk
M.S., 2007 - Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh
Fellowship, 2007 - Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Residency, 2004 - Internal Medicine, Duke University
M.D., 2001 - School of Medicine, University of California San Diego
Honors and Awards
  • Distinguished Faculty, VitalTalk, 2018
  • Health Care Leadership Program, California HealthCare Foundation, 2014-2016
  • Sojourns Leadership Program Scholar, Cambia Health Foundation, 2014-2016
  • Exceptional Physician Award, UCSF Medical Center, 2014
  • University of California Health Fellow, University of California Center for Health Quality and Innovation, 2012-2013
  • KL-2 Scholar, UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, 2009-2013
Websites
  • Essential Skills and Supports for All Clinicians Treating Serious Illness
Publications

  1. Widera E, Anderson WG, Santhosh L, McKee KY, Smith AK, Frank J. Family Meetings on Behalf of Patients with Serious Illness. The New England journal of medicine 2020. PMID: 32905678


  2. Anderson WG, Parrish M, Kerr K, Kinderman A, Rabow M, Schoen M, Meyers K. Generalist Palliative Care in the California Safety Net: A Structured Assessment to Design Interventions for a Range of Care Settings. The American journal of hospice & palliative care 2020. PMID: 32281414


  3. Harrison JD, Anderson WG, Fagan M, Robinson E, Schnipper J, Symczak G, Carnie MB, Hanson C, Banta J, Chen S, Duong J, Wong C, Auerbach AD. Patient and Family Advisory Councils for Research: Recruiting and Supporting Members From Diverse and Hard-to-Reach Communities. The Journal of nursing administration 2019. PMID: 31490796


  4. White DB, Carson S, Anderson W, Steingrub J, Bird G, Curtis JR, Matthay M, Peterson M, Buddadhumaruk P, Shields AM, Ernecoff N, Shotsberger K, Weissfeld L, Chang CH, Pike F, Lo B, Hough CL. A Multicenter Study of the Causes and Consequences of Optimistic Expectations About Prognosis by Surrogate Decision-Makers in ICUs. Critical care medicine 2019. PMID: 31162200


  5. Donesky D, Anderson WG, Joseph RD, Sumser B, Reid TT. TeamTalk: Interprofessional Team Development and Communication Skills Training. Journal of palliative medicine 2019. PMID: 31381469


  6. Scheunemann LP, Ernecoff NC, Buddadhumaruk P, Carson SS, Hough CL, Curtis JR, Anderson WG, Steingrub J, Lo B, Matthay M, Arnold RM, White DB. Clinician-Family Communication About Patients' Values and Preferences in Intensive Care Units. JAMA internal medicine 2019. PMID: 30933293


  8. Ferrell B, Buller H, Paice J, Anderson W, Donesky D. End-of-Life Nursing and Education Consortium Communication Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Teams. Journal of palliative medicine 2019. PMID: 30985246


  9. Xu MJ, Su D, Deboer R, Garcia M, Tahir P, Anderson W, Kinderman A, Braunstein S, Sherertz T. Palliative Oncologic Care Curricula for Providers in Resource-Limited and Underserved Communities: a Systematic Review. Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education 2017. PMID: 29264703


  10. Harrison JD, Auerbach AD, Anderson W, Fagan M, Carnie M, Hanson C, Banta J, Symczak G, Robinson E, Schnipper J, Wong C, Weiss R. Patient stakeholder engagement in research: A narrative review to describe foundational principles and best practice activities. Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy 2019. PMID: 30761699


  11. Ingersoll LT, Alexander SC, Priest J, Ladwig S, Anderson W, Fiscella K, Epstein RM, Norton SA, Gramling R. Racial/ethnic differences in prognosis communication during initial inpatient palliative care consultations among people with advanced cancer. Patient education and counseling 2019. PMID: 30642715


  12. Gramling R, Ingersoll LT, Anderson W, Priest J, Berns S, Cheung K, Norton SA, Alexander SC. End-of-Life Preferences, Length-of-Life Conversations, and Hospice Enrollment in Palliative Care: A Direct Observation Cohort Study among People with Advanced Cancer. Journal of palliative medicine 2018. PMID: 30526222


  13. Gramling R, Gajary-Coots E, Cimino J, Fiscella K, Epstein R, Ladwig S, Anderson W, Alexander SC, Han PK, Gramling D, Norton SA. Palliative Care Clinician Overestimation of Survival in Advanced Cancer: Disparities and Association With End-of-Life Care. Journal of pain and symptom management 2018. PMID: 30391655


  14. Harrison JD, Anderson WG, Fagan M, Robinson E, Schnipper J, Symczak G, Hanson C, Carnie MB, Banta J, Chen S, Duong J, Wong C, Auerbach AD. Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs): Identifying Challenges and Solutions to Support Engagement in Research. The patient 2018. PMID: 29392529


  15. Pecanac KE, Brown RL, Steingrub J, Anderson W, Matthay MA, White DB. A psychometric study of the decisional conflict scale in surrogate decision makers. Patient education and counseling 2018. PMID: 30054105


  16. Taylor LJ, Adkins S, Hoel AW, Hauser J, Suwanabol P, Wood G, Anderson W, Branson C, Skube S, Johnson SK, Zelenski A, Tucholka JL, Campbell TC, Schwarze ML. Using Implementation Science to Adapt a Training Program to Assist Surgeons with High-Stakes Communication. Journal of surgical education 2018. PMID: 30626527


  17. Ingersoll LT, Saeed F, Ladwig S, Norton SA, Anderson W, Alexander SC, Gramling R. Feeling Heard and Understood in the Hospital Environment: Benchmarking Communication Quality Among Patients With Advanced Cancer Before and After Palliative Care Consultation. Journal of pain and symptom management 2018. PMID: 29729348


  18. Geller G, Schell-Chaple H, Turner K, Anderson WG, Beach MC. Measuring patient respect in the intensive care unit: Validation of the ICU-RESPECT instrument. Journal of critical care 2018. PMID: 29698870


  19. Weiss R, Vittinghoff E, Fang MC, Cimino JEW, Chasteen KA, Arnold RM, Auerbach AD, Anderson WG. Associations of Physician Empathy with Patient Anxiety and Ratings of Communication in Hospital Admission Encounters. Journal of hospital medicine 2017. PMID: 28991945


  20. Bischoff K, Anderson W, Pantilat SZ. A Video Is Worth a Thousand Words. Journal of hospital medicine 2017. PMID: 28914286


  21. Anderson WG, Puntillo K, Cimino J, Noort J, Pearson D, Boyle D, Grywalski M, Meyer J, O'Neil-Page E, Cain J, Herman H, Barbour S, Turner K, Moore E, Liao S, Ferrell B, Mitchell W, Edmonds K, Fairman N, Joseph D, MacMillan J, Milic MM, Miller M, Nakagawa L, O'Riordan DL, Pietras C, Thornberry K, Pantilat SZ. Palliative Care Professional Development for Critical Care Nurses: A Multicenter Program. American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 2017. PMID: 28864431


  22. Thornton KC, Schwarz JJ, Gross AK, Anderson WG, Liu KD, Romig MC, Schell-Chaple H, Pronovost PJ, Sapirstein A, Gropper MA, Lipshutz AKM. Preventing Harm in the ICU-Building a Culture of Safety and Engaging Patients and Families. Critical care medicine 2017. PMID: 28640023


  23. Chiarchiaro J, Ernecoff NC, Scheunemann LP, Hough CL, Carson SS, Peterson MW, Anderson WG, Steingrub JS, Arnold RM, White DB. Physicians Rarely Elicit Critically Ill Patients' Previously Expressed Treatment Preferences in Intensive Care Units. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2017. PMID: 28707977


  24. Rosenberg LB, Greenwald J, Caponi B, Doshi A, Epstein H, Frank J, Lindenberger E, Marzano N, Mills LM, Razzak R, Risser J, Anderson WG. Confidence with and Barriers to Serious Illness Communication: A National Survey of Hospitalists. Journal of palliative medicine 2017. PMID: 28375816


  25. Garcia MA, Braunstein SE, Anderson WG. Palliative Care Didactic Course for Radiation Oncology Residents. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2017. PMID: 28333003


  26. Kamal AH, Anderson WG, Boss RD, Brody AA, Campbell TC, Creutzfeldt CJ, Hurd CJ, Kinderman AL, Lindenberger EC, Reinke LF. The Cambia Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program: Project Summaries from the Inaugural Scholar Cohort. Journal of palliative medicine 2016. PMID: 27168030


  27. Ernecoff NC, Witteman HO, Chon K, Chen YI, Buddadhumaruk P, Chiarchiaro J, Shotsberger KJ, Shields AM, Myers BA, Hough CL, Carson SS, Lo B, Matthay MA, Anderson WG, Peterson MW, Steingrub JS, Arnold RM, White DB. Key stakeholders' perceptions of the acceptability and usefulness of a tablet-based tool to improve communication and shared decision making in ICUs. Journal of critical care 2016. PMID: 27037049


  28. Anderson WG, Puntillo K, Boyle D, Barbour S, Turner K, Cimino J, Moore E, Noort J, MacMillan J, Pearson D, Grywalski M, Liao S, Ferrell B, Meyer J, O'Neil-Page E, Cain J, Herman H, Mitchell W, Pantilat S. ICU Bedside Nurses' Involvement in Palliative Care Communication: A Multicenter Survey. Journal of pain and symptom management 2015. PMID: 26596882


  29. Milic MM, Puntillo K, Turner K, Joseph D, Peters N, Ryan R, Schuster C, Winfree H, Cimino J, Anderson WG. Communicating with Patients' Families and Physicians About Prognosis and Goals of Care. American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 2015. PMID: 26134340


  30. Anderson WG. Quantifying the value of palliative care and advance care planning. Critical care medicine 2015. PMID: 25876120


  32. Anderson WG, Cimino JW, Ernecoff NC, Ungar A, Shotsberger KJ, Pollice LA, Buddadhumaruk P, Carson SS, Curtis JR, Hough CL, Lo B, Matthay MA, Peterson MW, Steingrub JS, White DB. A multicenter study of key stakeholders' perspectives on communicating with surrogates about prognosis in intensive care units. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2015. PMID: 25521191


  33. Roza KA, Horton JR, Johnson K, Anderson WG. Update in hospice and palliative care. Journal of palliative medicine 2014. PMID: 24548140


  34. Anderson WG, Flint LA, Horton JR, Johnson K, Mourad M, Sharpe BA. Update in hospital palliative care. Journal of hospital medicine 2013. PMID: 24214838


  35. Lakin JR, Le E, Mourad M, Hollander H, Anderson WG. Incentivizing residents to document inpatient advance care planning. JAMA internal medicine 2013. PMID: 23857414


  36. Anderson WG, Cimino JW, Lo B. Seriously ill hospitalized patients' perspectives on the benefits and harms of two models of hospital CPR discussions. Patient education and counseling 2013. PMID: 24005002


  37. Chittenden EH, Anderson WG, Lai CJ, O'Sullivan P. An evaluation of interactive web-based curricula for teaching code status discussions. Journal of palliative medicine 2013. PMID: 23937063


  38. Anderson WG, Kools S, Lyndon A. Dancing around death: hospitalist-patient communication about serious illness. Qualitative health research 2012. PMID: 23034778


  40. Anderson WG, Goldstein NE. Update in hospice and palliative care. Journal of palliative medicine 2012. PMID: 22339328


  41. Anderson WG, Winters K, Auerbach AD. Patient concerns at hospital admission. Archives of internal medicine 2011. PMID: 21824960


  42. Anderson WG, Chase R, Pantilat SZ, Tulsky JA, Auerbach AD. Code status discussions between attending hospitalist physicians and medical patients at hospital admission. Journal of general internal medicine 2010. PMID: 21104036


  43. Anderson WG, Pantilat SZ, Meltzer D, Schnipper J, Kaboli P, Wetterneck TB, Gonzales D, Arora V, Zhang J, Auerbach AD. Code status discussions at hospital admission are not associated with patient and surrogate satisfaction with hospital care: results from the multicenter hospitalist study. The American journal of hospice & palliative care 2010. PMID: 20713421


  44. Dzul-Church V, Cimino JW, Adler SR, Wong P, Anderson WG. "I'm sitting here by myself ...": experiences of patients with serious illness at an Urban Public Hospital. Journal of palliative medicine 2010. PMID: 20568968


  45. Anderson WG, Winters K, Arnold RM, Puntillo KA, White DB, Auerbach AD. Studying physician-patient communication in the acute care setting: the hospitalist rapport study. Patient education and counseling 2010. PMID: 20444569


  46. Anderson WG, Goldstein NE. Update in hospice and palliative care. Journal of palliative medicine 2010. PMID: 19929227


  47. Anderson WG, McNamara MC, Arnold RM. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of palliative medicine 2009. PMID: 19807239


  48. Anderson WG, Williams JE, Bost JE, Barnard D. Exposure to death is associated with positive attitudes and higher knowledge about end-of-life care in graduating medical students. Journal of palliative medicine 2008. PMID: 19021486


  49. Back AL, Anderson WG, Bunch L, Marr LA, Wallace JA, Yang HB, Arnold RM. Communication about cancer near the end of life. Cancer 2008. PMID: 18798531


  50. Anderson WG, Arnold RM, Angus DC, Bryce CL. Posttraumatic stress and complicated grief in family members of patients in the intensive care unit. Journal of general internal medicine 2008. PMID: 18780129


  51. Anderson WG, Arnold RM, Angus DC, Bryce CL. Passive decision-making preference is associated with anxiety and depression in relatives of patients in the intensive care unit. Journal of critical care 2008. PMID: 19327283


  52. Anderson WG, Alexander SC, Rodriguez KL, Jeffreys AS, Olsen MK, Pollak KI, Tulsky JA, Arnold RM. "What concerns me is..." Expression of emotion by advanced cancer patients during outpatient visits. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 2007. PMID: 17960430


  53. Evans WG, Tulsky JA, Back AL, Arnold RM. Communication at times of transitions: how to help patients cope with loss and re-define hope. Cancer journal (Sudbury, Mass.) 2006. PMID: 17034677


  54. Evans WG, Cutson TM, Steinhauser KE, Tulsky JA. Is there no place like home? Caregivers recall reasons for and experience upon transfer from home hospice to inpatient facilities. Journal of palliative medicine 2006. PMID: 16430350


  55. Porter-Williamson K, von Gunten CF, Garman K, Herbst L, Bluestein HG, Evans W. Improving knowledge in palliative medicine with a required hospice rotation for third-year medical students. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2004. PMID: 15277135