- Medical School - Emory University School of Medicine (1992-1996)
- Internship - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1996-1997), Internal Medicine
- Residency - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1997-1999), Internal Medicine
Elizabeth Paulk, M.D.
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
- Distinguished Professorship in Palliative Care, in Honor of Steven Leach, M.D.
- Internal Medicine - General Internal Medicine
- Palliative Medicine
Biography
M. Elizabeth Paulk, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Paulk earned her medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at UT Southwestern.
Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1999.
Dr. Paulk’s clinical interest is in the field of palliative medicine. She was the founder of palliative medicine programs at UT Southwestern and currently serves as the Medical Director of ambulatory and inpatient palliative medicine programs for the Parkland Health & Hospital System. She also has a strong interest in graduate medical education.
She is Program Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program and Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Her educational and scholarly activities have been recognized with fellowship in the American College of Physicians and the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has delivered a number of invited lectures and published numerous academic articles.
Her research interests include palliative care and mitigation of disparities in health care, particularly in end-of-life care. She serves as a member of the Graduate Medical Education Committee on Environment for Training, Innovation and Recruitment Excellence (ENTIRE) and is Co-chair of the LGBT Business Resource Group. She is also one of the founders of UT Southwestern’s Health Equity Discussion Group.
In 2018, she received UT Southwestern’s President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care for her efforts to improve racial equity on campus.
Education & Training
Professional Associations & Affiliations
- American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Honors & Awards
- President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care 2018, UT Southwestern
- Champion of End-of-Life Care 2005, Texas Partnership for End-of-Life Care
- Circle of Life Award, Citation of Honor 2002, American Hospital Association
- Project on Death in America Faculty Scholar 2001, Soros Foundation
- Safety Net Award, Honorable Mention 2001, National Association of Public Hospitals
- Above and Beyond Award 2000, Parkland Memorial Hospital Auxiliary
Books & Publications
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Publications
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Trauma Surgeon and Palliative Care Physician Attitudes Regarding Goals-of-Care Delineation for Injured Geriatric Patients.
Cunningham HB, Scielzo SA, Nakonezny PA, Bruns BR, Brasel KJ, Inaba K, Brakenridge SC, Kerby JD, Joseph BA, Mohler MJ, Cuschieri J, Paulk ME, Ekeh AP, Madni TD, Taveras LR, Imran JB, Wolf SE, Phelan HA The American journal of hospice & palliative care 2019 Jan 1049909118823182 -
Validation of a Geriatric Trauma Prognosis Calculator: A P.A.L.Li.A.T.E. Consortium Study.
Cook AC, Joseph B, Mohler MJ, Inaba K, Bruns BR, Nakonezny PA, Kerby JD, Brasel KJ, Wolf SE, Cuschieri J, Paulk ME, Rhodes RL, Brakenridge SC, Ekeh AP, Phelan HA Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2017 Aug -
A comparison of prognosis calculators for geriatric trauma: A P.A.L.LI.A.T.E. consortium study.
Madni TD, Ekeh AP, Brakenridge SC, Brasel KJ, Joseph B, Inaba K, Bruns BR, Kerby JD, Cuschieri J, Mohler MJ, Nakonezny PA, Clark A, Imran J, Wolf SE, Paulk ME, Rhodes RL, Phelan HA The journal of trauma and acute care surgery 2017 Apr -
Understanding the Role of Religion in Medical Decision Making.
Paulk ME Journal of oncology practice 2017 Mar JOP2016020693 -
Creation of a decision aid for goal-setting after geriatric burns: A study from the prognostic assessment of life and limitations after trauma in the elderly [PALLIATE] consortium.
Hodgman E, Joseph B, Mohler J, Wolf SE, Paulk ME, Rhodes RL, Nakonezny PA, Phelan HA The journal of trauma and acute care surgery 2016 Feb -
Multicenter External Validation of the Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score: A Study by the Prognostic Assessment of Life and Limitations After Trauma in the Elderly [PALLIATE] Consortium.
Cook AC, Joseph B, Inaba K, Nakonezny PA, Bruns BR, Kerby JD, Brasel KJ, Wolf SE, Cuschieri J, Paulk ME, Rhodes RL, Brakenridge SC, Phelan HA The journal of trauma and acute care surgery 2015 Nov -
Chemotherapy Use, Performance Status, and Quality of Life at the End of Life.
Prigerson HG, Bao Y, Shah MA, Paulk ME, LeBlanc TW, Schneider BJ, Garrido MM, Reid MC, Berlin DA, Adelson KB, Neugut AI, Maciejewski PK JAMA oncology 2015 Jul -
Estimating Geriatric Mortality after Injury Using Age, Injury Severity, and Performance of a Transfusion: The Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score.
Zhao FZ, Wolf SE, Nakonezny PA, Minhajuddin A, Rhodes RL, Paulk ME, Phelan HA Journal of palliative medicine 2015 May -
Injury Severity and Comorbidities Alone Do Not Predict Futility of Care after Geriatric Trauma.
Duvall DB, Zhu X, Elliott AC, Wolf SE, Rhodes RL, Paulk ME, Phelan HA Journal of palliative medicine 2014 Dec -
Communication About Advance Directives and End-of-Life Care Options Among Internal Medicine Residents.
Rhodes RL, Tindall K, Xuan L, Paulk ME, Halm EA The American journal of hospice & palliative care 2014 Jan -
Illness perceptions matter: understanding quality of life and advanced illness behaviors in female patients with late-stage cancer.
Croom AR, Hamann HA, Kehoe SM, Paulk E, Wiebe DJ The journal of supportive oncology 2013 Dec 11 4 165-73 -
Predictors of intensive end-of-life and hospice care in Latino and white advanced cancer patients.
Loggers ET, Maciejewski PK, Jimenez R, Nilsson M, Paulk E, Stieglitz H, Prigerson HG, Journal of palliative medicine 2013 Oct 16 10 1249-54 -
Gender differences in the evolution of illness understanding among patients with advanced cancer.
Fletcher K, Prigerson HG, Paulk E, Temel J, Finlay E, Marr L, McCorkle R, Rivera L, Munoz F, Maciejewski PK, The journal of supportive oncology 2013 Sep 11 3 126-32 -
Provision of Spiritual Support to Patients With Advanced Cancer by Religious Communities and Associations With Medical Care at the End of Life.
Balboni TA, Balboni M, Enzinger AC, Gallivan K, Paulk ME, Wright A, Steinhauser K, Vanderweele TJ, Prigerson HG JAMA internal medicine 2013 May 1-9 -
Clinical Trial Participation among Ethnic/Racial Minority and Majority Patients with Advanced Cancer: What Factors Most Influence Enrollment?
Jimenez R, Zhang B, Joffe S, Nilsson M, Rivera L, Mutchler J, Lathan C, Paulk ME, Prigerson HG Journal of palliative medicine 2013 Mar 16 3 256-62 -
An Examination of End-of-Life Care in a Safety Net Hospital System: A Decade in Review.
Rhodes RL, Xuan L, Paulk ME, Stieglitz H, Halm EA Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2013 24 4 1666-75 -
United States Acculturation and Cancer Patients' End-of-Life Care.
Wright AA, Stieglitz H, Kupersztoch YM, Paulk ME, Kim Y, Katz IT, Munoz F, Jimenez RB, Mutchler J, Rivera L, Back AL, Prigerson HG PloS one 2013 8 3 e58663 -
Support of cancer patients' spiritual needs and associations with medical care costs at the end of life.
Balboni T, Balboni M, Paulk ME, Phelps A, Wright A, Peteet J, Block S, Lathan C, Vanderweele T, Prigerson H Cancer 2011 May -
Racial disparities in the outcomes of communication on medical care received near death.
Mack JW, Paulk ME, Viswanath K, Prigerson HG Archives of internal medicine 2010 Sep 170 17 1533-40 -
Provision of spiritual care to patients with advanced cancer: associations with medical care and quality of life near death.
Balboni TA, Paulk ME, Balboni MJ, Phelps AC, Loggers ET, Wright AA, Block SD, Lewis EF, Peteet JR, Prigerson HG Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2010 Jan 28 3 445-52 -
Racial differences in predictors of intensive end-of-life care in patients with advanced cancer.
Loggers ET, Maciejewski PK, Paulk E, DeSanto-Madeya S, Nilsson M, Viswanath K, Wright AA, Balboni TA, Temel J, Stieglitz H, Block S, Prigerson HG Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009 Nov 27 33 5559-64 -
Religious coping and use of intensive life-prolonging care near death in patients with advanced cancer.
Phelps AC, Maciejewski PK, Nilsson M, Balboni TA, Wright AA, Paulk ME, Trice E, Schrag D, Peteet JR, Block SD, Prigerson HG JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2009 Mar 301 11 1140-7
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Trauma Surgeon and Palliative Care Physician Attitudes Regarding Goals-of-Care Delineation for Injured Geriatric Patients.
Research
- Minority Access to Care
- Palliative Care
Clinical Focus
- Palliative Medicine