Wendy Anderson

Wendy Anderson, MD is a Clinical Professor in the UCSF School of Medicine and a palliative care physician. She holds dual roles as Senior Faculty at VitalTalk and Director of the San Francisco Bay Area VitalTalk Hub. Her academic work focuses on improving serious illness communication and implementing palliative care in healthcare systems. Clinically, she practices at San Francisco General Hospital's Supportive & Palliative Care Service. She leads a California Health Care Foundation-funded initiative to integrate palliative care into public healthcare systems across California.

Education:

• M.D., School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (2001)
• M.S., Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh (2007)
• Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh (2007)
• Residency in Internal Medicine, Duke University (2004)
• 2019 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, UCSF

Research Interests: Dr. Anderson's work combines implementation science with communication strategies to improve palliative care delivery. She develops interprofessional training programs like TeamTalk and IMPACT-ICU. Her projects address disparities in prognosis communication, clinician-patient dynamics, and system-level barriers to palliative care integration. She emphasizes family-centered care and stakeholder engagement in research.

Publications: Her recent work focuses on ICU communication, family meeting efficacy, and palliative care implementation in safety-net hospitals. Key themes include optimizing surrogate decision-maker engagement, reducing clinician overestimation of survival, and refining communication curricula for surgeons and nurses.

Awards:

• 2018 Distinguished Faculty (VitalTalk)
• 2014-2016 Health Care Leadership Program (California HealthCare Foundation)
• 2014 Exceptional Physician Award (UCSF Medical Center)
• 2009-2013 KL-2 Scholar (UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute)

Grants & Mentoring: She leads CHCF-funded implementation programs and mentors palliative care teams. Her work includes adapting communication training for surgeons and developing PFAC engagement strategies in research. She has collaborated on national initiatives like the Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program.

Labs/Teams: Dr. Anderson directs the VitalTalk Hub and collaborates with UCSF's Palliative Care Research Group. She participates in the Society of Hospital Medicine and IMPACT-ICU initiatives to advance clinical communication standards.