Kathryn B. Kirkland, MD
Title(s)
Professor of Medicine
Professor of The Dartmouth Institute
Additional Titles/Positions/Affiliations
Dorothy and John J. Byrne, Jr., Distinguished Chair in Palliative Medicine
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Medicine
Director, Palliative Care
Department(s)
Medicine
The Dartmouth Institute
Education
Dartmouth Medical School, MD 1986
Mt. Holyoke College, BA 1981
Contact Information
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Palliative Medicine Section
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon NH 03756
Office: 603-650-5393
Email: kathryn.b.kirkland@hitchcock.org
Professional Interests
Narrative medicine
Healthcare humanities
Creative writing
Biography
Kathryn Kirkland, MD, FAAHPM, is a professor of medicine and of health policy and clinical practice and holds the Dorothy and John J. Byrne, Jr. Distinguished Chair in palliative medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine. She has served as section chief and director of palliative care, and as interim chair of medicine at Dartmouth Health. She integrates narrative medicine teaching into medical student, resident, fellow, faculty and healthcare team education and has helped facilitate cross-disciplinary activities with colleagues at Dartmouth College. Her interests include the role and mechanisms of narrative practices, such as close reading and creative writing, in the preparation of clinicians for the co-design and delivery of empathic, effective healthcare and in the facilitation of joy in work. She is physician lead of the Promise Partnership, a collaboration between The Dartmouth Institute and Dartmouth Health designed to create a learning health system based on co-production principles.