Our Team

James A. Tulsky, M.D.

Dr. James Tulsky is the Director of the Center for Palliative Care and Professor of Medicine and Professor in Nursing at Duke University. He completed his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago in 1987, received his internal medicine training at the University of California , San Francisco , and continued at UCSF as Chief Medical Resident and a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. He joined the faculty of Duke University in 1993. In addition to his palliative care and general medicine clinical practice, Dr. Tulsky maintains an active research program studying how physicians communicate with patients facing advanced life-limiting illness, as well as exploring the clinical, psychosocial and spiritual trajectories of seriously ill patients. In 2002, Dr. Tulsky received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest national award given by the White House Office of Science and Technology for early career investigators. Dr. Tulsky is also passionate about the teaching of palliative care communication skills. He is a nationally acclaimed educator and speaker and was named a Project on Death in America Soros Faculty Scholar to promote his work teaching medical trainees how to improve communication with the dying patient. Dr. Tulsky is the Director of the Duke Fellowship in Palliative Medicine.

Selected Publications:

1. Smith AK, Ries AP, Zhang B, Tulsky JA, Prigerson HG, Block SD. Resident approaches to advance care planning on the day of hospital admission. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1597-1602.

2. Fryer-Edwards K, Arnold RM, Baile W, Tulsky JA, Petracca F, Back A. Teaching communication skills: a qualitative study of reflective teaching practices. Acad Med 2006;81:638-44.

3. Weiner JS, Arnold RM, Curtis JR, Back AL, Rounsaville B, Tulsky JA. Manualized communication interventions to enhance palliative care research and training: rigorous, testable approaches. J Pall Med 2006;9(2):371-81.

4. Steinhauser KE, Voils CI, Clipp EC, Bosworth HB, Christakis NA, Tulsky JA. Are you at peace? One item to probe spiritual concerns at the end of life. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:101-05.

5. 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. J Pall Med 2006;9(1):100-110.

6. Winzelberg GS, Hanson LC, Tulsky JA. Beyond autonomy: diversifying end-of-life decision-making approaches to serve patients and families. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005;53:1046-50.

7. Johnson KS, Kuchibhatala M, Sloane R, Tanis D, Galanos AN, Tulsky JA. Ethnic differences in the place of death of elderly hospice enrollees. J Am Ger Soc 2005;53:2209-15.

8. Tulsky JA. Beyond advance directives: the importance of communication skills at the end of life. JAMA 2005;293(3):359-65.

9. Back AL, Arnold RM, Tulsky JA, Baile WF, Fryer-Edwards KA. On saying goodbye: acknowledging the end of the patient-physician relationship with patients who are near death. Ann Intern Med 2005;142:682-85.

10. Johnson KS, Elbert-Avila K, Tulsky JA. The importance of spiritual beliefs and practices in illness and at the end of life among African Americans. J Am Ger Soc 2005;53:711-19.

11. Back AL, Arnold RA, Tulsky JA, Baile WF, Fryer-Edwards KA. Teaching communication skills to medical oncology fellows. J Clin Oncol 2003;21(12):2433-36.

12. Steinhauser KE, Bosworth HB, Clipp EC, McNeilly M, Christakis NA, Parker J, Tulsky JA. Initial assessment of a new instrument to measure quality at the end of life. J Pall Med 2002;5(6):829-41.

13. Tulsky JA. Hope and Hubris. J Pall Med 2002;5(3):339-41.

14. Discussing religious and spiritual issues at the end of life: a practical guide for physicians. JAMA2002;287:749-54.

15. Lo B, Ruston D, Kates LW, Arnold RM, Cohen CB, Faber-Langendoen K, Puchaliski CM, Pantilat SZ, Quill TR, Rabow MS, Schreiber S, Sulmasy DP, Tulsky JA.

16. Breen CM, Abernethy AP, Abbott KH, Tulsky JA. Conflict associated with decisions to limit life-sustaining treatment in intensive care units. J Gen Intern Med 2001; 16:283-89.

17. Abbott KH, Sago JG, Breen CM, Abernethy AP, Tulsky JA. Families looking back: One year after discussion of withdrawal/withholding of life sustaining support. Crit Care Med 2001;29:197-201.

18. Roter DL, Larson S, Fischer GS, Arnold RM, Tulsky JA. Experts practice what they preach: a descriptive study of best and normative practices in end of life discussions. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:3477-85.

19. Steinhauser KE, Christakis NA, Clipp EC, McNeilly M, McIntyre L, Tulsky JA. Factors considered important at the end of life by patients, family, physicians, and other care providers. JAMA 2000;284:2476-82.

20. Steinhauser KE, Clipp EC, McNeilly MD, Christakis NA, McIntyre LM, Tulsky JA. In search of a good death: observations of patients, families and providers. Ann Intern Med 2000;132(10):825-32.

21. Danis M, Federman D, Fins JJ, Fox E, Kastenbaum B, Lanken PN, Long K, Lowenstein E, Lynn J, Rouse F, Tulsky JA. Incorporating palliative care into critical care education: Principles, challenges, & opportunities. Crit Care Med 1999;27(9):2005-13.

22. Lo B, Quill TE, Tulsky JA. Discussing palliative care with patients. Ann Intern Med 1999;130(9):744-49.

23. Tulsky JA. Teaching physicians to deliver bad news: some practical advice. J Pall Med 1998;1(4):423-26.

24. Tulsky JA, Fischer GS, Rose MR, Arnold RM. Opening the black box: how do physicians communicate about advance directives? Ann Intern Med 1998;129(6):441-49.

25. Fischer GS, Tulsky JA, Rose MR, Siminoff L, Arnold RM. Patient knowledge and physician predictions of treatment preferences after discussions about advance directives. J Gen Intern Med 1998;13(7):447-54.

26. Tulsky JA, Cassileth BR, Bennett CL. The effect of ethnicity on ICU use and DNR orders in hospitalized AIDS patients. J Clin Ethics 1997; 8(2):150-57.

27. Hanson LC, Tulsky JA, Danis M. Can clinical interventions change care at the end of life? Ann Intern Med 1997; 126:381-88.

28. Tulsky JA, Chesney MA, Lo B. “See one, do one, teach one?” Housestaff experience discussing do-not-resuscitate orders. Arch Intern Med 1996;156:1285-9.

29. Diem SJ, Lantos JD, Tulsky JA. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation on television: miracles and misinformation. N Engl J Med 1996;334:1578-82.