Women in Medicine and Science – Bethany Eiseler, MD

Bethany Eiseler, MD, is the division director of Palliative Care in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses.

For Dr. Eiseler, ensuring patients receive care early enough to truly benefit from it is key to best serving them. “Palliative care is still too often introduced only at the end of life. We need to better integrate symptom management, communication and support alongside disease-directed treatment from the time of serious illness diagnosis,” she said.

Dr. Eiseler plans to address this challenge by using her new role as division director to help shape how palliative care grows within the college and Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix. “My focus is on earlier integration, education and building partnerships across specialties. In 10 years, I hope palliative care is viewed as a standard component of high-quality care for serious illness, not something reserved for the final days of life,” she shared.

Dr. Eiseler is currently working on projects focused on integrating palliative care at the start of a patient’s disease course, including collaborations with transplant and other specialty teams. In addition, she is working to strengthen education and develop better ways to measure the impact of palliative care. The goal is to move from reactive consultation toward proactive, integrated palliative care.

She hopes to inspire the next generation of physicians and researchers through motivation and curiosity. “I hope to show trainees that you do not have to wait until late in your career to lead, advocate for change or improve the way we care for patients. I want them to remain curious, compassionate and willing to challenge systems that are not serving patients well. Some of the most meaningful innovation in medicine starts simply by asking,” she said.

Collaborating with fellow women in medicine and science is also important to Dr. Eiseler because she believes such partnership can help avoid the feeling of navigating medicine alone. “Having a community of women who can mentor, advocate for, challenge and celebrate one another is incredibly valuable. Collaboration also allows us to learn from women at different stages of their careers and create opportunities for those rising after us,” she explained.

For the next generation of physicians and scientists, Dr. Eiseler encourages trainees to remain curious and not feel pressured to have their careers entirely mapped out from the beginning. “Seek experiences that expose you to different areas of medicine and pay attention to the work that feels meaningful to you. Palliative medicine requires strong clinical skills, but just as importantly, it requires empathy, humility, communication and a willingness to sit with people during difficult moments.”