PostGres Profile Detail – Faculty

Melissa Bender
Associate Professor
Palliative Care
benderma@uw.edu
(206)-221-9152
Biography
Dr. Bender received the Stuart J. Farber, M.D. and Annalu Farber Endowed Professorship in Palliative Care Education in 2023. She is an attending physician on the Palliative Care Service at University of Washington Medical Center-Montlake and an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine.She is co-director of the Palliative Care clinical rotations for medical students at UWSOM.
Dr. Bender earned a bachelors degree from Hanover College and her M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine. She did her residency training in family medicine at The Christ Hospital-based residency program with the University of Cincinnati, where she was chief resident. She completed her fellowship in Palliative Care at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
She is board certified in family medicine and hospice and palliative medicine.
Publications
Bender MA, Huang KN, Raetz J Advance Care Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JABFM. Feb 2021Bender MA, Andrilla CHA, Sharma RK, Hurd C, Solvang N, Baldwin L Moral Distress and Attitudes About Timing Related to Comfort Care for Hospitalized Patients: A Survey of Inpatient Providers and Nurses.. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. Nov 2019
Bender MA, Kummet C, Merel S. Grieve and Light a Virtual Candle.. J Palliat Med. July 2018
Bender MA, Hurd C, Solvang N, Colagrossi K, Matsuwaka D, Curtis JR. J Palliat Med. A New Generation of Comfort Care Order Sets: Aligning Protocols with Current Principles. . J Palliat Med. September 2017
Bender MA,Clarke E, Guilbe RM, Selwyn PA, Missed opportunities in providing palliative care for the urban poor: a case discussion.. J Palliat Med. Dec 2012