The ALIGN Program in Serious Illness Communication
Advancing Learner Instruction in Goal-centered Communication at Northwestern (ALIGN)
Clinician communication skills impact outcomes for patients, their loved ones, the healthcare system and clinicians themselves. Fortunately, communication skills are teachable.
ALIGN provides evidence-based communication training for the Northwestern medical community, specializing in Simulation-Based Mastery Learning.
Communications Skills Courses
Digital Training & Tools
Healthcare Communication Awards
2025 Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD) Award
- Novel Fellowship Education Implementation for “Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Improves Advanced Communication Skills in Critical Care Medicine Fellows and Advanced Practice Providers”
- Recipients: James M. Walter, MD, Julia Vermylen, MD, MPH, Melanie Smith, MD, Natalie Munger and Gordon Wood, MD
Program Leadership
Gordon Wood, MD
Co-Director
Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Education. He is a nationally recognized leader in serious illness communication
- Strategic Partner with VitalTalk
- Author of "Navigating Communication with Seriously Ill Patients."
- Associate Director of EPEC and Northwestern's Palliative Medicine Fellowship.
- Board of Directors, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Julia Vermylen, MD, MPH
Co-Director
Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Education. She is a nationally recognized leader in competency-based communication skills training.
- Expert in Simulation-Based Medical Education (Society for Simulation in Healthcare)
- System Director of the Scholars of Wellness Program
- Dedicated to improving clinician wellbeing and work environments
Associate Program Directors
Contributing Faculty
- Heather Ballard, MD
- Mark Bradley, DMin, BCC
- Michael Certo, MD, MA, MM
- Muhammad Deen, MD
- Pamela Floyd, MD, MPH, MDiv
- Aparna Kalyan, MD
- Theresa Lombardo, PRN
- Erika Mejia, MD
- Jayson Neagle, MD
- Edward Peñate, DMin, BCC
- Talia Shear, MD
- Maria Theodorou, MD, FACP, FHM
- Deborah Yu, MD
Program Faculty Publications and References
Selected Communication Publications by Program Faculty
- Rodriguez RA, Osman NY, Lawton AJ. When Time Is Short: Exploring Key Skills for Crisis Communication in Serious Illness Care. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Jan 13. doi: 10.1007/s11606-026-10196-x. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41530626.
- Wagner J, Solove T, Vermylen JH, Wood GJ, Lawton AJ. "It's All My Fault": Responding to Patient Self-Blame in Serious Illness Care. J Palliat Med. 2025 Nov 14. doi: 10.1177/10966218251395429. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41269083.
- England K, Bogetz J, Lau N, Wood GJ, Trowbridge A. The Journey of a Communication Skills Educator: Motivating Factors for Commitment and Sustainability. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2026 Mar;71(3):362-372. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.11.011. Epub 2025 Nov 23. PMID: 41290056.
- Aluce LM, Cooper JJ, Emlet LL, Cohen ER, Ostrowski SJ, Wood GJ, Vermylen JH. Bringing competency-based communication training to scale: A multi-institutional virtual simulation-based mastery learning curriculum for Emergency Medicine residents. Med Teach. 2025 Mar;47(3):505-512.
- Aluce LM, Cooper JJ, Emlet LL, Cohen ER, Ostrowski SJ, Wood GJ, Vermylen JH. Bringing competency-based communication training to scale: A multi-institutional virtual simulation-based mastery learning curriculum for Emergency Medicine residents. Med Teach. 2025 Mar;47(3):505-512.
- Smith MM, Walter JM, Munger NK, Cohen ER, Vermylen JH, Wood GJ. Excellence for All: Simulation-Based Mastery Learning for ICU Goals of Care Conversations. Chest. 2025 Jun 17:S0012-3692(25)00698-1
- Arnold, R. M., Back, A. L., Carey, E. C., Tulsky, J. A., Wood, G. J., & Yang, H. B. (2024). Navigating Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope. Cambridge University Press.
- Lawton AJ, Greco L, Airaldi R, Tulsky JA. Development of an actor rehearsal guide for communication skills courses. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 2024 Nov 20;14(4):471-6.
- Crafts LS, Teng C, Irwin M, Feraco AM, Lawton AJ, Snaman JM, Blume ED, Ronai C. Teaching pediatric cardiology fellows to communicate serious news: a pilot study. BMC Medical Education. 2024 Oct 7;24(1):1092.
- Wood GJ, Clepp RK, Lee J, Twaddle ML, Ogunseitan A, Neagle J, Szmuilowicz E. Outcomes of a Multisite Mentored Implementation Approach to Promoting Goals of Care Conversations. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Aug;68(2):163-170.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.04.024. Epub 2024 Apr 30. PMID: 38697406.
- Szmuilowicz E, Clepp RK, Neagle J, Ogunseitan A, Twaddle M, Wood GJ. The PACT Project: Feasibility of a Multidisciplinary, Multi-Faceted Intervention to Promote Goals of Care Conversations. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2024 Apr;41(4):355-362. doi: 10.1177/10499091231181557. Epub 2023 Jun 5. PMID: 37272769.
- Phillips M, Vermylen J, Ballard H. From Bytes to Empathy: Can ChatGPT Teach Anesthesiologists How to Deliver Bad News? Acad Med. 2024 Apr 1;99(4):347. PMID: 38190606
- Walter JM, Smith MM, Einstein N, Cohen ER, Wood GJ, Vermylen JH. Development of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum for Late Goals of Care Discussions. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Jul;68(1):e54-e61. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.03.020. Epub 2024 Mar 24. PMID: 38527655.
- Stefanidis D, Cook D, Kalantar-Motamedi SM, Muret-Wagstaff S, Calhoun AW, Lauridsen KG, Paige JT, Lockey A, Donoghue A, Hall AK, Patocka C, Palaganas J, Gross IT, Kessler D, Vermylen J, Lin Y, Aebersold M, Chang TP, Duff J, Kolbe M, Rutherford-Hemming T, Decker S, Collings A, Toseef Ansari M. Society for Simulation in Healthcare Guidelines for Simulation Training. Simul Healthc. 2024 Jan 1;19(1S):S4-S22. doi: 10.1097/SIH.0000000000000776. PMID: 38240614.
- Phillips ML, Tsao M, Davis-Sandfoss A, Benzon H, Mitchell JD, Barsuk JH, Ballard HA. Use of Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum to Improve Difficult Conversation Skills Among Anesthesiologists: A Pilot Study. J Educ Perioper Med. 2023 Jul 1;25(3):E710. doi: 10.46374/volxxv_issue3_Phillips. PMID: 37720371; PMCID: PMC10502581.
- Smith MM, Secunda KE, Cohen ER, Wayne DB, Vermylen JH, Wood GJ. "Clinical Experience Is Not a Proxy for Competence: Comparing Fellow and Medical Student Performance in a Breaking Bad News Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum." Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2023 Apr;40(4):423-430. doi: 10.1177/10499091221106176. Epub 2022 May 31. PMID: 35641315.
- Vermylen JH, Wood GJ. “Chapter 10: Mastery Learning of Clinical Communication Skills.” In: McGaghi WC, Barsuk JH, Wayne DB eds. Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Mastery Learning in Health Professions Education. 1st ed. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature; 2020. 171-190.
- Vermylen JH, Wayne DB, Cohen ER, McGaghie WC, Wood GJ. Promoting Readiness for Residency: Embedding Simulation-Based Mastery Learning for Breaking Bad News Into the Medicine Sub-Internship. Acad Med. 2020 Feb 18. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003210.
- Vermylen JH, Wood GJ, Cohen ER, Barsuk JH, McGaghie WC, Wayne DB. Development of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum for Breaking Bad News. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2018;57(3):682-687.
- Vermylen J, Wood GJ. Moving Toward Entrustment of Difficult Conversations. Journal of Graduate Medical Education. 2018;10(4):400-2.
Key Communication Skills References
- Arnold RM, Back AL, Barnato AE, Prendergast TJ, Emlet LL, Karpov I, et al. The Critical Care Communication Project: Improving Fellows' Communication Skills. Journal of Critical Care. 2015;30(2):250-4.
- Baile WF, Buckman R, Lenzi R, Glober G, Beale EA, Kudelka AP. SPIKES-A Six-Step Protocol for Delivering Bad News: Application to the Patient with Cancer. The Oncologist. 2000;5(4):302-11.
- Boissy A, Windover AK, Bokar D, Karafa M, Neuendorf K, Frankel RM et al. Communication Skills Training for Physicians Improves Patient Satisfaction. J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Jul;31(7):755-61.
- Childers JW, Back AL, Tulsky JA, Arnold RM. REMAP: A Framework for Goals of Care Conversations. Journal of Oncology Practice. 2017;13(10):e844-e50.
- Lautrette A, Darmon M, Megarbane B, Joly LM, Chevret S, Adrie C, et al. A Communication Strategy and Brochure for Relatives of Patients Dying in the ICU. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;356(5):469-78.
- Lilly CM, De Meo DL, Sonna LA, Haley KJ, Massaro AF, Wallace RF, et al. An Intensive Communication Intervention for the Critically Ill. The American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109(6):469-75.
- Schell JO, Cohen RA, Green JA, Rubio D, Childers JW, et al. NephroTalk: Evaluation of a Palliative Care Communication Curriculum for Nephrology Fellows. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2018. 56(5):767-773.
- Schwarze ML, Campbell TC, Cunningham TV, White DB, Arnold RM. You Can't Get What You Want: Innovation for End-of-Life Communication in the Intensive Care Unit. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2016;193(1):14-6.
- Taylor LJ, Nabozny MJ, Steffens NM, Tucholka JL, Brasel KJ, Johnson SK, et al. A Framework to Improve Surgeon Communication in High-Stakes Surgical Decisions: Best Case/Worst Case. JAMA Surgery. 2017;152(6):531-8.
- White DB, Angus DC, Shields AM, Buddadhumaruk P, Pidro C, Paner C, et al. A Randomized Trial of a Family-Support Intervention in Intensive Care Units. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2018;378(25):2365-75.
- White DB, Ernecoff N, Buddadhumaruk P, Hong S, Weissfeld L, Curtis JR, et al. Prevalence of and Factors Related to Discordance About Prognosis Between Physicians and Surrogate Decision Makers of Critically Ill Patients. JAMA. 2016;315(19):2086-94.
- Wright AA, Zhang B, Rav A, Mack JW, Trice E, Balboni T et al. Associations Between End-of-Life Discussions, Patient Mental Health, Medical Care Near Death, and Caregiver Bereavement Adjustment. JAMA. 2008 Oct 8;300(14):1665-73.