Vickie Leff

Vickie Leff is a palliative care consultant. She has served as the executive director of the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) and of the Advanced Palliative Care & Hospice Social Work Certification (APHSW) board. She has been an adjunct instructor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, UNC Chapel Hill, and the Smith College School for Social Work. With over 35 years of clinical practice experience in oncology, palliative care, and hospice, Vickie presents and provides training on topics such as moral distress, sustainability, and debriefings to national educational organizations and institutions.

Vickie’s work has been published in journals including Health Affairs, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and Journal of Palliative Medicine. She is on the editorial board of the journal Social Work in Health Care and on the board of directors of the Center for Practical Bioethics. She is an editor of the book Mirrors & Windows: Reflections on the Journey in Serious Illness Practice and co-author of Helping Children & Teens Cope. Vickie holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Ithaca College and an MSW from Simmons School of Social Work.