Olivia Seecof, MD

As a member of the NYU Langone palliative care team, I care for patients with serious illness, such as cancer or advanced organ disease. I focus on managing pain and other symptoms and listening to patients’ experiences living with their illnesses.

I am dedicated to considering the whole patient—getting to know each individual by asking questions about how they enjoy spending their time, what is most important to them, and who is in their support network. I use their answers to provide recommendations for their medical care that support their goals, needs, and values, to ultimately help improve their overall quality of life. Additionally, I often use this information to help patients formulate an advance care plan.

I practice advanced illness management in the hospital and outpatient office. We use a multidisciplinary approach, connecting patients with social work, chaplaincy, and nutritionists in addition to their physicians to craft comprehensive and individualized care plans.

When I’m not caring for patients, I teach and mentor medical students, residents, and fellows. I participate in quality improvement and clinical research, and serve as a member of the hospital ethics committee. I have presented research at national conferences and published in multiple medical journals.

One of my interests is the intersection of symptom management and advance care planning in patients with chronic illness and substance use disorder. People in hospice and palliative medicine settings with a history of substance use disorder are at higher risk of adverse events, and we have a responsibility to better serve this vulnerable population with evidence-based strategies and increased clinician education.

Overall, I value the long-term relationships formed with patients as I help each individual live as long as they can, as well as they can.