Heather Mikes, DO

HEATHER MIKES, DO, FAAHPM, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and faculty at the Latterman Family Medicine Residency Program, where she serves as Program Director of Geriatrics and Palliative Care. Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Addiction Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, she brings extensive clinical leadership experience as a former medical director in inpatient and outpatient palliative care.

Dr. Mikes’ work sits at the intersection of clinical care and ethics, with a focus on serious illness communication, advance care planning, and navigating complex, value-laden decisions at the end of life. She has particular interest in ethical challenges related to physician aid in dying, prognostication, patient autonomy, and care for unhoused, marginalized and medically vulnerable populations.

A nationally recognized educator, Clinical Skills Preceptor for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and VitalTalk faculty member, Dr. Mikes develops and teaches communication frameworks that support clinicians in addressing suffering, uncertainty, and moral distress. Her innovative use of narrative medicine and the visual arts invites deeper reflection on bias, meaning, and the human experience of illness.

Dr. Mikes is a Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and has received multiple honors for teaching, leadership, and professionalism.