Palliative Medicine for Healthcare Professionals

This module introduces the concept of palliative care – its definitions and terms and its role in the overall delivery of health care.  Basic symptom assessment and the ethics underpinning clinical decisions will be outlined with reference to useful frameworks in order to help you identify physical and psychosocial symptoms in different clinical and health care settings.

The module will also cover pain assessment and management for palliative care patients, and communication skills in relation to talking with patients and families about palliative care issues.

The material covered will be applicable across different health care settings, including paediatric palliative care.

Teaching dates: 16 September - 12 December 2024

This module considers the management of physical symptoms (excluding pain).  A broad range of physical symptoms will be studied to you in managing physical symptoms in your patients who need palliative care.

The syllabus includes a detailed consideration of neurological symptoms, gastro-intestinal symptoms, respiratory and circulatory symptoms as well as other symptoms affecting patients in palliative care settings.

The material included in this module will be applicable across different health care settings, including paediatric palliative care.

Teaching dates: 6 January - 20 March 2025

This module will consider the ethical, legal and complex care challenges that arise in different clinical settings, such as Intensive Care Units (ICU), prison care and transitional care. The role of mental capacity in decision making will be considered as will the assessment of symptoms in the absence of direct speech and in patients who have dementia.

Attention will also be focused on the management of pain, distress and symptoms for patients who have delirium, learning disability or dementia.

The module will also cover the ethical challenges around euthanasia, assisted dying and withdrawing/withholding treatment, as well as the legal framework of matters such as off license prescribing, prison care and deprivation of liberty safeguards.

The content will enable you to apply your existing knowledge of ethical principle to the practice areas under consideration.

Teaching dates: 23 September - 19 December 2024

This module will consider the ethical, legal and complex care challenges that arise in different paediatric clinical settings, such as neonatal care, Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU), transitional care, and care in children who are considered to be ‘at risk’. The role of mental capacity in decision making will be considered as will the assessment of symptoms in the absence of direct speech and in patients who have learning disability.

Attention will also be focused on the management of pain, distress and symptoms in patients who have a learning disability. The ethical challenges around long term neurological conditions, euthanasia, assisted suicide and withdrawing/withholding treatment will be discussed. The legal framework of matters such as off license prescribing and child protection legislation in different countries will also be addressed.

The content will enable you to apply your existing knowledge of ethical principle to the practice areas under consideration.

Teaching dates: 23 September - 19 December 2024

Consideration of the patient and those closest to them is the central theme of this module.  It will consider all aspects of care in the last year of life including: prognostic scores, preferred place of care and death, advance care planning conversations, wishes concerning the end of life and the challenges of those conversations. Focusing further on care needs during the 12 hours before death, at the time of death and the immediate aftermath, specific issues and legal requirements will be considered.

There will also be an emphasis on reviewing, measuring and researching the quality of end of life care, aiming to create a continuing curiosity for improving care in the last year and last moments of life.

The material included in this module will be applicable across different health care settings, including paediatric palliative care.

Teaching dates: 31 March - 19 June 2025

This module will consider ways in which your workplace may affect how you are able to practice and deliver palliative care.  It will raise awareness of palliative care in different health care settings and within variously resourced interdisciplinary teams. Enhancing the effectiveness of clinical teams in delivering palliative care will be explored and you will be expected to reflect critically on team working and to discuss drivers and barriers in relation to increasing effectiveness.  As part of this exploration, the module will consider quality criteria for transfer of care processes and ways to enhance effective communication between health care professionals and families regarding palliative care delivery.

Building on the topic of effectiveness, the module will introduce the core principles of research design and methodology so as to equip you with the understanding needed to interpret and plan research studies.

The role of communities in supporting palliative care delivery is considered as well as the impact of strategic health care delivery models on the delivery of palliative care to patients and families. Throughout the module, ensuring that patients and care improvement are at the heart of service development will be of central concern.

The material included in this module will be applicable across different health care settings, including paediatric palliative care.

Teaching dates: 6 January - 30 March 2025

This module will consider how to use your knowledge about palliative care issues to impact on palliative care services where you work. It focuses on how to work towards service enhancements through research and quality improvement. It will explore ways to share your knowledge, methods for measuring quality of care and symptom measurement. There will be an emphasis on using evidence, on project design and on the methods and ethics of research and quality improvement, including the effect of research on patients and safeguards that need to be implemented.  The module therefore aims to help you develop your skills in critically appraising research literature, writing business cases, proposals and strategic documents to underpin your ideas for service development. Change management issues will be considered as will effective writing for business cases, grant applications and publication.

The material included in this module will be applicable across different health care settings, including paediatric palliative care.

Teaching dates: 31 March - 19 June 2025