Overview

This topic is designed to provide an opportunity for various health care professionals to broaden their knowledge and understanding of a number of aspects of palliative clinical management. The topic is divided into five sections; the phenomenon of palliative care, clinical assessment and decision making, the clinical management of commonly … For more content click the Read More button below.

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Tuition pattern

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Aims

This topic aims to provide an overview of the assessment, diagnosis and management of common symptoms and disease trajectories that occur within the palliative care context. This aim will be accomplished through critical reading of the evidence, group discussions and the application of palliative care principles to particular case examples.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this topic you will be expected to be able to:
1.
Distinguish key elements involved in clinical assessment and decision making in palliative care
2.
Describe the pathophysiology of common symptoms in palliative care and outline the systematic assessment and management of these, with consideration of the many cultural/ social factors that affect care
3.
Identify the features/issues involved in the terminal phase of an illness and describe the clinical strategies commonly used during this time
4.
Compare and contrast common disease trajectories encountered in the palliative setting and describe the significance of these to the care of a person with a life limiting illness
5.
Identify ongoing learning needs

Assessments

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Requisites information

Pre-requisites:

Assumed knowledge

Familiarity in the use of literature and accessing relevant data bases including OVID Medline, CINAHL, PubMed and any others appropriate to the area of study.