Overview

he context and principles of palliative and end of life care may include:

• Specialist and generalist palliative care
• Palliative and end of life care across acute, hospice and community settings
• Recognising the dying adult
• Ethical decision making
• Involving patients and significant others in care
• Advanced communication training
• Educating the patient and significant others in their care
• Dealing with strong emotions, denial and unrealistic expectations
• Care planning and the textual organisation of care
• Symptom control and complications
• Pain and the management of pain
• Delirium, confusion, restlessness and agitation
• Noisy breathing
• Constipation
• Mouth care
• Dyspnoea

Learning Outcomes

• 1. Demonstrate understanding of palliative and end of life care needs in a variety of patient settings.

• 2. Demonstrate the ability to provide holistic assessment and care in relation to patients with palliative and end of life care needs.

• 3. Demonstrate and evaluate how communication is central to patients with palliative needs and significant others.

• 4. Demonstrate, and be able to identify multidisciplinary care input for people with palliative care needs and their families.