There is a large gap between the number of healthcare professionals with specialty palliative care training and the number required to meet the needs of the growing population of individuals with serious illness or multiple chronic conditions, which results in disparities in palliative care access across populations and settings. The unpredictable course of COVID-19 has placed further strain on and highlighted shortages of palliative care providers, and has emphasized the need to have upstream conversations about patients’ values, goals, and preferences. Providing training in primary palliative care to all healthcare workers—the core skills and knowledge needed to deliver care for the seriously ill in any setting—is one solution to this workforce challenge.
Palliative care’s focus on a team-based approach and the importance of collaborative partnerships within and between all care providers underscores the value of interprofessional education (IPE) as a means of filling these education and practice gaps. Although the need for primary palliative care education and competencies has been recognized across multiple disciplines, many of the existing efforts have been siloed within individual disciplines.
This Lightening Talk will describe how we scaled a pilot, faculty-driven palliative care IPE program to a university-wide IPE curricular offering sponsored by the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (JCIPE). Program evaluation data obtained from the pilot informed refinement of and revisions to the curriculum for scaled implementation. Aligned with the National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, JCIPE’s Interprofessional Palliative Care program is a semester-long hybrid curriculum that consists of asynchronous didactic modules, synchronous case-based learning, participation in interdisciplinary team rounds, shadowing palliative care providers, and student team-developed poster presentations. Both program-level and learner-specific outcomes were evaluated using pre-post surveys.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (OICPD). The OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
The National Center OICPD is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs). This program is eligible for Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with their participation.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Athletic Trainers: This program is eligible for Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
