Early integration of palliative care and oncology (EIPCO): A low-maintenance, easy-to-implement program to address palliative care shortages in oncology.

Abstract

192 Background: With demand for palliative care rising and increasing cancer survival rates, there is an urgent need to train future healthcare professionals in palliative care principles, especially for oncology. Prior work has focused on adding modules or rotations to medical school curriculums. However, this approach provides insufficient or late exposure to specific trainees, such as undergraduate and medical students that are less aware of palliative care. Here, we report on the successful development and implementation of a program that educates early trainees in palliative care and oncology topics while immediately benefiting patients and healthcare teams. Methods: The pilot version of the EIPCO (Early Integration of Palliative Care and Oncology) program was initiated at Stanford in 2021 by a single medical student and faculty advisor. Recruited medical, graduate, and undergraduate student trainees first complete an online, didactic course as a self-paced, safe introduction to palliative care and oncology. A member of EIPCO leadership (officer) then interviews trainees one-on-one to discuss course takeaways, remaining questions, and what follow-up opportunities are most relevant for each trainee. Next, EIPCO facilitates trainee boarding into their respective opportunities, such as shadowing, volunteering, talks, or research projects, to stimulate further learning and excitement. Involved trainees may then also apply to become officers. EIPCO was reliably maintained and expanded by a small team, even when all officers had significant time constraints. Results: EIPCO was received positively by trainees, especially for providing access to rare opportunities where they could directly help patients. Trainees reported the most interest in shadowing (88% of trainees, e.g. inpatient or at tumor boards), providing companionship (96% of trainees, e.g. spiritual care visits or for actively dying patients), and helping patients complete advanced care directives (85% of trainees). These experiences solidified crucial concepts and cultivated interest in palliative care and oncology. Resources have also been developed for the flexible implementation of EIPCO at other institutions. Conclusions: EIPCO serves as a low-maintenance and easy-to-implement model to address a growing need in medical education. EIPCO benefits healthcare teams and patients while exposing early trainees to how palliative and cancer care can be integrated. Further work has begun to expand the program to other institutions to enhance training on a broader scale.