Palliating oncologists: A pilot study on primary palliative care development in hematology-oncology trainee outpatient clinics.

Abstract

21 Background: Primary Palliative Care (PPC) denotes basic PC competencies; whereas secondary PC (SPC) denotes consultant expertise. PPC competency includes basic symptom assessment/management; fundamental communication skills; and identification of patients for SPC. ASCO recommends early concurrent PC in advanced cancer/high symptom burden as it improves quality of life, symptom management, and care satisfaction. Because PC need exceeds availability of SPC providers, PPC proficiency by oncologists is essential. To enhance Hematology-Oncology (HO) fellows’ clinical experience through more effective PC training/utilization, we piloted an integrated fellows’ pre-clinic conference. Methods: HO fellows’ pre-clinic conferences were divided into intervention and control groups. Over 8 weeks, the PC fellow participated in interdisciplinary discussion for 2 weekly 1-hour conferences. The PC fellow provided PPC education via brief formal and informal didactics and identified patients for SPC referral. All HO fellows were surveyed before and after the intervention to assess comfort level with PPC and SPC referral. The survey used Likert-type scales and short-answer questions. Results: All HO fellows (N=10) voluntarily participated: 6 in the intervention group (IG), and 4 in the control group (CG). The IG demonstrated clearly enhanced comfort level with managing symptoms by improving in 100% of PPC categories after the intervention compared to 27% in the CG. Referral to SPC also increased in the IG, while it decreased in the CG. All HO fellows in the IG liked the PC integration, wanted to continue it, and wanted SPC availability in their future practice. Conclusions: This integration not only enhanced HO fellows’ PPC training and increased referral to SPC; it also fostered a partnership between HO and PC providers early in their careers. Such collaborative efforts are likely to improve long-term comprehensive cancer care as well as patient and provider satisfaction. Further study is merited and should include multiple centers and patient evaluations.