Palliative Care Competencies Research Articles

The Orkdal model: Development, implementation, and evaluation of collaboration between specialist and community care within cancer palliative care.

73 Background: Palliative care early in the cancer disease trajectory may improve health related quality of life for patients and their families. Collaboration between community and specialist health care professionals is paramount to achieve optimal cancer care. The objective of this study is to develop and to implement this model into our health care system.The target population is cancer patients with metastatic and/ or loco-regional disease. Methods: The study takes place in a rural district of 13 municipalities with a local hospital (Orkdal) in Mid Norway. It is designed as a prospective controlled observational pre- post cohort study with four main interventions: 1. Development and implementation of a standardized care pathway across health care levels, 2. Educational programme for health care professionals, 3. Information about cancer and palliative care to the public, 4.Information,education and support to family members.Outcomes are patient’s time spent at home, family member’s health related quality of life, improvement of health care providers’ knowledge and skills and distribution of health care service use. Results: A standardized care pathway for all palliative cancer patients including home care, care in nursing homes, and specialist care in hospitals (in- and outpatients) is developed. It focuses on access to palliative care services, transfer of medical data, and symptom assessment. The educational program consists of two parts; one to inform about the project and the standardized care pathway, and one to improve competence and skills in cancer palliative care. To the general public, information regarding chemo- and radiotherapy, symptom diagnosis and treatment and palliative care services in general is given. Conclusions: A total integrated model to improve care for cancer patients was developed focusing on collaboration between community and specialist health care, and on early integration of palliative care in the traditional cancer care trajectory. Improved care for cancer patients and their families in the Orkdal region to equal costs is expected. The Orkdal Model may be applied in other regions and for other chronic diseases. Clinical trial information: NCT02170168.

PROMs from hospital to hospice.

209 Background: Symptom burden in advanced cancer patients (pts) influences quality of life (QoL) and should be leading in advanced care planning for both hospital and hospice populations. The objective is to describe the course of symptomburden in those patients over time. Methods: Symptoms were biweekly assessed with the self-assessment tool Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS; Dutch translation) in a prospective longitudinal study of hospitalized patients and patients admitted to a hospice. Prevalence and intensity data were entered in a web-based database by distinguishing patients into 3 groups regarding the aim of palliative care: tumor palliation, symptom palliation and terminal care. Results: 808 pts included, mean age 65 (18-93), 57% female; 224 (30%) pts admitted in the hospice-setting, 584 (70%) in a medical oncology ward. The care aimed 36 % tumor palliation, 59% symptom management, 4% terminal care. Most prevalent symptoms were similar in hospital and hospice: fatigue, anorexia, dry mouth, pain, constipation. The highest clinical relevance (score > 4 on NRS 0-10; 0 = no symptom, 10 = worst symptom) was found in hospital for fatigue (56%), anorexia (54%), constipation (48%), dry mouth (44%), pain (33%). In hospice patients fatigue (88%), dry mouth (66%), anorexia (63%), pain (4%), constipation (40%). In both care settings same national guidelines for symptom management are used as bottom line for interventions. 48% hospital patients scored > 4 for overall wellbeing (0= very good, 10 = very bad) vs 68% in hospice. In the hospice cohort pts are discriminated by prognosis, symptomburden, QoL: > 3 months survival, 2 – 12 weeks, < 2 weeks. Analysis is ongoing, data will be presented at the conference. Conclusions: The course of symptom intensity in advanced cancer populations in hospital and hospice setting is quite similar. A combination of general, specialized and expert palliative care competencies are needed during the cancer continuum. Prospective monitoring of patients during the continuum is a methodological and practical challenge.

Needs, expectations, and concerns of medical students regarding end-of-life issues before the introduction of a mandatory undergraduate palliative care curriculum.

In the past, implementation of effective palliative care curricula has emerged as a priority in medical education. In order to gain insight into medical students' needs and expectations, we conducted a survey before mandatory palliative care education was introduced in our faculty. Seven hundred nine students answered a questionnaire mainly consisting of numeric rating scales (0-10). Participants attributed a high importance to palliative care for their future professional life (mean, 7.51 ± 2.2). For most students, symptom control was crucial (7.72 ± 2.2). However, even higher importance was assigned to ethical and legal issues (8.16 ± 1.9). "Self-reflection regarding their own role as a physician caring for the terminally ill along with psychological support" was also regarded as highly important (7.25 ± 2.4). Most students were moderately concerned at the prospect of being confronted with suffering and death (5.13 ± 2.4). This emotional distress was rated significantly higher by female students (5.4 ± 2.4 versus 4.6 ± 2.4; p < 0.001). Seventeen percent of all students rated their distress as being 7 of 10 or higher, which indicates a considerable psychological strain in terms of dealing with end-of-life issues in the future. Professional or personal experience with terminally ill persons lowered these anxieties significantly (4.99 ± 2.34 versus 5.47 ± 2.5, p < 0.05). Medical students stated a remarkably high interest in learning palliative care competencies. Responding to their specific concerns and needs-especially with regard to the acquisition of emotional coping skills-may be key for the development of successful palliative care curricula.

Raising the bar for the care of seriously ill patients: results of a national survey to define essential palliative care competencies for medical students and residents.

Given the shortage of palliative care specialists in the United States, to ensure quality of care for patients with serious, life-threatening illness, generalist-level palliative care competencies need to be defined and taught. The purpose of this study was to define essential competencies for medical students and internal medicine and family medicine (IM/FM) residents through a national survey of palliative care experts. Proposed competencies were derived from existing hospice and palliative medicine fellowship competencies and revised to be developmentally appropriate for students and residents. In spring 2012, the authors administered a Web-based, national cross-sectional survey of palliative care educational experts to assess ratings and rankings of proposed competencies and competency domains. The authors identified 18 comprehensive palliative care competencies for medical students and IM/FM residents, respectively. Over 95% of survey respondents judged the competencies as comprehensive and developmentally appropriate (survey response rate = 72%, 71/98). Using predefined cutoff criteria, experts identified 7 medical student and 13 IM/FM resident competencies as essential. Communication and pain/symptom management were rated as the most critical domains. This national survey of palliative care experts defines comprehensive and essential palliative care competencies for medical students and IM/FM residents that are specific, measurable, and can be used to report educational outcomes; provide a sequence for palliative care curricula in undergraduate and graduate medical education; and highlight the importance of educating medical trainees in communication and pain management. Next steps include seeking input and endorsement from stakeholders in the broader medical education community.

Acute and critical care nurses' perceptions of palliative care competencies: a pilot study.

Competency development among acute and critical care nurses has focused primarily on the provision of life-sustaining care and less on the care of patients who fail to respond to life-prolonging treatments. Examining nurses' beliefs, perceptions, and experiences with patients' palliative care needs may improve continuing education programs, practice resources, educational curricula, and professional nursing practice. Survey methodology was used to conduct this pilot study. Forty-nine nurses completed a 33-item survey instrument in 2012. Respondents consisted of nurses attending a critical care continuing education event and graduate nursing students in an acute care nurse practitioner program. Statistical tests were used to examine differences in perceived importance of core competencies in palliative care. Findings from this study demonstrate variation in palliative care knowledge and perceived relative importance of core competencies needed in palliative care practice. This study provides preliminary data about knowledge differences among different nursing groups and a foundation for further study.

Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke

The purpose of this statement is to delineate basic expectations regarding primary palliative care competencies and skills to be considered, learned, and practiced by providers and healthcare services across hospitals and community settings when caring for patients and families with stroke. Members of the writing group were appointed by the American Heart Association Stroke Council's Scientific Statement Oversight Committee and the American Heart Association's Manuscript Oversight Committee. Members were chosen to reflect the diversity and expertise of professional roles in delivering optimal palliative care. Writing group members were assigned topics relevant to their areas of expertise, reviewed the appropriate literature, and drafted manuscript content and recommendations in accordance with the American Heart Association's framework for defining classes and level of evidence and recommendations. The palliative care needs of patients with serious or life-threatening stroke and their families are enormous: complex decision making, aligning treatment with goals, and symptom control. Primary palliative care should be available to all patients with serious or life-threatening stroke and their families throughout the entire course of illness. To optimally deliver primary palliative care, stroke systems of care and provider teams should (1) promote and practice patient- and family-centered care; (2) effectively estimate prognosis; (3) develop appropriate goals of care; (4) be familiar with the evidence for common stroke decisions with end-of-life implications; (5) assess and effectively manage emerging stroke symptoms; (6) possess experience with palliative treatments at the end of life; (7) assist with care coordination, including referral to a palliative care specialist or hospice if necessary; (8) provide the patient and family the opportunity for personal growth and make bereavement resources available if death is anticipated; and (9) actively participate in continuous quality improvement and research. Addressing the palliative care needs of patients and families throughout the course of illness can complement existing practices and improve the quality of life of stroke patients, their families, and their care providers. There is an urgent need for further research in this area.

SUPPORTING GENERAL PRACTITIONERS TO PROVIDE OUT-OF-HOURS PALLIATIVE CARE

IntroductionOffering choice about place of care to patients is fundamentally influenced by out-of-hours service provision. Concerns have been raised about continuity, availability of information and access to support services. General...

OUT-OF-HOURS PALLIATIVE CARE: WHAT ARE THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND PREFERENCES OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS?

BackgroundGeneral practitioners (GPs) provide most out-of-hours medical care, but overall see few palliative patients. Keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date is challenging. UK national policy has highlighted the importance of...

The need for palliative care education, support, and reflection among rural nurses and other staff: A quantitative study

Many people now die in community care, and, considering the aging population, all healthcare staff members must be prepared to provide palliative care. Our objectives were to describe the total staff working in different care organizations in a rural community in Sweden and to explore palliative care competence, to describe educational gaps and the need for support and reflection, and to determine whether there are differences in care organizations, professions, age, and gender. A 4-section 20-item questionnaire was distributed to 1686 staff (65% response rate): in nursing homes (n = 395), home care (n = 240), and group residential settings (n = 365). Registered nurses (n = 70), assistant nurses (n = 916), managers (n = 43), and paramedics (n = 33) participated. Descriptive and correlational statistics were employed. Significant differences were found, and 40% (53% among men) lacked palliative care education, Fewer than 50% lacked education in the spiritual/existential areas, and 75% of those aged 20-66 (75% women, 55% men) needed further education. More women than men and staff aged 50-59 had an increased need to reflect. Our study may provide guidance for managers in rural communities when planning educational interventions in palliative care for healthcare staff and may support direct education with content for specific professions.

Developing cultural competence in palliative care

Increasing ethnic or cultural diversity in the population served by health-care services requires improved competence and updated provision. Both individual staff and institutions need to reflect on and prepare to meet new challenges. Three key elements-reflective self-awareness, knowledge of others, and skills in managing difference-must be developed. Recognition of diversity and a database of appropriate information are essential for both workers and management of organisations. Above all, some preparedness for continual change and learning is essential. This article provides some suggestions and examples to assist with this.

Palliative Care Training During Fellowship: National Survey of Second-Year U.S. Nephrology Fellows (TH325-A)

3. Describe the findings of APRN participants that elucidate future educational planning for APRNs. Workforce issues necessitate a focus on midcareer advanced practice nurses to promote primary palliative care. Although there are many palliative educational opportunities, there are few abilities to translate the education into practice. This is particularly true to advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), especially those in rural areas. Outside of nurse practitioner (NP) fellowships and observerships, there are few clinical experiences. Of these, there are limitations in patient care exposure due to licensure, time, expense, and support for all APRNs, rather than NPs. This session describes a novel APRN externshipda partnership between an academic medical center, a palliative care service, and a school of nursingdto incorporate palliative principles into practice. The tenet of the externship is to develop competence in palliative care while offering technical assistance and support by practicing APRNs. Specific areas of focus are: pain and symptom assessment and management; fostering communication skills; building an understanding of community resources such as hospice, palliative care, and home care; introducing concepts of business and finance in palliative care; and developing of safe practice with policy, procedure, and guideline development with a focus on rural providers. The goal is twofold. One part is to promote primary palliative APRN practice by allowing the APRN to develop basic skills. The second is to foster the consideration of specialty APRN palliative practice. The speakers will offer an overview of education and lessons learned while working to promote APRN education and access to care. Participants will be encouraged to assess partnerships and foundations in their own communities to create models within their environment.

Superheroes, Comic Books, and Video Games: The New Cultural Competence in Pediatric Palliative Care (SA516)

Superheroes, Comic Books, and Video Games: The New Cultural Competence in Pediatric Palliative Care (SA516)

Discussing Prognosis and Recommending Hospice: A Resident Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

1.Develop an observed structured clinical examination (OSCE) to assess and give feedback to residents on their ability to provide prognostic information and recommend hospice as part of an existing required palliative care curriculum in our institution's internal medicine residency program. Over the past decade, late referral to hospice has become an increasing problem in the United States. Barriers to hospice referral are not well understood, but the lack of residency training in essential generalist palliative care competencies, such as giving prognostic information and recommending hospice, is a potential barrier to improving hospice utilization. Using observed structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to improve trainees' interpersonal and communication skills may address this barrier. The OSCE case was developed by an expert palliative care educator and modified though an iterative process consisting of 22 pilot OSCEs. An extensive literature review informed the development of the OSCE assessment tool, and items were reviewed and revised by six palliative and geriatric medicine experts. The assessment tool was revised in an iterative process over the course of 16 OSCEs with internal medicine residents. One standardizedpatient was used for all OSCEs. The final OSCE assessment tool consists of a 20-item behavior checklist. Preliminary results suggest high interrater reliability (K=0.97). Pilot assessment of 13 internal medicine residents found that the most frequently missed behaviors were assessing a patient's desire for prognostic information, identifying social workers or chaplains as part of the hospice team, and describing the hospice team's role after the patient dies (pronouncement, post-mortem care, and bereavement care). Of participants who evaluated the OSCE, all reported that the exercise was useful and “better than average” compared with other residency educational activities. Common “take home” points for residents included identifying members of the hospice team and asking patientswhat they understand and want to know about their prognosis. Results from an additional 20 OSCEs will be reported using the final assessment tool. This OSCE offers an opportunity for standardized assessment and individualized feedback to improve internal medicine residents' medical knowledge and skills related to the essential generalist palliative care competencies discussing prognosis and recommending hospice. Although originally developed for internal medicine residents, this tool could be readily applied to other specialties. The Discussing Prognosis and Recommending Hospice OSCE is a useful and effective tool for identifying and addressing residents' gaps in knowledge and communication skills around discussing prognosis and recommending hospice.

Validation of a new instrument for self-assessment of nurses' core competencies in palliative care.

Competence can be seen as a prerequisite for high quality nursing in clinical settings. Few research studies have focused on nurses' core competencies in clinical palliative care and few measurement tools have been developed to explore these core competencies. The purpose of this study was to test and validate the nurses' core competence in palliative care (NCPC) instrument. A total of 122 clinical nurse specialists who had completed a postbachelor program in palliative care at two university colleges in Norway answered the questionnaire. The initial analysis, with structural equation modelling, was run in Mplus 7. A modified confirmatory factor analysis revealed the following five domains: knowledge in symptom management, systematic use of the Edmonton symptom assessment system, teamwork skills, interpersonal skills, and life closure skills. The actual instrument needs to be tested in a practice setting with a larger sample to confirm its usefulness. The instrument has the potential to be used to refine clinical competence in palliative care and be used for the training and evaluation of palliative care nurses.

Continuing Competence in Palliative Care

Continuing Competence in Palliative Care

Meaning‐in‐life in nursing‐home patients: a correlate with physical and emotional symptoms

To investigate the prevalence of physical and emotional symptoms and the associations between symptoms and meaning-in-life in a cognitively intact nursing-home population. Meaning has been found to be a strong individual predictor of successful ageing and life satisfaction as well as an important psychological variable that promotes well-being. Meaning serves as a mediating variable in both psychological and physical health. The study employed a cross-sectional design. Data were collected in 2008 and 2009 using the QLQ-C15-PAL quality-of-life questionnaire, the purpose-in-life test and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A total of 250 cognitively intact nursing-home patients who met the inclusion criteria were approached and 202 attended. The prevalence of symptoms was fairly high, with fatigue (57%), pain (49%), constipation (43%) and dyspnoea (41%) as the most frequent physical symptoms, while 30% were depressed and 12% had anxiety. Significant correlations between meaning-in-life and symptom severity were displayed. The level of symptom severity among cognitively intact nursing-home patients is high, requiring highly competent staff nurses. Meaning-in-life might be an important resource in relation to a patient's physical and emotional health and global well-being. Facilitating patients' meaning-in-life might help reducing symptom severity and fostering quality of life in cognitively intact nursing-home patients. However, advancing staff nurses' competence in palliative care, symptom management and nurse-patient interaction is important for care quality and quality if life in nursing homes.

Principles and Practice of Palliative Care

The trajectories of serious illness and dying have changed in the last century; in the past, patients lived shorter lives and often died quickly of infectious disease, whereas patients in the 21st century live longer and often with prolonged debility in the advanced stages of illness. As a result, patients with serious illness can suffer undertreated symptoms and often feel poorly prepared for the final stages of disease. With more options for advanced life support and other aggressive interventions at the end of life, patients and families face increasingly complex medical decisions in the terminal phase of illness, and the treatments they receive do not always align with their goals and values. Emerging evidence suggests that integrating palliative care into the treatment of advanced illness can improve outcomes, decrease costs, and improve both patient and family satisfaction. Consequently, patient access to high-quality specialty-level palliative care is becoming standard of care at most academic cancer centers and more available in the community. This chapter describes the practice and principles of specialty-level palliative care and outlines specific "generalist" palliative care competencies essential for all physicians caring for patients with serious illness, including prognostication, patient-centered communication, and the navigation of ethical dilemmas in the field of palliative care. Tables outline the philosophy of palliative care, domains of suffering, location of death of hospice patients, the palliative performance scale, median survival times for cancer syndromes, indicators associated with a poorer prognosis in congestive heart failure, the NURSE mnemonic for accepting and responding to emotion, palliative care communication competencies in the intensive care unit, and the SPIKES mnemonic for breaking bad news. Figures depict causes of death in 1900 versus 2010, palliative care through the trajectory of serious illness, theoretical trajectories of disease, life expectancies for women and men, mortality at 1 year post discharge, and a model for patient-centered communication. This review contains 6 highly rendered figures, 9 tables, and 169 references.

Principles and Practice of Palliative Care

The trajectories of serious illness and dying have changed in the last century; in the past, patients lived shorter lives and often died quickly of infectious disease, whereas patients in the 21st century live longer and often with prolonged debility in the advanced stages of illness. As a result, patients with serious illness can suffer undertreated symptoms and often feel poorly prepared for the final stages of disease. With more options for advanced life support and other aggressive interventions at the end of life, patients and families face increasingly complex medical decisions in the terminal phase of illness, and the treatments they receive do not always align with their goals and values. Emerging evidence suggests that integrating palliative care into the treatment of advanced illness can improve outcomes, decrease costs, and improve both patient and family satisfaction. Consequently, patient access to high-quality specialty-level palliative care is becoming standard of care at most academic cancer centers and more available in the community. This chapter describes the practice and principles of specialty-level palliative care and outlines specific "generalist" palliative care competencies essential for all physicians caring for patients with serious illness, including prognostication, patient-centered communication, and the navigation of ethical dilemmas in the field of palliative care. Tables outline the philosophy of palliative care, domains of suffering, location of death of hospice patients, the palliative performance scale, median survival times for cancer syndromes, indicators associated with a poorer prognosis in congestive heart failure, the NURSE mnemonic for accepting and responding to emotion, palliative care communication competencies in the intensive care unit, and the SPIKES mnemonic for breaking bad news. Figures depict causes of death in 1900 versus 2010, palliative care through the trajectory of serious illness, theoretical trajectories of disease, life expectancies for women and men, mortality at 1 year post discharge, and a model for patient-centered communication. This chapter contains 6 highly rendered figures, 9 tables, 169 references, 1 teaching slide set, and 5 MCQs.

Principles and Practice of Palliative Care

The trajectories of serious illness and dying have changed in the last century; in the past, patients lived shorter lives and often died quickly of infectious disease, whereas patients in the 21st century live longer and often with prolonged debility in the advanced stages of illness. As a result, patients with serious illness can suffer undertreated symptoms and often feel poorly prepared for the final stages of disease. With more options for advanced life support and other aggressive interventions at the end of life, patients and families face increasingly complex medical decisions in the terminal phase of illness, and the treatments they receive do not always align with their goals and values. Emerging evidence suggests that integrating palliative care into the treatment of advanced illness can improve outcomes, decrease costs, and improve both patient and family satisfaction. Consequently, patient access to high-quality specialty-level palliative care is becoming standard of care at most academic cancer centers and more available in the community. This chapter describes the practice and principles of specialty-level palliative care and outlines specific "generalist" palliative care competencies essential for all physicians caring for patients with serious illness, including prognostication, patient-centered communication, and the navigation of ethical dilemmas in the field of palliative care. Tables outline the philosophy of palliative care, domains of suffering, location of death of hospice patients, the palliative performance scale, median survival times for cancer syndromes, indicators associated with a poorer prognosis in congestive heart failure, the NURSE mnemonic for accepting and responding to emotion, palliative care communication competencies in the intensive care unit, and the SPIKES mnemonic for breaking bad news. Figures depict causes of death in 1900 versus 2010, palliative care through the trajectory of serious illness, theoretical trajectories of disease, life expectancies for women and men, mortality at 1 year post discharge, and a model for patient-centered communication. This chapter contains 6 highly rendered figures, 9 tables, 169 references, 1 teaching slide set, and 5 MCQs.

Principles and Practice of Palliative Care

The trajectories of serious illness and dying have changed in the last century; in the past, patients lived shorter lives and often died quickly of infectious disease, whereas patients in the 21st century live longer and often with prolonged debility in the advanced stages of illness. As a result, patients with serious illness can suffer undertreated symptoms and often feel poorly prepared for the final stages of disease. With more options for advanced life support and other aggressive interventions at the end of life, patients and families face increasingly complex medical decisions in the terminal phase of illness, and the treatments they receive do not always align with their goals and values. Emerging evidence suggests that integrating palliative care into the treatment of advanced illness can improve outcomes, decrease costs, and improve both patient and family satisfaction. Consequently, patient access to high-quality specialty-level palliative care is becoming standard of care at most academic cancer centers and more available in the community. This chapter describes the practice and principles of specialty-level palliative care and outlines specific "generalist" palliative care competencies essential for all physicians caring for patients with serious illness, including prognostication, patient-centered communication, and the navigation of ethical dilemmas in the field of palliative care. Tables outline the philosophy of palliative care, domains of suffering, location of death of hospice patients, the palliative performance scale, median survival times for cancer syndromes, indicators associated with a poorer prognosis in congestive heart failure, the NURSE mnemonic for accepting and responding to emotion, palliative care communication competencies in the intensive care unit, and the SPIKES mnemonic for breaking bad news. Figures depict causes of death in 1900 versus 2010, palliative care through the trajectory of serious illness, theoretical trajectories of disease, life expectancies for women and men, mortality at 1 year post discharge, and a model for patient-centered communication. This review contains 6 highly rendered figures, 9 tables, and 169 references.