Essentials of Palliative Care

This course starts you on your journey of integrating primary palliative care into your daily lives. You will learn what palliative care is, how to communicate with patients, show empathy, and practice difficult conversations. You will learn how to screen for distress and provide psychosocial support. You will learn about goals of care and advance care planning and how to improve your success with having these conversations with patients. Finally, you will explore important cultural considerat

• Define the scope of palliative care and the roles of primary and specialist teams in comprehensive care for patients and families
• Explain the components of an interdisciplinary patient treatment plan that includes physical, emotional, social and spiritual care
• Discuss basic strategies for addressing psychosocial and relationship concerns in the context of serious illness
• Engage in goals of care and advance care planning discussions with patients and families