Announcements / Messages from IAPC
We really need your help: IAPC’s Member Database updation
Some of you might be aware that over the past few months, the IAPC began a very important initiative to update the IAPC’s membership database, as most of our member records were either incomplete or needed to be updated to reflect new and current information.
The first phase of this activity was outsourced to professionals and we were able to update the details of only a few of our members. The IAPC thanks all those members who updated their details in this phase. Despite this support from a few of our members, several member records need to be still updated.
The IAPCs secretariat has therefore initiated the second phase of this activity and requests those members who did not participate in the first phase to please update their information with us.
This very important activity will not only help us communicate better with each other, but will also prove to be particularly useful if and when an online election needs to be conducted.
All we request is for 3 minutes of your time towards this very important exercise (only if you have not updated the details already). To support our efforts, please click here to update your details.
Please note: Only those fields marked with an asterisk(*) is mandatory, you can ignore the other fields if you don’t know the information. We have requested for a few extra and general information only to prevent any duplication in member records.
The IAPCs webinar on ‘Advance Medical Directives and withdrawal of life support treatment’, conducted successfully on 21st March, 2023
The IAPC’s webinar on ‘Advance Medical Directives and withdrawal of life support treatment’, was presented successfully on Tuesday, 21st March, 2023, between 6:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
A record 270 healthcare professionals from India and beyond participated in the interactive webinar.
The 75-minute webinar began with Dr Savita Butola (Hon. Secretary, IAPC) welcoming the audience and introducing the very able moderator for the webinar, Dr Shivakumar Iyer (Professor, Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune), who set the stage by articulating the objectives and goals of the webinar, and thereafter also introduced the expert panel to the audience. The stellar panel then kept the audience riveted to their seats, as they went about sharing insights into the nuances surrounding End of Life Care (EoLC) decisions. The webinar concluded with Dr Savita summarising the key takeaways from the webinar before proposing the Vote of Thanks.
The below are a few excerpts from the feedback shared by the participants who attended the webinar.
“Thank you IAPC for doing this and for Initiating these discussions”
“Very well explained. Specially honest and transparent communication”
“Thank you very much for the very informative and exhaustive session”
Please click here to read a detailed report and to watch the recording of the webinar.
Holding hands by sharing experiences’ project launched on 18th March, 2023
On Saturday, 18th March, 2023, the IAPC presented the palliative care community with ‘Holding hands by sharing experiences‘, a special feature, curated and dedicated to the new members of a palliative medicine specialist program (MD or DNB).
The project aimed to present the thoughts, opinions and perspectives of a few seniors from the specialist training program, from across the country and also from across time periods, as a way of offering guidance and support to our current and potential newcomers to help in the successful navigation of one’s own journey in palliative medicine.
The IAPC thanks all the contributors for their support towards this project.
Please click here to read more.
A Symphony of Words: A Collection of Poems’ published on 24th March, 2023
The IAPC commemorated this years World Poetry Day, by publishing ‘A Symphony of Words: A Collection of Poems’, penned by our very own friends from the palliative care community.
The IAPC chose to celebrate this art form as it recognises the power of words and the impact a poem had on one’s emotions. With this project, we at the IAPC, hope to provide comfort, inspiration and a means to connect with each other in meaningful ways.
The IAPC thanks all our contributors for their support towards this project, and dedicates this collection to those receiving palliative care and to the healthcare professionals who work tirelessly to support them.
Please click here to read these beautiful poems.
Join us on IAPC’s Social Media to stay connected!
The IAPC is inviting each of you to join the IAPC’s Social Media community to network and stay connected with the palliative care community, from India and beyond!
To get started, Follow / Like us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palliativecare.in
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iapc-1994/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iapcsecretary
Join us for the IAPC and SMA Nirvana’s regional edition (Maharashtra and Goa), ‘Singing for the Stars’ at 3:50 p.m. on 11th April, 2023
The IAPC and the Shankar Mahadevan Academy Nirvana (SMA Nirvana) invite you, to join us at 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, 11th April, 2023, for a special and regional edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’.
This April’s musical evening of harmonies is dedicated to our friends from Maharashtra and Goa.
The evening of harmonies will be presented by Ms Trushna Oak (Singer, Performing artist, Voice coach, and a Music educator). Ms Trushna will be presenting songs in Hindi, Marathi and Goanese.
Don’t forget to tune in to groove to the music from Maharashtra and Goa, on 11th April, 2023.
Update from the March event
The IAPC and the SMA Nirvana team presented two concerts in March.
The first concert was a regional edition dedicated to our friends from Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. This edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ was presented by Mr Kunal Kishore (Vocalist and Performing Artist) and was accompanied by Mr Mrinal Kishore (Singer, Guitarist, and a Performing Artist) on Thursday, 9th March, 2023, at 3:50 p.m.
Even though the concert was presented, we experienced several challenges for the first time since the inception of the program. The actual artist for the show, Mr Chirag Tomar, fell ill a few hours before the show. The Kishore brothers then saved the day, to whom we are indebted. Just when we thought that the crisis was averted, the internet connectivity of our artist’s became really unstable which negatively impacted the quality of the program. Yet, the spirit of the program kept the show going on. We thank all our participants for their support during this edition of the program.
We congratulate and thank our guest singers (in alphabetical order) Ms Elizabeth (Nurse Counselor, CanSupport), Ms Mohini Jacob (Patient caregiver, Delhi) and Ms Rajni Yarde (Cancer survivor, Jaipur), for their energy filled participation in this program.
The second concert was a national and multilingual edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’. This edition was presented by Ms Vaishnavi Shriram (Singer, Composer and a Music producer) via Zoom on Thursday, 23rd March, 2023, at 3:50 p.m. Ms Shriram presented songs in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, and Punjabi. Thank you Ms Vaishnavi Shriam for presenting us with a melodious and soulful evening of harmony.
We congratulate and thank our guest singer, Ms Rajni Yarde (Cancer survivor, Jaipur), for her enthusiastic participation in this program.
Please click here to watch recordings from both these concerts.
The IAPC’s Careers page has been updated to reflect new vacancies from across the country
We invite you to visit the IAPC’s ‘View job vacancy’ page to view the recently updated vacancies in palliative care from across the country.
We request you to please also join us to improve the availability and access to palliative care by either sharing the details of vacancies at your center or by sharing the details of this platform with your colleagues to submit a vacancy from centers rendering palliative care services.
Call for Support: Your 2 minutes = Someone’s entire lifetime of Peace, Comfort and Dignity!
The IAPC requests you to spare just two minutes of your valuable time to submit / update the details of your palliative care services in the IAPC’s National Palliative Care Directory.
Steps to show your support:
- Please visit the IAPC’s National Palliative Care Directory and select the State from the drop down menu to check details of your center.
- If you need to add / update details of your center, then please visit the Submit/Update details of your PC center page on the IAPC website and submit the relevant details.
- After entering the relevant details, please click the ‘Submit’ button to record your responses.
Please do remember that your two minutes will make an invaluable difference in someone’s entire lifetime, as patients and caregivers, along with your colleagues will then have access to palliative care services when they need it the most!
Come on, donate your time to be a bridge in alleviating the suffering of our patients from across the country. Let no one be left behind!
Please click here for guidance on how to update your details.
‘Saath Saath Helpline’: India’s free palliative care helpline
Saath-Saath Helpline: 1800-202-7777, is the first of its kind National, Free-of-cost Palliative care helpline. The helpline offers non-judgmental listening services to palliative patients and their caregivers, or to a patient’s physician, and connects them to the nearest palliative care center.
The helpline has 26 partner organisations working across 17 States and Union territories viz; Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kashmir and West Bengal. Volunteers from Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) and Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre (CPC) attend the calls in four shifts to either provide information, offer Psycho-emotional support or to refer the caller to a partner organisation.
The helpline provides service through call-in on a phone line and works 6 days a week (Mon-Sat), 10 am to 6 pm.
You can offer your support by informing patients about this helpline and refer those who are in need of such services.