Education and Training
Applications invited for the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy’
Applications are invited for the 6th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy’, scheduled to be held on Saturday, 28th September, 2024.
This is a basic course which aims to equip participants with adequate knowledge of commonly used drugs in Palliative Care for pain management and to manage other symptoms. The course will also cover Essential Narcotic Drugs and Narcotic Drugs, along with the technical legalities to procure, store, dispense and document the same.
The 7 hour course will be delivered in two parts; a virtual 4.5 hour Part A module and an in-person 2.5 hour Part B module.
While the course is primarily designed for candidates with a Diploma or a Degree in Pharmacy, Doctors (MBBS, BDS) are also eligible to participate in the course.
Please click here for further information and to register for the course.
Applications invited for the APM’s course on ‘Advance Nursing Skills in Palliative Care’
Registrations are invited for the Academy of Palliative Medicine’s (APM) online batch of the ‘Advanced Nursing Skills in Palliative Care’.
The course aims to equip nurses with advanced nursing skills and impart knowledge in Palliative care by empowering them to assess patients’ needs and their symptoms comprehensively, to cultivate effective communication skills to facilitate compassionate and empathetic interactions with patients and their families, and to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills to effectively address complex situations and ethical dilemmas that may arise in palliative care.
The course will be provided via a blended course format which combines synchronous virtual sessions (to provide real-time interaction between expert faculty and participants for discussions and collaborative exercises) with asynchronous learning activities (self-paced study, with access to online resources, and submit assignments) which will be accessed on a learning management system.
16 virtual sessions will be presented over a period of nine months starting from Tuesday, 10th September, 2024. Thereafter, sessions will be held twice a month between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Registered Nurses (BSc Nursing, MSc Nursing, GNM Nursing) are encouraged to apply for the course. Nurses working in Palliative Care Units will be given preference.
Please click here to register for the course. In case further information regarding this program is needed, please connect with the team at apm.iapc@gmail.com / +91 6361646682.
Apply before 10th August, 2024, to participate in the ‘International NeuroPalliative Care Certificate Course’ offered jointly by INPCS, KMC Manipal, and KIPCER
Applications are invited for the ‘International NeuroPalliative Care Certificate Course’ offered jointly by the International NeuroPalliative Care Society (INPCS), Kasturba Medical College (KMC Manipal), and Karunashraya Institute for Palliative Care Education and Research (KIPCER), scheduled to be held from Sunday, 1st September, 2024.
Physicians and nurses with neurology and palliative care training are eligible to apply for the one-year training program. The program is designed to be delivered as a combination of virtual sessions along with one in-person session.
The program aims to train course participants in providing holistic care for patients with serious neurologic illnesses by focuses on improving quality of life, addressing symptoms like pain, seizures, spasticity, and cognitive decline. The program will also include training on effective communication on prognosis, treatment choices, and end-of-life care which enhances patient understanding, satisfaction, and treatment adherence. An understanding of ethical and legal aspects of end-of-life care (e.g. advance care planning, DNR orders, life sustaining treatment withdrawal) which are essential for managing medical complexities will also be touched upon in the training program.
Please click here for further information and to register for the course.
TIPS (Pallium India) invites applications for the ‘Online Foundation Course in Palliative Nursing’
The Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India, is inviting registrations for the Online Foundation Course in Palliative Nursing (FCPN) which is scheduled to begin on Monday, 19th August, 2024. The program is offered by TIPS in collaboration with ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) International.
The online program aims to train nursing professionals and final year nursing students in pain management and palliative care. Individuals with a B.Sc. Nursing or 4 Year Degree in Nursing, a GNM or 3 Year Diploma in Nursing, an ANM or 2 Year Diploma in Nursing or Final year BSc Nursing students are encouraged to apply for the program.
The course will present 18 online sessions every Monday and Thursday between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. from Monday, 19th August, 2024, to Monday, 21st October, 2024.
Please click here for further information and to register for the course.
Over 300 clinicians participated in the ‘Part A’ component of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Essentials in Palliative Care’ in July 2024
254 Doctors and 54 Nurses from across the country participated in the mandatory theory ‘Part A’ component of the 9th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Essentials in Palliative Care (CCEPC)’. This component of the course was conducted as half-day sessions over 3 weekends on 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st July, 2024, with select clinical sessions being held separately for Doctors and Nurses.
Course participants are now equipped with the necessary knowledge to inculcate the principles of palliative care in every day practice and thereby improve patient care through proper communication and effective management of difficult symptoms.
Course participants who are successful in the examination and in the case reflection submission will next proceed towards their practical hands-on ‘Part B’ component (recommended but optional) of the course.
The IAPC thanks all the course coordinators and the faculty for their consistent support towards their consistent support towards the successful conduct of the program. The IAPC also thanks the course participants for their enthusiastic participation and for sharing with us important feedback which will help us to further improve the quality of the course.
Delhi State Chapter of IAPC and CanSupport jointly conducted a CME on 6th July, 2024
The Delhi State Chapter of IAPC and CanSupport jointly conducted the Delhi State Chapter of IAPC’s 5th CME at the CanSupport Training Hall, New Delhi, on Saturday, 6th July, 2024.
45 clinicians (Doctors and Nurses) from various NGO’s and hospitals across Delhi participated in the half-day, in-person session on ‘Finding light in the shadows: End of Life Care in last days and Hours’.
Expert Faculty presented sessions on Management of an actively dying patient, Ethical consideration in last days and hours, Communication skills, Anticipatory prescription, Palliative Sedation, and considerations at death and during bereavement. This was followed by an interactive panel discussion on ‘Multidisciplinary approach to management of last hours and days’.
Sessions for the day concluded Vote of thanks presented after a rich discussion section in which participants had the opportunity to get their queries addressed.
35 Chartered Accountants sensitised in the basics of Palliative Care on the occasion of National Chartered Accountants Day
35 Chartered Accountants from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Siliguri Branch (EIRC and EICASA), were sensitised in the basics of palliative care during an event held on at Siliguri, West Bengal, on Monday, 1st July, 2024, to celebrate National Chartered Accountants Day.
Dr Pankaj Chowdhary (Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Palliative Physician, Shanti Nursing Home, Siliguri, West Bengal) was invited to present a session on Cancer Myths and introduction to the concept of palliative care. Post Dr Choudhury’s presentation on cancer myths, he presented a very interesting and interactive session to sensitise the gathering about the basic concepts and principles of palliative care. This was followed by a rich discussion session in which the several queries were addressed.
The event concluded with a felicitation of members of the association who were over the age of 60 and with a number of CSR activities being carried out such as distribution of Mosquito nets in dengue affected area, distribution of ration, Tree Plantation, a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan along with a Financial Awareness drive later in the day.
A webinar on ‘Let’s change the Ending: A Conversation about Dying well’ was conducted on 11th July, 2024
The Model Palliative Care Division at the Government Medical College, Kollam, in collaboration with Pallium India and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and supported by the IAPC presented a webinar on ‘Let’s change the Ending: A Conversation about Dying well’, on Thursday, 11th July, 2024.
Over 400 individuals from all over the world participated in the 90-minute webinar between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (IST).
The webinar was presented by Dr M R Rajagopal (Chairman Emeritus, Pallium India), Dr Dhvani Mehta (Co-Founder and Lead, Health, Vidhi Center for Legal Policy), Dr Roop Gursahani (Consultant Neurologist, P D Hinduja Hospital), Dr I P Yadav (Additional Professor, Nodal Officer, Model Palliative Care Division, Government Medical College Kollam) and Dr Parth Sharma (Public Health Researcher, Association for Socially Applicable Research). The interesting webinar was ably moderated by Ms Smriti Rana (Head – WHO Collaborating Center for Training and Policy on Access to Pain Relief).
The webinar began with Ms Rana welcoming the audience and inviting Dr Sushma Bhatnagar (President, IAPC) to share a few words to address the audience. Ms Rana then welcomed the panelists and took the discussions forward. The expert panelists representing medicine, law, public health, end-of-life care, and human rights domains, provided meaningful insights based on each of their expertise, experiences and perspectives throughout the webinar.
Please click here to view a recording of the webinar in case you missed it. Additionally, please click here to access a few relevant documents related to Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney Authorisation.
RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust sensitises 102 nursing students from Sri Ramachandra University (Deemed), Chennai, on 19th July, 2024
102 Nursing students pursuing their second year BSc in Nursing from the Sri Ramachandra University (Deemed), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, were sensitised in the basics of palliative care on Friday, 19th July 2024.
The enthusiastic students participated in the Palliative care Orientation session organised by the RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust. Dr Republica Sridhar (Director, RMD Group of Hospitals, Chennai) began the session by introduced the students to the basic concepts and principles of Palliative Care. Dr K Gauthaman (Consultant, and Chief of Academics, RMD Specialities Hospital, Chennai) then sensitised students to the benefits and importance of Palliative Care Nursing. The formal part of the presentation concluded with Mr N J Gowrishankar (Founder and CEO, Hxplain Digital Health Technology Solutions, Chennai) highlighting the importance of digital health for nursing.
This was followed by a very interactive discussion section in which students had the opportunity to clarify their queries. The RMD Academy for Health, under the RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust, has till date trained over 7000 students from rural and socio-economically challenged backgrounds to become General Duty Assistants, Emergency Lab Technicians, Home Health Aides, and Geriatric Care Technicians. Upon completion of the certificate program, students are also placed in jobs to empower them and their families.
Over 250 clinicians from 80 Districts across North India participated in a ‘Capacity building workshop in Palliative care’ at Jhajjar, between 20th and 21st July, 2024
Over 250 clinicians (Doctors and Nurses) from 80 districts from Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir, participated in the two-day Capacity building workshop in Palliative Care organised at the National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar, Haryana, on Saturday, 20th July, 2024, and Sunday, 21st July 2024. The training program is a part of a three-year grant received by AIIMS New Delhi from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Incepted in February, 2023, the program aims to begin the provisioning of palliative care services in began with the identification of the 10 nodal centers or Centers of Excellence. Program coordinators visited each of these nodal centers for a formal assessment of the center in terms of its service availability, its operational processes, and to identify ways to mitigate challenges faced by the center.
Center leads from each of these nodal centers were then invited to participate in a two-day online refresher training program in palliative care. Subsequently, the center leads were invited to participate in a one-day in-person meeting at New Delhi to understand the progress, the challenges faced in identifying and inviting potential district hospitals to participate in the program, and in devising a road map for the teaching and training of participants from the district hospitals.
Each center lead was asked to then identify 10 district hospitals under their purview to enrol in the program. A team of two doctors and two nurses from each of the identified district hospitals were then enrolled into the training program.
This two-day training program in July 2024, organised by the Department of Onco-Anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine, AIIMS New Delhi, introduced participants to the concept of palliative care, and other topics in palliative care. The participants were empowered with knowledge on topics such as the Bio-psycho-social aspects of pain, identification and management of different kinds of pain, interventions in pain and palliative care, opioid titration, safe use and prescription of opioids, legal issues in medical practise, management of distressing symptoms, nursing issues, communication skills including role play, management of emergencies in palliative care, lymphedema management, end of life care, leadership skills etc.
Participants will now proceed towards a five-day hands-on training program at each the AIIMS New Delhi, and at their nodal centers.
ELNEC India trains 102 nurses collectively from RT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, and AIIMS Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, in June and July 2024
The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) India conducted two separate training sessions at the RT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, and at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, in June and July, 2024.
50 participants from various departments participated in an interactive two-day session at the RT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, on Thursday, 27th June, 2024 and Friday, 28th June, 2024. The training was conducted by Sr. Hanife MacGamwell (Nursing Education Coordinator, IAPC; Head, ELNEC India), Mr Arvind Kumar Sharma (Senior Nursing Officer and Social Worker, AIIMS Jodhpur), and Mr Ramswaroop Garwa (Senior Nursing Officer, AIIMS Jodhpur).
52 nurses in the interactive two-and-a-half-day workshop at AIIMS Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, between Thursday, 4th July, 2024, and Saturday, 6th July, 2024. The training at AIIMS Mangalagiri was conducted by Sr. Hanife MacGamwell (Nursing Education Coordinator, IAPC; Head, ELNEC India), Mr Sudip Rudra Paul (Nurse, Palliative Care, Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati) and Ms Sangeetha (Head, Nursing Education, Karunashraya, Bengaluru).
Both sessions aimed to empower participants in the principles and concepts of palliative care and enable them to provide quality palliative care for patients with health-related suffering. The program also included concepts on End-of-Life Nursing Care, a nurse’s role in interdisciplinary teams, End of Life Care across settings, role plays on nurse-patient therapeutic communication, breaking bad news, assessment of pain control, wound dressing, symptom management, how to conduct bereavement visits etc.
Each of the mentioned sessions concluded with a cake cutting and distribution of certificates.
40 Doctors from various disciplines participate in the ‘Palliative Medicine pre conference workshop’ during the 2nd HBCH & RC’s Annual Cancer Congress, on 14th June, 2024
Over 40 doctors and residents from various disciplines (Medical Oncology, pathology, General Medicine, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine) participated in the Palliative Medicine pre conference workshop, ‘Compassionate Care along the Continuum’, held as part of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Center’s (HBCH & RC) Annual Cancer Congress held on Friday, 14th June, 2024. The actual conference was held on Saturday, 15th June, 2024, and Sunday, 16th June, 2024, at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
The interactive pre-conference workshop was designed to present sessions based on a single paediatric leukaemia (B-ALL) case scenario and showcase how the child went through various stages of the treatment from diagnosis to cure and then again into relapse with focus on symptom assessment at each of these stages.
In addition to presentations regarding the basics of B-ALL, the sessions ensured that the treatment and role of Palliative care within the case scenario was included. The very engaging session which incorporated feedback from the audience during the rich discussions was moderated jointly by palliative care physicians, paediatric oncologists, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists to provide the audience with slightly different but interdependent perspectives.
Sessions were designed to also include role plays to demonstrate the essential communication skills and the ways to address the challenges encountered during the process.
The preconference workshop concluded with participants sharing that they were sensitised towards the concept of palliative care and the importance of integrating palliative care in hemato-lymphoid malignancies.
Update from the APM’s lecture series
Report on activities in July 2024
5 very interesting lectures were presented in July as part of the ‘Academy of Palliative Medicine’s online Lecture Series 2’. The series focussing on ‘Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Medicine’ is designed to present 15 sessions every monday morning between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Students of MD and DNB in Palliative Medicine from across the country will present sessions in the series, which will be moderated by expert Faculty from across the country.
The July series began with a comprehensive presentation on ‘Grief and Bereavement 1’ presented by Dr Dharunya Pachiyappan and moderated by Dr Rajashree K C. This was followed by an equally comprehensive presentation on ‘Grief and Bereavement 2’ presented by Dr Abhishek Shrivastava and moderated by Dr Pankaj Singhai. The third presentation for the month was a fantastic presentation on ‘Distress and Adjustment disorder in Palliative Medicine’ presented by Dr Vamshi Krishna and moderated by Dr Shreya Nair. An interesting presentation on ‘Depression in Palliative Medicine’ by Dr Pulluri Sai Sowmya and moderated by Dr Anuja Damani was the fourth session presented in July 2024. Sessions for the month concluded with a superb presentation on ‘Anxiety in Palliative Medicine’ by Dr Jayita Deodhar.
The IAPC thanks all our speakers and the moderators for sharing their time and expertise to enrich the knowledge of the palliative care’s community.
Sessions planned for August 2024
We invite you to join us for the lectures scheduled for August. Details as follows:
