Education and Training

Applications invited for the 7th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Essentials of Palliative Care’

Registrations are open for the much awaited course, the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Essentials of Palliative Care’ (CCEPC).

This is a basic course in palliative care and is intended for doctors and nurses. The course aims to inculcate the principles of palliative care in every day practice for doctors and nurses to improve patient care through proper communication and effective management of difficult symptoms.

The 7th online batch of the IAPC’s CCEPC will be delivered in two parts: A mandatory theory ‘Part A’ component and a practical hands-on ‘Part B’ component (recommended but optional).

The theoretical ‘Part A’ component of the upcoming batch will be held as half day sessions over 3 weekends (Saturdays: 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Sundays: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) on 22nd and 23rd July, 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th August, 2023. Select Clinical sessions will be held separately for Doctors and Nurses.

As a commitment towards constantly improving ourselves, the IAPC has worked upon the feedback and suggestions received till date and has made the application process as seamless as possible by allowing candidates to submit applications via an e-application form. This simple improvisation supports our course coordinators greatly and helps them manage and track applications more efficiently.

For further details about the course and to submit e-applications, please click here. The last date to submit applications is Monday, 10th July, 2023.


Registrations open for the APM’s ‘Advanced Nursing Skills in Palliative Course’

Registrations are invited for the Academy of Palliative Medicine’s (A constituent unit of the IAPC) 1st online batch of the ‘Advanced Nursing Skills in Palliative Care’.

The virtual course is intended for those registered Nurses who are already working in Palliative Care Units. The course aims to enhance the participant’s ability to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

The blended course format of the course combines synchronous virtual sessions with asynchronous learning objectives, and will consist of 15 virtual sessions spread over six months. These sessions will be held twice / thrice a month between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, 18th July, 2023.

Please click here to register or know more about the course.


29 candidates successfully complete the ‘Part A’ component of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers’ in June 2023

We are pleased to share that 29 enthusiastic individuals from across the country registered and participated enthusiastically in the recently conducted second online batch of IAPC’s Certificate Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers (CCPCV).

The theoretical ‘Part A’ component of this batch was held as half day sessions between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. over 2 weekends in June: Saturday, 3rd June; Sunday, 4th June; Saturday, 10th June; and Sunday 11th  June, 2023.

These committed individuals will now proceed to complete their in-person practical ‘Part B’ component of the course in a palliative care unit.

While we look forward to further improving the design and delivery of the course as per the very important and invaluable suggestions shared by the course candidates, we were happy to have received the below feedback.

"Thank you very much for the notes. Candidly submitting, even though I have attended many online courses, it is for the first time that I am attending this type of a course, where the timings are so perfect, there are no technical hitches, and where the faculties are THE BEST.  I am so grateful to the entire team for their exemplary organisational skills"
“The sessions used very simple words, sentences and phrases. There were very useful to discuss practical problems. They were interactive with realistic examples with very useful practical approaches. Overall it had good structure with role play.”
“The Faculty were brilliant.. Very informative and knowledgeable”

31 Doctors and Nurses from 10 Districts in Kashmir sensitised in the basics of Palliative Care on 19th and 20th June, 2023

We are delighted to share that 20 Doctors and 11 Nurses from 10 districts in Kashmir were sensitised in the basics of palliative care, via a two-day workshop conducted on Monday, 19th June, 2023, and Tuesday, 20th June, 2023.

The interactive workshop was conducted at the Seminar Hall of the Regional Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Dhobiwan, Srinagar. The program was organised jointly by the Pain and Palliative Care Unit, Govt JLNM Hospital, Srinagar, and the IAPC. The workshop was supported by the Pain and Palliative Care Unit, Government Medical College, Srinagar, and was funded by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, National Health Mission under the National Program for Palliative Care (NPPC).

The participants were represented from Districts of Bandipora, Kupwara, Budgam, Pulwama, Bijbehara, Shopian, Sopore, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Srinagar.

Shri Bupinder Kumar graced the occasion virtually, as Chief Guest. He thanked the organisers for this much needed training / workshop at Srinagar which would help those in need of such services. He also assured the gathering of the Government’s support towards making available all the resources including the medication / opioids needed for provisioning the services at the district hospitals. The program was coordinated by Dr Syed Arif (State Nodal Officer, NPPC, Kashmir Division).


BHT-KIPCER empowers 24 Neurologists with ‘Skills in Neuro Palliative Care’ on 3rd and 4th June 2023

24 Neurologists from across the country convened at Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya Institute for Palliative Care Education and Research (BHT – KIPCER) for a 2-day workshop on Saturday, 3rd June, 2023, and Sunday, 4th June, 2023, to get immersed in a skill building workshop on prognostication and communication skills in neurology palliative care.

The interactive and rich workshop was presented by expert faculty from both palliative care and neurology.

The 10-hour workshop aimed to empower neurologists with an understanding of neurologic illness, application of clinical ethics and skilled communication for shared decision making. The workshop presented attendees with case scenarios and role plays in breaking bad news, serious illness communication, advance care planning, withholding / withdrawing life support and end of life care in acute and chronic neurologic conditions in adults and children. Each of these sessions began with a short presentation of the clinical details followed by an interactive discussion of prognostic and / or ethical issues and a role play by the attendees.


44 senior citizens sensitised to support community based home care in Calicut on 13th June, 2023

Age is just a number and there is no end to learning! This was the motto when 44 enthusiastic senior citizens expressed interest towards learning the basics of palliative care in Calicut on Wednesday, 13th June, 2023.

The half day sensitisation session was conducted at the St Anthony’s Church, Chakitapaara, Calicut. The sessions were led by Lt Alice Stella Verginia (Palliative care nurse) and Mr Eapen P J (Trained Palliative Care Volunteer, Retired School Head Master).

The participants included a mix of old and new volunteers, in which the new trainees wanted to learn the basics of palliative care and the already trained volunteers looked forward to update / refresh their knowledge and hand hold the newcomers.

Sessions included enriching the trainees with knowledge about the concept and the principle of palliative care, the basics of bed bound patient care, the needed communication skills for delivering community palliative care etc.. The already trained volunteers will help coordinate and embed the newly joined volunteers into the existing networks.

The new trainees will now shadow the existing palliative care volunteers and will thereafter proceed to a more indepth training session subsequently.


24 employees of Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai, sensitised in the basics of palliative care on 17th June, 2023

We are happy to share that Larsen and Toubro (L & T), Mumbai, invited Dr KV Ganpathy (PhD & Clinical psychologist, Volunteering at Department of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai) to deliver a sensitisation session on the basics of palliative care on Saturday, 17th June, 2023.

The two-hour session was attended by 24 employees of L & T at their corporate office at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The session covered the basic why and what of palliative care, which included the concept and principles of palliative care, who it can be delivered to, where it can be delivered, etc.

This session was organised as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The success of this session has prompted L & T to conduct a series of such sessions across their offices spread throughout the country. The next of such sessions are being planned for their Baroda unit.

It is indeed heartwarming to see the rising awareness and increased acceptance of palliative care within the general community.


104 clinicians participated in the MPMMCC’s and HBCH, TMC, Varanasi’s in-person CME and Workshop on ‘Advanced Wound Care’ on 24th June, 2023

The Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, MPMMCC (Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre) and HBCH (Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital), TMC (Tata Memorial Center), Varanasi’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) and workshop on ‘Advanced Wound Care’ was conducted successfully on Saturday, 24th June, 2023.

104 doctors and nurses participated in the very engaging in-person workshop that was organised at the Mini Auditorium at MPMMCC, Varanasi.

The inauguration session was attended by Dr Somnath Dey (Officer in Charge, Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, HBCH & MPMMCC and TMC, Varanasi), Dr Sunil Gaba (Professor, Department  of Plastic Surgery, HBCH & MPMMCC and TMC, Varanasi), Dr B K Mishra (Deputy Director, MPMMCC, Varanasi), Dr Vivek Srivastava (Professor, Department of Surgery, IMS(BHU), Dr Umesh  Bhadani (Dean, AIIMS Patna), Mr Siddharth Mandal (CEO, Triage Meditech), Dr Arvind (IMS, BHU) and other prominent physicians and surgeons from across the country.

The one-day workshop empowered the participants with knowledge about the Principles of wound healing and Assessment of Wounds, Management of Difficult Wounds, Wound care products and dressing selection, innovations and effectiveness in advanced wound dressing, and pain management in wound dressing. An engaging panel discussion on advanced wound care management was ably moderated by Dr Kunal Ranjan Vinayak (Organising Secretary for the CME and Assistant Professor, Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, MPMMCC). A hands-on workshop to demonstrate to participants the application techniques of advanced wound dressing was also conducted during the CME.


Registrations invited for the ‘Certificate Course on Palliative Care for Humanitarian Health Care Providers’

Applications are invited for the free virtual ‘Certificate Course on Palliative Care for Humanitarian Health Care Providers’ scheduled to begin from Friday, 21st July, 2023.

The course is offered jointly by the Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation, Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises and Emergency Situations (Pall CHASE), and Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration Foundation. The program is also supported by the Hyderabad Center for Palliative Care.

The course is a Project ECHO course and will be presented in 10 virtual sessions every Friday between 8:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. (IST).

Doctors, Nurses Physician Assistants, Psychosocial Professionals, Physiotherapists and Pharmacists are eligible to register for the interactive course.

Please click here to register for the short virtual course.


IPM and CMAI invite applications before 31st July, 2023, for their NFPM (2023-2024) and NFPN (2023-2024)

The Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) in collaboration with the Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI) is inviting applications for their 2023 – 2024 batch for their National Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (NFPM) and National Fellowship in Palliative Nursing (NFPN) course.

The NFPM aims to train doctors with the adequate knowledge and professional skills to render palliative care services, along with providing new insights and perspectives to positively influence their outlook towards the practice of Medicine. Those candidates with an MBBS / BDS degree which is recognized by the Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India and have completed 1-year internship are eligible to apply for the course.

The NFPN aims to train and sensitise nurses to create general awareness on Palliative Care. The programme will familiarize the candidates with the philosophy, principles and different models of delivery of palliative care, its relevance in our socio-cultural scenario, issues in communicating with patients and relatives, ethical and legal issues, symptom management and impart basic nursing skills relevant to people with incurable and chronic illnesses and issues related to death. Those candidates with a minimum qualification of General Nursing Midwifery (GNM) Diploma or BSc Nursing degree recognized by the Indian Nursing Council are eligible to apply for the course.

Please click here for further details about both these programs.

Don’t forget to submit applications before Monday, 31st July, 2023 to apply for these courses.


ELNEC and ELNEC India train several nursing professionals across the country and in Sri Lanka during May and June, 2023

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) has been busy in May and June 2023 conducting training programs for nursing professionals across the country and in Sri Lanka.

ELNEC India in collaboration with the Nursing Council Aizawal, Mizoram, trained 42 nursing college instructors from various districts of Aizawal between Wednesday, 24th and Friday, 26th May, 2023. The training was supported by the palliative care team of Synod Hospital, Aizawal. The training was provided by Sr Hanife MacGamwell (Nursing Education Coordinator, IAPC and ELNEC India), Mr Sudip Rudra Paul (Nurse, Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, Elnec Trainer), Dr Lalchhanhima Ralte (Palliative Care Physician, Synod Hospital, Aizawal) Mr Sena (Social worker, Synod Hospital, Aizawal), Sr Madhuri (ELNEC trainer).

Team ELNEC India then proceeded to train 45 nurses from different departments including the Department of Palliative Care at the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, Ahmedabad, India. The training was provided by Sr Hanife MacGamwell (Nursing Education Coordinator, IAPC and ELNEC India), Mr Ramswaroop Garwa (Nursing Officer, AIIMS Jodhpur, ELNEC trainer), Sr Nileema Shingade (Senior Nursing Officer, Dr B.R.A, IRCH, AIIMS, New Delhi) and Sr. Govindi Chauhan (Deputy Nursing Superintendent, Dr B.R.A IRCH, AIIMS, New Delhi).

Team ELNEC conducted a two-day ELNEC training program for 55 nursing students and interns at Bharat Medical College Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday, 27th May, 2023, and Sunday, 28th May, 2023. The training was provided by Lt Alice Stella Verginia (Palliative care nurse, Master Facilitator for ELNEC) and Lt. Col Lovely Antony (Palliative care nurse).

Team ELNEC then went on to conduct a Train-the-trainers workshop for 20 healthcare professionals from Galle, Sri Lanka, between Sunday, 4th June, 2023, and Monday, 5th June, 2023. Participants here were trained with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources needed to effectively deliver ELNEC training in their respective institutions and communities. 

Both teams express their gratitude to the organisers at each of the training venues and express happiness towards the initiation of these activities which will not only help in knowledge transfer but will also facilitate networking between the various centers.


Update from IAPC Academy

Report on activities in June

The IAPC Academy’s online lecture series 6 concluded with 4 very interesting lectures in June. This lecture series delivered a total of 35 lectures every monday morning between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.  All lectures from the series were presented by students of MD and DNB in Palliative Medicine from across the country and was moderated by a Faculty from their respective center.

A total of 149 lectures have been delivered collectively from Series 1 to 6.

The first lecture of the month was a very thought provoking lecture on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in palliative care presented by Dr Parth Sarthi Jha, and moderated by Dr Prasun P. This was followed by an important and much needed presentation on Coping and resilience in palliative healthcare professionals by Dr Aysha Pathari and moderated by Dr Jayita Deodhar. The third session for the month was an informative session on ‘Palliative medicine in corporate hospitals’, presented by Dr Divya Sai Vanumu and moderated by Dr Praneeth Suvvari. The concluding session for the series was a comprehensive presentation on ‘Two landmark trials / studies in palliative care presented by Dr Shruthi Kamble and moderated by Dr Prasun P.

Sessions planned for July

A special lecture on ‘Prognostication in Neuro palliative care’ has been arranged for Monday, 3rd July, 2023, between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. We invite you join us for the same.

We thank our speakers and the moderators for sharing their time and expertise to enrich the knowledge of the palliative care’s community.

Please click here to access the recordings of lectures conducted.

The Academy of Palliative Medicine’s (APM) online Lecture Series 1 announced!

We are excited to announce that the upcoming Monday morning lecture series have been renamed as the ‘Academy of Palliative Medicine’s online Lecture Series 1’.

The Academy of Palliative Medicine is a constituent unit of the IAPC with a vision to develop, execute, and sustain competence-based specialist palliative medicine education in India.

The upcoming Lecture Series is designed to feature seven sections.

  1. Section A: Symptom Management
  2. Section B: Status of Palliative Care
  3. Section C: Integrated Palliative Care
  4. Section D: Palliative Care setup
  5. Section E: Community Palliative Care
  6. Section F: Recent advances and research in Palliative Care
  7. Section G: Challenges in Palliative Care

This series will encompass a total of 37 lectures and is scheduled to commence on Monday, 17th July, 2023, at 6:30 a.m. 

This series will be delivered by Students of MD and DNB in Palliative Medicine from across the country and moderated by a Faculty from their respective center.

Please click here to view the final schedule from the series. We invite you to join us for the lectures scheduled for July from the APM’s Lecture Series 1. Details below: