Education and Training
Applications invited for the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy’
We invite applications from Pharmacists (Diploma / Degree in Pharmacy) and Doctors (MBBS and BDS) for the fourth online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy’.
This basic course aims to equip participants with adequate knowledge of commonly used drugs in palliative care for pain management and to manage other symptoms. The course also covers 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. The ‘part A’ component of the course is scheduled for Saturday, 23rd September, 2023.
Please click here for further information and to register for the course.
236 clinicians participate in the ‘Part A’ component of the IAPC’s CCEPC in July and August, 2023
A total of 236 clinicians (191 Doctors and 45 Nurses) participated enthusiastically in the recently concluded ‘Part A’ component of the 7th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Essentials of Palliative Care’ (CCEPC). This component of the training was held over three weekends in July (22nd and 23rd July) and August (5th, 6th, 12th and 13th August), 2023.
Course participants are now empowered with an understanding of the principles of palliative care which will help them to improve patient care through proper communication and effective management of difficult symptoms.
These clinicians will now proceed towards a written online examination on Saturday, 7th October, 2023.
Excerpts from testimonials shared by course participants as below:
“This course has definitely opened our eyes to a different dimension of patient care.”
“This was a comprehensive course and all presenters were excellent.”
We thank our course participants for sharing their valuable feedback each day. We will definitely try and incorporate the suggestions provided. The IAPC also extends its sincere gratitude to each of the faculty and the center coordinators for their unwavering support towards this program.
Applications invited for the ‘Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine’ offered by TIPS, Pallium India
The Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India, is inviting applications for its upcoming batch of Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine.
The program aims to create a pool of physicians who can provide advanced palliative care to people with serious health-related suffering and to their families. The one-year hybrid course is mostly an online program, with a 30-day hands-on training component.
Doctors with MBBS or BDS with corresponding medical / dental council registration are eligible to apply for the course. Doctors with disabilities are encouraged to apply as one seat is reserved for them.
The course curriculum has been developed in collaboration with Faculty from the Queen’s University Global Oncology Program from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Please note that the course however is not an accredited Queen’s University Fellowship Program.
The last date to apply for the course is Tuesday, 10th October, 2023. Please click here for further information.
ICPCN and PallCHASE launch the updated e-learning course ‘Children’s Palliative Care in Humanitarian Settings’
The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) and Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies (PallCHASE), have collaborated to update and develop a new free e-learning course Children’s Palliative Care in Humanitarian Settings.
Most health care workers in crises situations are unfamiliar with even the basic principles of children’s palliative care, and there is an urgent need to train and equip health workers to provide palliative care for children.
The free course aims to bridge the knowledge and skills gap of healthcare workers in provisioning palliative care for children during a crisis situation. The course therefore aims to provide an overview of the key palliative care practices for clinicians in humanitarian settings, including war and conflict, natural disasters, protracted crises, and complex emergencies.
This course, endorsed by the University of South Wales, has been developed with input from healthcare professionals with experience providing palliative care in humanitarian settings to reflect the challenging realities of these settings. Each module comprises of case studies, video and audio clips, opportunities for reflection, quizzes, and access to a wealth of resources. Course learners will receive a certificate of completion after successfully completing the brief assessment of each module. and once successfully completed, learners receive a certificate of completion for the module.
Please click here for further information on this.
CanSupport conducts a two-day CNE workshop and sensitises 17 volunteers in Palliative care in August
CanSupport conducted a two-day Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) workshop in the basics of palliative care for 69 BSc Nursing students and their faculty at Hindu-Rao Hospital College of Nursing (HRHCN), Delhi, on Tuesday, 1st August, 2023, and Wednesday, 2nd August, 2023.
The in-person workshop aimed to raise awareness and understanding of the basics of medical and nursing issues in providing effective palliative care. The initials few sessions of the workshop were also attended by Dr Mukesh Kumar (Medical Superintendent, HRHCN), Dr Renu Pathak (Additional Medical Superintendent, HRHCN), and Ms Usha (Principal, HRHCN).
The sessions delivered by Ms Savita Luka (Head, Home based palliative care; Director, Nursing, CanSupport), and her team comprising of Dr Reena, Ms Pallika, Ms Maushmi and Ms Manju Bhatnagar, included lectures, case studies and a role play for effective learning. The interactive sessions touched upon Pain management, different ways of provisioning palliative care, wound management, symptom management, communication, group laughter therapy etc.
In a separate program, CanSupport sensitised 17 volunteers from Cipla Foundation with the basics of palliative care at CanSupport’s Delhi office on Friday, 18th August, 2023.
The two-hour palliative care introductory workshop for the enthusiastic volunteers from Cipla Foundation, led by Ms Savita Luka and her team, sensitised the participants to the concept and principles of palliative care. The interactive session also included the various aspects of palliative nursing and the important role and benefits of palliative counselling.
KGMU, Lucknow, conducted a CME for 32 in-service Medical Officers in Uttar Pradesh, in pain and palliative care on 11th and 12th August, 2023
A team led by Dr Sarita Singh (Professor and Unit-incharge, Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, King George’s Medical College (KGMU), Lunknow) conducted a two-day training Continuing Medical Education (CME) program for 32 in-service Medical Officers of the provincial health medical services from the Government of Uttar Pradesh in the basics of pain and palliative care on Friday, 11th August, 2023 and Saturday, 12th August, 2023.
The in-person CME was conducted at the State Training Institute, Government of Uttar Pradesh, under the guidance of Mr Sanjay Prasad (Principal Secretary, HFW, Govt of Uttar Pradesh) and Mr Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma (Director, Training, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh).
The training sessions included topics such as Introduction to pain and palliative care, how to identify those who are in need of palliative care, An update about the current status of palliative care, symptom management in oncological palliative care, handling emergencies in palliative care, End-of life care, geriatric palliative care etc. Role plays were conducted while teaching concepts in communication (eg. Breaking bad news).
On the occasion, a Module on Pain and Palliative care was also inaugurated by Mr Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma and Ms Deepa Tyagi (Director General, Training, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh).
The IHPCNA and BHT Karunashraya jointly organise ‘Rhythm Rx – Dose of Dance’ on 11th and 12th August, 2023
Under the guidance of Sr Hanife MacGamwell (Advisor, IHPCNA), the India Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association (IHPCNA) and Bangalore Hospice Trust (BHT) Karunashraya had jointly organised a very innovative session, ‘Rhythm Rx – Dose of Dance’ on Friday, 11th August, 2023, and Saturday, 12th August, 2023.
The sessions were held as two batches on two days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and was attended by an approx. 120 individuals who were Health care professionals from across the city and also the staff from Karunashraya.
This first of its kind program at a hospice setting in India aimed to ignite joy and resilience in the lives of healthcare professionals through dance. Dance therapy can be a transformative and practical approach to improve the overall well-being and mental health of healthcare professionals. This form of therapy would be most beneficial for someone who works with end-of-life care patients. The session therefore recognised the importance of self-care and stress management for such professionals and facilitated the incorporation of dance therapy into one’s routine and reap the numerous benefits it offered.
The self care dance therapy was led by Ms Stephanie Hofer, an art therapist who graduated from the National Institute of Expression, Creation of Art and Transformation. She is also trained in Primitive Expression, certified by the UNESCO The International Dance Council, in Dance Rhythm Therapy.
A testimonial, “It was such a joyful time. It felt great just moving around, expressing stories. It was indeed a very rejuvenating experience.” only reiterated the workshop’s objectives.
ADPC in collaboration with IAPC conducts a two-day workshop for 40 volunteers to assist in home based care delivery on 12th and 13th August, 2023
The Amrit Dhara Palliative Centre (ADPC) in collaboration with the IAPC conducted a workshop for 40 volunteers on volunteer assisted home care services on Saturday, 12th August, 2023, and Sunday 13th August, 2023, at ADPC, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This workshop was a sequel to the training session held in January 2023.
The main thrust of the sessions were to strengthen the Amrit Dhara Palliative Centre by empowering the 40 volunteers to assist the centre in the various different patient care activities, mainly offer psychosocial support.
The workshop was led by Dr Mami Parija (Founder, ADPC) and her team and Dr Ganpathy KV (PhD; Co ordinator, IAPC’s Volunteer Program; Volunteer Clinical Psychologist, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai) and was also flawlessly coordinated by Ms Namrata Rath (Center Head, ADPC).
The Faculty pool which also included Dr Bidhu Mohanty (Director, KIMS Cancer Centre, Bhubaneshwar) and Dr Sumita Mohany (Doctor-in-Charge, Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack), collectively led the volunteers through differing home care situations and its challenges, to empower them with knowledge and strategies on their role in assisting the treating team. The highly interactive sessions also included several Question and Answer sessions along with case reflections.
The energy filled workshop concluded with a fun filled musical session put together by the volunteer participants and with faculty expressing their deepest gratitude to Dr Sushma Bhatnagar (President, IAPC) and Dr Savita Butola (Secretary, IAPC).
Tata Memorial Centre’s CEPaC held successfully on 12th and 13th August, 2023
The Tata Memorial Centre’s – Continuing Education in Palliative Care (TMC-CEPaC) was held successfully on Saturday, 12th August, 2023, and Sunday, 13th August, 2023, at the Lecture Hall, Golden Jubliee Building Auditorium, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
40 delegates who were mainly residents from Palliative Medicine, Anaesthesia and Critical Care, participated in the academic activity which was organised for the first time by the Department of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
The academic activity themed ‘Palliative Medicine – Point Of Care UltraSound (PM-POCUS)’ presented delegates with a combination of interesting lectures interspersed with interactive workshops via 6 workstations.
The program was inaugurated by Dr R A Badwe (Director, TMC) who shared that Point of Care Ultrasound was one of the many aspects of Palliative Medicine, which in itself an important aspect of patient care; and Dr S Banavali (Director, Academics, TMC) who reminded delegates to not forget the hands of the clinicians who are still able to make good diagnosis, despite the trend of new gadgets taking up the practice of medicine. He also urged the delegates to accept the new gadgets in one’s practice that will improve the quality of care rendered.
While Dr Jayita Deodhar (Scientific Chairman, TMC-CEPaC) stressed upon the importance of interventions in patient care, Dr P N Jain (Course Chairperson, TMC-CEPaC) highlighted that ultrasound was going to be a very important armamentarium of Palliative physician, in the near future. Dr Raghu S Thota (Organising Secretary, TMC-CEPaC) went to share his objective about a Palliative care physician being a one point contact for a patient who is sick and in an advanced phase of the disease.
ADPCT and Centurion University of Technology and Management sensitises over 200 students about Palliative care in Balasore, Odisha, on 22nd August, 2023
The Amrit Dhara Palliative Care Trust (ADPCT) and the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) organised a one-day sensitisation workshop at CUTM, Balasore, Odisha, on ‘Community Based Palliative Care Service’ on Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023.
Over 200 students from the School of Pharmacy, Paramedics and Nursing participated in the interactive sensitisation workshop. Dr Mami Parija (President, ADPCT) and Ms Namrata Rath (Managing Trustee, ADPCT) highlighted the meaning, importance, requirement and process of Palliative Care, while Dr Sangram Keshari Swain (Dean, Examination and Students Welfare, CUTM), and Dr Nityananda Sahoo (Principal, SOP, CUTM, Balasore) shared their experiences on the above topic. The collaborative workshop was facilitated ably by Dr K V Ganpathy (PhD, CEO Jascap, IAPC’s West Zone CC member).
The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks presented by the student coordinator and a formal announcement to initiate a Palliative Care Club, in which over 25 students expressed interest to become the members of the club. To kick start the activities, Centurion University will collaborate with ADPCT for advocating palliative care during the upcoming World Hospice and Palliative Care celebrations.
IAPC’s WB Chapter, the WBSSP, and the SGCCRI, Kolkata, jointly organise a CME on ‘Evidence Based Pain Management in Palliative Care’ on 25th August, 2023
The IAPC’s West Bengal (WB) State chapter in collaboration with the West Bengal Society for the Study of Pain (WBSSP) and the Saroj Gupta Cancer Center & Research Institute (SGCCRI), Thakurpukur, Kolkata, had organised a Continuing Medical Education (CME) program at the Auditorium, Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre & Research Institute, Thakurpukur, Kolkata, on Friday, 25th August, 2023.
137 healthcare professionals represented by Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists, Physiotherapists, Social Workers and Volunteers participated in the CME.
Sessions were organised to introduce participants to the principles and concepts of palliative care and pain management, Evidence based neuropathic pain management in palliative care, evidence based interventional pain management in palliative care and evidence based psychogenic pain management in palliative care.
Ms Koushiki Ganguly, a renowned singer from West Bengal, graced the occasion as Honourable Guest. Dr Shyamal Sarkar (President, IAPC’s WB Chapter) graced the occasion as Chief Guest.
RMD Academy of Health, Chennai, empowers 60 individuals in the basics of geriatric and palliative care between June and August, 2023
The RMD Academy for Health, the education and training arm of RMD Group of Hospitals, trained 60 rural students under the General Duty Assistant (GDA) programme in palliative care with the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) between June and August 2023.
The training was provided as a part of RMD’s commitment to train and provide job placement to candidates from rural and underprivileged sectors, and incorporate them into Geriatric and Palliative care services.
The candidates were trained in the basics of human anatomy, human physiology, ways of handling a patient, the fundamentals of care provisioning, principles of hospice care and basics of nursing care.
Once trained the individuals will be either absorbed in-house at RMD Group of Hospitals or employed by other health care / home based organisations as health assistants.
“Of these 60 candidates, 20 candidates were absorbed into Home Health Care, through Grahaseva, a unit of RMD Group of Hospitals, in August 2023” shares Dr Gauthaman Kalamegam (Chief of RMD Academy of Health).
SGRDUHS, Amritsar, in collaboration with IPM and DLIA, organise a session on ‘Bereavement Companionship’ and a ‘Death Cafe’ in July, 2023
Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences (SGRDUHS) in collaboration with the Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM), and Death Literacy Institute Australia (DLIA) had organised two separate awareness sessions on Death, Dying and Bereavement Support, in July 2023.
The ‘Death Cafe’ was organised on Friday, 28th July, 2023, at SGRDUHS, Amritsar. Doctors from various departments including medicine, oncology, community medicine, surgery, anatomy, physiology, paediatrics, neurology and ENT, participated in the death cafe to break taboos and encourage people to talk about death and dying. Post the session, participants expressed that talking about death was life affirming, despite it encompassing an array of emotions, serious, sad, laughter, learning etc.
The one-day workshop on ‘Bereavement Companionship’ was organised on Sunday, 30th July, 2023, between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the SGRDUHS, Amritsar. 30 individuals comprising of Doctors, Nurses and Paramedical staff participated in the workshop which aimed to spark a curiosity and a hunger for further exploration in the realm of grief and bereavement. Participants highlighted the workshop to be engaging, insightful and insightful as several of them discovered that their prior interventions and well-meaning words would have probably not created the positive impact they hoped for while providing bereavement care for the families of the patients they cared for.
Dr Suresh Kumar (Founder Director, IPM), Dr Anil Paleri (Consultant, IPM) and Mr Saif Mohammed (Faculty, IPM), represented the team from IPM, and all activities were coordinated seamlessly by Dr Harjot Singh (In-charge, Sri Guru Ram Das Hospice) and Dr Paramjot Bindra (Co In-charge, Sri Guru Ram Das Hospice).
The ‘Bangalore Palliative Special Interest Group’ revived post Covid on 8th July, 2023
The passion for palliation in Bengaluru led to the constitution of the ‘Bangalore Palliative Special Interest Group’, to provide a platform for Palliative teams, from across Bangalore, to meet once in 2 months to discuss challenging cases, brainstorm the path ahead for the future Palliative Physicians. Covid had paused these meetings.
The Palliative Team under the leadership of Dr Raghavendra Ramanjulu (Lead Consultant, Palliative Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru) were proud to resume this gathering on Saturday, 8th July 2023 to discuss ‘Geriatric Palliative Care’.
The Palliative Care Physicians from Bengaluru met at Hotel Radisson Blu Atria, to discuss the ‘Rising Need of the Aging Population’. The topics ranged from ‘Kaleidoscope of causes of pain in Geriatric Population – Chronic pain in Geriatrics’ by Dr Raghavendra Ramanjulu, ‘Picking up pace in slowing down – Palliation in Parkinsons Disease’ by Dr Amelia Sahana Michael (Senior Specialist, Palliative Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru), ‘Addressing Psychological Issues – The essence of care’ by Dr Seema Rao (Associate Director, Education and Research, Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya), ‘Dementia’ by Dr Amy Siew. Other topics included Addressing COPD and Triggers for Palliation referral in ICU by Dr Rajani Bhat (Consultant Pulmonologist, Sparsh Hospital) and Dr Vireeswara Raju SK (Lead Consultant, Palliative Care and Transition Care, Athulya Assisted Living) respectively.
The meeting was well received and aimed to strengthen teams, provide encouragement, insights and share opportunities to take Palliation forward by leaps and bounds. The meeting was sponsored by ‘Athulya – the Senior care facility’.
Update from APM’s lecture series
Report on activities in August
The ‘Academy of Palliative Medicine’s online Lecture Series 1’ delivered 4 superb lectures in August, 2023. The series will deliver a total of 37 lectures which will be presented by Students of MD and DNB in Palliative Medicine from across the country and moderated by a Faculty from their respective center.
The sessions for August began with Dr Priyanka Shete’s fantastic presentation on ‘Management of cancer cachexia and anorexia‘, which was moderated by Dr Shamali Poojary. This was followed by a comprehensive presentation on ‘Approach to a patient presenting with neurological weakness in a palliative care setting‘, presented by Dr Jefrilla Nancy J and moderated by Dr Meenakshi. The third lecture for the month was an interesting presentation on ‘Approach to an adult patient presenting with breathlessness in a palliative care setting‘, presented by Dr Akshay Tabiyar and moderated by Dr Varun Yadav. The lectures for August concluded with Dr Karanvir Singh Matharoo’s superb presentation on ‘Approach to a patient with altered mental status’ which was moderated by Dr Nishkarsh Gupta.
We thank our speakers and the moderators for sharing their time and expertise to enrich the knowledge of the palliative care’s community.
Sessions planned for September
We invite you to join us for the lectures scheduled for September. Details below:
