From the President’s Desk

Dear Friends,

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar

I am delighted to know that the various programs offered by the IAPC are proving to be beneficial and adding value to you as we have been receiving inspiring feedback from our participants of various programs. I would like to thank you all for your participation and for sharing your feedback with us. These important suggestions will help us to improve and deliver quality programs for the palliative care community in India.

The IAPC’s webinar to commemorate World Patient Safety Day, ‘A Dialogue in Palliative Care Patient Safety’, organised on Saturday, 17th September, 2022, was one such program to receive applause and appreciation. On behalf of the IAPC, I extend my gratitude and also congratulate the stellar faculty who presented us with insightful discussions filled with best practices and practical tips towards assuring patient safety in a various palliative care context’s.

We were also overwhelmed with the very positive feedback we received towards the IAPC’s much awaited training programs, the revamped batches of the ‘IAPC’s Course in the Physiotherapy- Palliative Care Interface’, and the ‘IAPC’s Certificate Course in Essentials of Palliative Care Pharmacy’, which we delivered in September 2022. My sincere gratitude to all the faculty for their hard work and for offering their valuable time in delivering these two good quality training programs. Further updates from these two programs are available in the ‘Education and Training’ section of this newsletter.

I am very excited to announce the launch of a new course in commemoration of this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. The ‘IAPC’s Certificate Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers’ is a structured online training program for potential volunteers and will be launched on Saturday, 29th October, 2022. I request you to please share the details of this course within your networks and help us to create a compassionate community. Please click here for further details about the program.

I am also thrilled to announce the launch of the ‘IAPC Academy’s Online Lecture Series 6’. This series will present a total of 35 lectures between 31st October, 2022, and 26th June, 2023.This series is designed to feature five sections: Basic concepts in Palliative Care, Symptom Control in Palliative Care, Palliative Care for Special Groups, Palliative Care in special situations, and, Teams and Management issues. Lectures will be delivered by students of MD and DNB in Palliative Medicine and be moderated by a Faculty from their respective center. I thank all the faculty for delivering excellent lectures in currently ongoing lecture Series 5.

It is also promising to know that several training programs are being organised by palliative care institutions from across the country. I congratulate all those who are contributing towards this academic excellence. I invite you to read all about this in the ‘Education and Training’ section of this newsletter.

We are also excited to share that the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi, has been approved by the National Medical Council (NMC) to offer MD in Palliative Medicine (2 seats). The institute will be the 1st in Kerala to offer a Post Graduate course in Palliative Medicine and the 7th in India. Congratulations Dr Shoba Nair (Professor and Head, Department of Palliative Medcine, AIMS, Kochi) and team for this achievement. Please click here for further details about this.

I am also proud to share that 3 institutions from India have been recognised as ESMO Designated Centres for Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care in 2022. The institutions receiving this recognition are, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute (BIACH & RI), Hyderabad, and the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad, Hearty congratulations!

We also extend our warm wishes and congratulations to all the individuals and organisations for their achievements and awards. Please visit the ‘Awards and Recognition’ section of this newsletter for further information on this.

I thank each of the authors who has contributed towards this month’s exclusive articles. I invite you to read these excellent articles. 

I invite you to register and submit abstracts for the 30th Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2023) and make it a grand success. Do note that the conference organisers have announced exciting information from two of the major tracks, the Renal Palliative Care track and the ICU Palliative Care track. Please continue reading the ‘Announcement and Messages’ section of this newsletter for further information on this.

We extend our heartiest gratitude to the Shankar Mahadevan Academy Nirvana for their continuous support towards our ‘Singing for the Stars’ monthly national and regional musical evening of harmonies for our patients, caregivers and colleagues. An update from this month’s event is available in the ‘Announcement and Messages’ section of this newsletter.

I hope that you all are geared up and getting ready for the much awaited global celebration of the year; the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2022! I once again urge you to join the global palliative care community in celebrating the day on Saturday, 8th October, 2022. Also, don’t forget to showcase your event to the global palliative care community by registering your event with the Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance. Further details on how to do this is available in the ‘Announcement and Messages’ section of this newsletter.

Take care and Happy Festivities!

With warm regards,

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar
President, IAPC