Palliative Care and Pain Management at the End of Life

The purpose of this course is to bridge the gap in knowledge of palliative care by providing an overview of the concept of palliative care and a discussion of the challenges, benefits, and strategies of optimum palliative care at the end of life. In addition, members of the public may use this course to enhance their personal knowledge of the subject matter presented.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Describe how the definition of palliative care has evolved.
2. Define the structure of palliative care delivery, including models of care and the interdisciplinary healthcare team.
3. List the benefits of palliative care at the end of life.
4. Anticipate the barriers to optimum delivery of palliative care through hospice.
5. Effectively engage the components of communication and decision making for end-of-life care.
6. Identify the common concerns and symptoms at the end of life for patients with life-limiting diseases.
7. Discuss the barriers to effective relief of pain at the end of life.
8. Assess pain accurately through use of clinical tools and other strategies.
9. Select appropriate pharmacologic and/or nonpharmacologic therapies to manage pain in patients during the end-of-life period.
10. Assess and manage the most common symptoms (other than pain) experienced by patients during the end-of-life period.
11. Evaluate the psychosocial needs of patients at the end of life and their families and provide appropriate treatment or referral.
12. Recognize and address the spiritual needs of patients at the end of life and provide appropriate treatment or referral.
13. Develop a strategy for providing care to patients and their families over the last days and hours of life.
14. Support appropriate grief and mourning.
15. Explain the specific challenges and ethical consid­er­ations in delivering optimum palliative care to older patients, children, and patients in critical care settings.

This 15-hour continuing education course is available for download for professional development; if continuing education credit is desired, please see instructions included in eBook.