Newcastle University

Aims

Palliative Medicine is the study and management of patients with active and progressive disease for whom the prognosis is limited and the focus of care is the quality of life of the patient, and not the cure of the underlying disease.

The overall aim of the module ‘Interprofessional Palliative Care: The Management of Symptoms in Cancer & Conditions other than Cancer’ (ONC8016) is to explore some of the psychological and sociological factors that influence cancer management, from the perspectives of the patient, the family or carer, and the health professionals involved in their care. The module also encourages students to recognise the skills and knowledge necessary for the effective control of symptoms, other than pain, in patients with life threatening disease in malignant & non-malignant conditions.

In order to effectively deliver palliative care, three main principles need to be adopted:
      1. Expert symptom control is required
      2. A holistic approach to both patient and family is essential
      3. Multidisciplinary team working is needed to effectively deliver the first 2 objectives

Symptom control should, as in all other aspects of medicine, be evidence-based wherever possible. At times, given the nature of our patients’ disease and situations, this is not always achievable. This module aims to explore some of the issues surrounding the effective delivery of multi-professional palliative care to those patients with advanced disease, and in doing so examine the evidence-base for the management strategies and the validity of that evidence.

Outline Of Syllabus

The main summative outcome of this module is the submission of a critique of a patient information leaflet regarding the management of a particular symptom and a critical review of the evidence-base for the management of a particular symptom. There will also be formative assessment completed by the end of week 5 and week 10 to provide you with feedback about your performance. Each week of material requires approximately 90 minutes for activities, but in addition to this you will need time for preparation and for background reading. Guidance is provided for each of the activities about how much time you should spend on each task.

Many of the activities require you to apply some of your understanding to and/or reflect upon real patient and carer experiences, and to share them with your learning set and/or module leader. It is therefore important that you take great care to ensure confidentiality of patient information – please do not mention details such as name, place of care, home address etc – and, as previously stated, respect the views of your colleagues.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The on-line materials will be designed to accommodate the learning outcomes. Learning activities in these materials will help facilitate an increase in the understanding of managing symptoms in advanced disease, and to increase confidence and competence in the management used. The utilisation of observational visits will broaden the students understanding of individualising symptom management. The theme of reflective practice will thread through on-line learning activities as well as chat room discussions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The final summative assessment is a 2500 word critical review of the evidence base for managing a symptom other than pain. This also includes a critique of an information resource relevant to the chosen symptom. The summative assessment is designed to assess the students critical and knowledge skills.
The students are also given two 1000 word formative assessments at week 5 & 10. Week 5 involves a critical review relevant to the student’s field of work. The assessment at week 10 involves the submission of a critical review of the management of symptoms in non-malignant diseases.