CURRICULUM
Learning Outcomes
- Communication Skills
The PC Community Specialist demonstrates expertise in relationship centered communication theory and skills to gather and share information, negotiate shared decision making and plans of care, and sustain relationships with palliative care patients/families and healthcare providers.
- Expert Symptom Management Skills
The PC Community Specialist demonstrates expert clinical judgment in performing a comprehensive patient assessment, leading to diagnosis development, implementation, and ongoing reassessment with modification of effective, evidence-based care plans utilizing the skills and expertise of the interdisciplinary team (IDT), for all distressing symptoms experienced by patients with any serious illness.
- Ethics, Advocacy, and Legal Aspects of Care
The PC Community Specialist incorporates knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of palliative care into practice by exhibiting the highest professional standards and by advocating for the rights of patients/families to access optimal palliative care.
- Spiritual, Religious and Existential Aspects of Care
As part of the IDT, the PC Community Specialist demonstrates and promotes spiritually sensitive care, respecting diversity in all forms, for patients/families and other health care professionals.
- Social and Cultural Aspects of Care
As part of the IDT, the PC Community Specialist demonstrates respect for diverse communities through culturally sensitive skills, recognizing how social and economic barriers and challenges impact the delivery of health care services.
- Psychological Aspects of Care
As part of the IDT, the PC Community Specialist effectively addresses psychological concerns, and promotes access to expanded resources for all patients/families living with any serious illness.
- Integration of Palliative Care for patients throughout the course of any serious illness in all venues
The PC Community Specialist effectively advocates to provide evidence-based palliative care for patients/families and supports and develops expanded resources for all patients/families living with any serious illness.
- Effective Palliative Care Educator
The PC Community Specialist demonstrates knowledge, skills, and applies adult learning principles when providing palliative care education to patients, families, healthcare professionals, and the community.
- Systems Thinking
The PC Community Specialist demonstrates understanding of the healthcare system to effectively manage and utilize resources to support patients/families living with any serious illness and advocates for the reform of healthcare systems to provide optimal palliative care.
Courses and Course Descriptions
Students seeking the Interprofessional Graduate Certificate will complete the first 12 credit hours of the Master of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) degree. To fulfill the requirements for the MSPC, students must successfully complete 33 credit hours over a minimum of 22 months. All courses will be completed online and mostly asynchronous.
YEAR ONE: 15 CREDIT HOURS (PALLIATIVE CARE CERTIFICATE AWARDED UPON COMPLETION OF INITIAL 12 CREDITS)
Fall Semester 6 credits
PALC 6510: Core Concepts, Principles, & Communication Skills (3 credits) - This 8-week online course covers palliative care models, whole-person assessment, self-awareness for the palliative care community specialist, the impact of illness and suffering on the individual, communication skill development, goals of care, and ethics. This course includes online coursework completed before and after a virtual 3 day intensive that takes place over a long weekend (Thursday- Sunday) in September of each year. Students meet with faculty, complete communications training and participate in group work that complements online content.
PALC 6110: Basic Pain Assessment & Management: IDT Care (3 credits) - This course reviews basic pain pathophysiology, assessment, non‐pharmacological interventions, and non‐opioid and opioid pharmacological pain management. Biomedical content is integrated with psychological, social, spiritual, and ethical concerns related to pain.
Spring Semester 6-7* credits
PALC 6210: IDT symptom management: Part A (3 credits) - This course covers the assessment and management of common non‐pain symptoms, including anorexia, asthenia, constipation and nausea/vomiting. Biomedical content is integrated with content addressing psychological, social, spiritual, and ethical concerns related to non-pain symptoms.
PALC 6220: IDT symptom management: Part B (3 credits) - This course covers the assessment and management of common non‐pain symptoms, including dyspnea, coughing, and insomnia. Biomedical content is integrated with content addressing psychological, social, spiritual, and ethical concerns related to non-pain symptoms. Certificate students will receive certificate upon successful completion of this semester.
*PALC 6610: PC Leadership Research Skills focuses on core macro principles in leadership including citation in AMA or APA style and search skills for scholarly publication and dissemination. The course also includes a comprehensive, multiple-choice examination of MSPC Year 1 courses and a mid-program self-evaluation.
Summer Semester 6 credits
PALC 6520: Communication Skill Refinement: IDT Collaboration - This online course addresses advanced topics in palliative care, including leadership development business development, resilience for the PCCS, and advanced PC communication skills. This course includes pre- and post-work related to a virtual intensive held over a long weekend in August each year. This intensive will expand on and reinforce advanced communications skill and participate in group work that complements online content.
PALC 6620: PC Leadership Macro Skills focuses on core macro principles in leadership, including the national palliative care agenda and landscape. Other course topics include palliative care mission/vision/values, quality improvement, business argument/value proposition for palliative care programs, palliative care systems, education in palliative care, developing and presenting a palliative care elevator speech, palliative care billing, community engagement, and challenging situations on the systems level. The course also includes application of materials to students’ professional systems.
YEAR TWO: 18 CREDIT HOURS
Fall Semester 7 credits
PALC 6310: Advanced Illness in Special Settings: Part A (3 credits) - This course covers assessment and management of chronic illnesses (cardiopulmonary, end stage liver and renal diseases) with emphasis on early PC combined with disease-focused therapy. Attention is given to prognostication and transition into palliative/hospice care or discontinuing treatments with bioethical review and IDT support. Students also engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.
PALC 6320: Advanced Illness in Special Settings: Part B (3 credits) - This course covers the assessment and management of cancer and HIV with emphasis on early palliative care and disease-focused therapy. Attention is given to prognostication and transition into palliative/hospice care or discontinuing treatments with bioethical review and IDT support. Students also engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.
PALC 6630: PC Leadership Scholarship focuses on core macro principles in leadership including critical analysis of literature, scholarly writing, and dissemination of scholarly writing.
Spring Semester 7 credits
PALC 6330: Advanced Illness in Special Settings: Part C (3 credits) - This course includes assessment and management of neurodegenerative disorders with emphasis on early palliative care and disease-focused therapy. Attention to prognostication and transitions into palliative/hospice care are paired with bioethical review and comfort care for the imminently dying. Students also engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.
PALC 6120: Advanced Concepts in Pain Management (3 credits) - This course focuses on methadone, opioid infusions, interventional pain management, and other complex modalities. This course also focuses on ethics (e.g., Medical Aid in Dying) and psychosocial issues, including pain in the face of addiction and public policy around opioids and REMS. Students engage related psycho-social-spiritual-ethics content.
PALC 6640: PC Leadership Program Evaluation Skills focuses on core macro principles in leadership including evaluating program performance based on quantitative/qualitative data collected, completing a post-program self-evaluation, and completing a MSPC program evaluation. The course also includes a comprehensive, multiple-choice examination of MSPC Year 2 courses and completion of documentation required for graduation.