Pilot Study of an Interprofessional Palliative Care Curriculum: Course Content and Participant-Reported Learning Gains.

CONTEXT: The National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend that palliative care clinicians work together as interprofessional teams. We created and piloted a 9-month curriculum that focused on 3 related domains: (1) patient-centered, narrative communication skills; (2) interprofessional team practice; and (3) metrics and systems integration. The multifaceted curriculum was delivered through 16 webinars, 8 online modules, 4 in-person workshops, reflective skill practice, written reflections, and small group online discussions. OBJECTIVES: Report evaluations of the course content and skill self-assessments from 24 interprofessional palliative care clinicians. METHODS: Participants rated each learning activity and completed a retrospective pre-post test skill assessment. Learning gains were measured as the difference in the percentage of participants reporting "strong" or "highly competent" skill levels at baseline and the end of the course. Participants also provided examples of how they used the skills in practice. RESULTS: Participants achieved an average learning gain of 50% across all domains, and in each domain communication (54%), interprofessional team practice (52%), and metrics and systems integration (34%). They also gave high ratings for the curriculum content (overall mean [standard deviation] rating of 5.5 (0.7) out of 6). Examples of practice impacts included improved skills in responding to emotions, understanding the equal importance of all professions on their team and incorporating different perspectives into their practice, and learning about outcome measurement in palliative care. CONCLUSION: This curriculum demonstrated success in increasing perceived skills for interprofessional palliative care clinicians in advanced communication, team practice, and metrics and system integration.

A Community Needs Assessment for the Development of an Interprofessional Palliative Care Training Curriculum.

BACKGROUND: There is a known shortage of trained palliative care professionals, and an even greater shortage of professionals who have been trained through interprofessional curricula. As part of an institutional Palliative Care Training Center grant, a core team of interprofessional palliative care academic faculty and staff completed a state-wide palliative care educational assessment to determine the needs for an interprofessional palliative care training program. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe the process and results of our community needs assessment of interprofessional palliative care educational needs in Washington state. DESIGN: We approached the needs assessment through a cross-sectional descriptive design by using mixed-method inquiry. SETTING/SUBJECTS: Each phase incorporated a variety of settings and subjects. MEASUREMENTS: The assessment incorporated multiple phases with diverse methodological approaches: a preparatory phase-identifying key informants; Phase I-key informant interviews; Phase II-survey; and Phase III-steering committee endorsement. RESULTS: The multiple phases of the needs assessment helped create a conceptual framework for the Palliative Care Training Center and developed an interprofessional palliative care curriculum. The input from key informants at multiple phases also allowed us to define priority needs and to refine an interprofessional palliative care curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: This curriculum will provide an interprofessional palliative care educational program that crosses disciplinary boundaries to integrate knowledge that is beneficial for all palliative care clinicians. The input from a range of palliative care clinicians and professionals at every phase of the needs assessment was critical for creating an interprofessional palliative care curriculum.