Palliative Cancer Care

Programme description

At the end of the program, the participant will be able to respond to the needs of palliative medicine of highly complex patients with incurable, progressive and advanced diseases; as well as the people linked to them.

The training period is organized over 6 months in a modular system. Below is an extract of the main objective of each training period.

MODULE 1: Early intervention in advanced cancer in outpatient clinic (2-3 months)

Will work as a collaborator of other specialists in outpatient consultation sharing care with them. Together they can evaluate and plan the best treatment for the patient and their family. In the end the candidate will be able to explain the role of the support team integrated in the disease process. He will be able to perform multidimensional evaluation of the patient in an outpatient clinic and will make care plans focused on problems and will be able to follow the evolution of the patient.

MODULE 2: Comprehensive hospitalized patient care (2-3 months)

At the end of the period attending in hospitalization, the professional in training, will show an expert level when talking about matters related to the end of life with patients, their families, and other medical specialists; which includes offering help in defining advance directives and directing decision-making meetings with other specialists. He will be an expert in dealing with requests for euthanasia and in advising any caregiver about the legal and ethical framework in force in his country. Will be able to explore with sensitivity the concerns of patients in the physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual.

MODULE 3: Emotional attention and communication (1 month)

At the end of this module the professional in training will be able to maintain an interview of emotional assessment of an advanced patient; Analyze in a conversation facilitating elements and barriers to effective communication and be familiar with the phenomena of transference and countertransference in dealing with the sick.

MODULE 4: Psychological intervention in advanced disease (1 month)

Upon completion the candidate will appropriately advise relaxation techniques, mind control, thought conversion. You will be familiar with questionnaires that explore existential and spiritual spheres. Will know to indicate therapies of preservation of the dignity.

MODULE 5: Home care (1 month)

The professional will learn to put means to provide continuous care to the patient in different environments (such as, for example, home, hospital, residence, “hospice”); Distribute tasks seeking complementarity in the interdisciplinary team.

MODULE 6: Hospice type care (1 month)

At the end of the stay you will be able to list the characteristics of Hospice type care; will be able to design a volunteer program and supervise the activity of the volunteers.