Training in palliative care

To enrich colleagues’ understanding of palliative care, clusters and hospitals offer a range of training to staff of different specialties, settings and grades. For instance, the training provided by the New Territories East Cluster and Caritas Medical Centre includes the followings.

Palliative care team

• Provide professional training and online courses

• Hold regular sharing sessions about the latest development of palliative care and case references

• Broaden the knowledge of other specialties, such as nephrology, cardiology, and pulmonary, in treating terminal diseases

Other doctors of medical specialty

• Arrange short-term rotation for doctors of geriatrics and medicine to PC teams

• Organise palliative care courses for all doctors and nurses newly recruited

Link nurses

• Nurses in different specialties are nominated to be a link nurse to facilitate communication between their specialty and PC team, promoting palliative care and providing end-of-life care in their wards

• Provide training in palliative care and patient referral to PC team

Nurses from Community Geriatric Assessment Teams

• Teach about symptom management, psychological care, communication skills and bereavement support through classes and workshops

• Work with PC team to improve skills of ACP discussion with patients and families, and provide clinical palliative care

• Organise regular case conference

• Arrange clinical attachment to different PC settings including inpatient, day and community care services

Other staff

• Provide online courses and Post-registration Certificate Course on Palliative Nursing

• Organise training e.g. acute bereavement skills, ACP discussion, palliative care for elders

• Hold regular academic forum

• Organise training for supporting staff, such as patient care assistants, in end-of-life care

Staff of Residential Care Homes for Elderly