WCGH People Development Centre Online School

The following topics are covered in this course:

Chapter 1: Introduction and Client Entry

• Introduction & Background:
  • Background and Principles.
  • The South African context.
  • Terminology.
  • The palliative care team.
• Entry to Palliative Care:
  • Identification of patients who need palliative care.
  • The SPICT-ZA tool.
  • Where and who provides palliative care services.
  • Overview of patients entering palliative care.

Chapter 2: Communication and Key Conversations

• Foundations for Effective Conversation:
  • Importance of communication and the client-centred approach.
  • Family meetings.
  • Communicating with honesty and hope.
  • Key communication skills (adapting communication, overcoming language barriers, cultural/spiritual sensitivity).
  • Communicating across the multidisciplinary team.
• Key Conversations in Palliative Care:
  • Introducing and discussing palliative care.
  • Delivering life-changing news (6-step process).
  • Establishing Goals of Care.
  • Discussing Advance Care Planning.

Chapter 3: Ethical and Legal Foundations in Palliative Care

• Key Conversations in Palliative Care:
• Legislative considerations and Client rights in palliative care. 
• Advance Care Planning.
• Power of Attorney and medical decision-making.
• Withdrawal of care and transition to comfort care.
• Neglect and abuse.

Chapter 4: Psychosocial Care

• Emotional Distress:
  • Defining psychosocial distress and understanding emotional responses.
  • Recognising distress and its impact on identity, roles, culture, and spirituality.
  • Supporting the client’s psychosocial well-being through compassion.
• Supporting Loved Ones:
  • Expanding the focus of care to the family and caregivers.
  • Understanding family dynamics, the influence of culture/context, and multiple roles.
  • Recognising and identifying caregiver distress and burnout.
  • Psychosocial support strategies for families and caregivers (facilitation and practical strategies).

Chapter 5: Pain Management

• The holistic experience of pain
  • Pain and its subjective nature.
  • The pathophysiology of nociceptive and neuropathic pain.
  • Common pain assessment tools and their appropriate use and special considerations for pain assessment in diverse populations.
  • The fundamental principles of pain management, including the WHO analgesic ladder.
  • The holistic impact of pain total pain concept. 

• An introduction to Pharmacological Pain Management

• An introduction to pharmacological management with opioids and non-opioids.
• Key safety considerations when managing client use of different medications.
• The role of the WHO analgesic ladder .
• The functional implications of common medication side effects.
• How to apply pharmacological management to support client adherence and psychoeducation. 
• Non-Pharmacological Management:
  • The role of Non-Pharmacological Management (NPM) as an
    essential pillar of holistic pain care.
  • Specific, primary interventions provided by Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Dietitians.
  • The core psychosocial strategies used by Counsellors and Social Workers to manage emotional and social dimensions of pain.
  • Outline approaches for managing spiritual and cultural pain.
  • A broad understanding of NPM interventions into a comprehensive, client-centred pain management plan.

Chapter 6: Symptom Management and Care

• An Overview of Physical Symptoms:
  • The impact of common physical symptoms on functional ability and psychosocial well-being.
  • The core principles of symptom management.
  • MDT roles in assessment, monitoring, and non-pharmacological interventions for respiratory, GI, and general symptoms.
• Physical Symptoms Management:
  • The background and overview of common mood and psychological symptoms in palliative care.
  • How to recognise and perform a baseline assessment of common psychological symptoms and distress.
  • Foundational management approaches for the most common mood disturbances, including depression, anxiety, and delirium.

Chapter 7: End-of-Life Care and Bereavement

• Fundamentals of End-of-Life Care:
  • The goals of end-of-life care and communication for end-of-life discussions.
  • Preparation for the final stages of life, including recognising the signs
  • of dying.
  • Adapting functional goals and interventions for comfort, dignity, and
  • non-pharmacological management.
  • Psychosocial and spiritual support strategies.
  • Facilitating meaningful family presence and participation at end of life.
• Death, Grief, and Essential Bereavement Care:
  • Key principles of immediate post-death care and administrative processes.
  • Terminology of loss, grief, and bereavement.
  • Common emotional, physical, and social responses during the grieving process.
  • Warning signs of complicated grief and when to refer for appropriate support.
  • The role of rehabilitation and psychosocial professionals in providing bereavement support.

Chapter 8: Healthcare Worker Well-being

• How to distinguish between professional stress, burnout, and moral distress, and identify their key signs.
• Essential self-care strategies that can be used to maintain well-being.
• The importance of peer support.
• When and how to access professional help.
• The concept of well-being as a shared responsibility between individuals and the health system.