UNGERLEIDER PALLIATIVE CARE EDUCATION FUND

Initiated in Fall 2014, the CPMC Resident Palliative Care Education Program was founded by a grant from Steven Ungerleider, PhD and Shoshana Ungerleider, MD in collaboration with California Pacific Medical Center Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Internal Medicine Education, Department of Internal Medicine Palliative Care Division, Departments of Psychiatry & Health Psychology and the CPMC Foundation. The program is under the leadership of program director, Monica Rosenthal, MD.

This innovative, comprehensive palliative care education program includes:

 

[1]  A required two-week palliative care education block in both first and second years led by a dedicated palliative care educator tailored to resident’s unique skills and needs.

• The mandatory first year curriculum includes didactic palliative medicine through a combination of online references, one-on-one lecture/discussions, and case-based self study focusing on prognosis, advanced care planning and symptom management.

• Residents choose a topic for more in-depth literature review and informal presentation at the end of the two week period.

• Residents are exposed to the clinical practice of palliative medicine by shadowing a chaplain, a social worker, and members of the inpatient palliative care team as they care for hospital patients with advanced illness.

[2]  Communications skills are taught in conjunction with the Health Psychology fellowship program at CPMC.

• Each resident has simulated patient experiences within a palliative care context. Feedback from this encounter and self-identified goals for growth are then used to create an individualized one on one learning experience where residents are taught and practice using specific communication skills.

• A second simulated patient encounter then offers an opportunity to practice leading a goals of care conversation, and again the resident receives direct feedback on their communication skills.

 

[3]  Throughout all three years, resident wellness is supported by access to local providers for physical and mental health, acupuncture, massage, gym memberships, and readings on physician wellness. 

 

[4]  A series of noon conferences supplement classroom and hands-on learning for residents delivered by CPMC physicians from a variety of disciplines connected to palliative care and advanced communications skills.

 

[5]  A quarterly lecture series was initiated in early 2015, bringing in experts in palliative care to engage in conversation with the community.

 

[6]   We are collecting data to evaluate the success of the program in the following areas:

• Increasing residents’ knowledge about the technical aspects of palliative care;

• Resident skill in communication about goals of care and end-of-life treatments;

• Resident attitudes towards, and interest in, humanistic elements of care;

• Resident well-being and self-care.