Curriculum

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Upcoming Sessions

August 24 - Effects of Systemic Racism on Healthcare and Palliative Care

• Sheryl L. Garland, MHA, FACHE, Chief of Health Impact for VCU Health System
• Jason Callahan, M.Div., MS, BCC, Palliative Care Chaplain

September 28 - Palliative Care in COPD

• James O'Connor, MD, Assistant Professor, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine

October 26 - TBD

November 16 - TBD 

December 14 - TBD

Previous Sessions

7/27/2020 - Palliative Care in ESRD

Presented by Jason Kidd, MD

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6/22/2020 - Substance Abuse in Palliative Medicine

Presented by Alina Fomovska, MD; University of Virginia

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5/18/2020 - Document Review and Horror Stories

Presented by Candace Blades, JD, RN

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4/27/2020 - Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Palliative Care

Presented by Jerry McQuain, MD

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4/13/2020 - Symptom Management for COVID-19

Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD

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3/23/2020 - COVID-19 and Palliative Care

Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD and Candace Blades, JD, RN

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2/24/2020 - Communication in Serious Illness: Part I

Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD, Candace Blades, JD, RN and Emily Rivet, MD

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1/27/2020 - Severe depression at end of life: is mental illness ever a terminal disorder?

Presented by Paul Zelensky, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow, Class of 2020

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12/12/19 - Five Key Takeaways from the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) National Seminar

Presented by J. Brian Cassel, PhD; Danielle Noreika, MD

02/14/19 - Introduction to Palliative and Supportive Care
Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Define palliative care and differentiate from hospice.
• Describe reasons for referral to palliative care.
• Describe basic structure of palliative care team.

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02/28/19 - Surgical Palliative Care
Presented by Emily Rivet, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Define surgical palliative care.
• Compare considerations in palliative patients undergoing surgery.
• Highlight surgical challenges in palliative patients.

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Further reading

03/14/19 - Basics of Advance Care Planning
Presented by Candace Blades, RN, JD
Learning Objectives:

• Define advance care planning.
• Overview of legal documents in advance care planning.
• Tools to help your patients complete an advance care plan.

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Further reading

03/28/19 - Basics of Cancer Pain Management
Presented by Egidio DelFabbro, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Define basic evaluation of pain assessment in cancer patients.
• Differentiate cancer pain from non-cancer pain assessment.
• Define broad strategies of cancer pain management.

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Further reading

04/11/19 - Pediatric Palliative Care
Presented by Kelly Lastrapes, MD and Amanda Gideon, Peds Palliative NP
Learning Objectives:

• Define the pediatric palliative care patient population.
• Define the difference between hospice and palliative care in pediatrics.
• Describe reasons for referral to pediatric palliative care.

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Further reading

04/25/19 - Safety in Opioid Use in Serious Illness
Presented by Egidio DelFabbro, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Review risk assessment in opioid prescribing.
• Compare and contrast risk assessment for chronic non-malignant pain to pain management in serious illness.
• Review data for UDS use in serious illness care.

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Further reading

05/09/19 - The Virginia Physician Order for Scope of Treatment (POST)
Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Define the POST form.
• Describe patient care circumstances that apply to the POST form.
• Discuss how to determine the medical care plan with a POST.

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Further reading

05/23/19 - Helping Children of Adult Patients
Presented by Amanda Gideon, CPNP
Learning Objectives:

• Describe how different age groups receive and understand information around serious illness and death.
• Summarize tools to aid in communication to children related to an adult with a serious illness.
• Discuss various methods of memory making for children.

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Further reading

06/13/19 - Mindfulness and Provider Self Care
Presented by Danielle Noreika, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Introduce provider self care.
• Define mindfulness.
• Describe how to integrate mindfulness into a busy practice to support provider self care.

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08/08/19 - Methadone Use in Palliative Care
Presented by Egidio Del Fabbro, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Describe how methadone differs from other opioids.
• Discuss how to rotate to methadone from other opioids.
• Discuss instances in which methadone might be considered in first-line therapy in palliative care patients.

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Further reading

08/22/19 - CBD: What You Need to Know
Presented by Aron Lichtman, PhD
Learning Objectives:

• Describe how CBD is derived.
• Define potential scientific basis for clinical efficacy.
• Overview lack of evidence for many clinical scenarios to date.
• Describe cautions in clinical use.

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Further reading - Devane, et al.
Further reading - Gaoni, Mechoulam
Further reading - Herkenham
Further reading - Lee
Further reading - Matsuda
Further reading - Mechoulam, et al.
Further reading - Munro
Further reading - Van Sickle
Further reading - Zendulka, et al.
Further reading for case presentation - Go, et al.
Further reading for case presentation - Liebling, et al.
Further reading for case presentation - Mitchell, et al.
Further reading for case presentation - Puntillo, et al.
Further reading for case presentation - Sager, et al.

09/12/19 - Outpatient Palliative Care
Presented by Brian Cassel, PhD
Learning Objectives:

• Describe the necessary partnerships with referrers and other community services to build a successful outpatient program.
• Select appropriate measures for evaluating an outpatient palliative care program.
• Integrate patient and stakeholder needs into a business plan for an outpatient program.

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Further reading list

09/26/19 - All of Your Patients are Delirious: What to do about it
Presented by Egidio Del Fabbro, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Define delirium.
• Overview tools of delirium screening.
• Overview of management strategies for delirium.

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Further reading list
Further reading - Hov, et al.

10/10/19 - Getting Through to Physicians Resistant to Consulting Palliative Care
Presented by Emily Rivet, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Assess gaps in consult volumes from palliative-relevant populations.
• Discuss evidence on barriers to consulting palliative care.
• Describe rapport-building approaches for multiple disciplines.

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Further reading - Rivet, et al. and Kotter, et al.

10/24/19 - Palliative Radiation
Presented by Christopher McLaughlin, MD
Learning Objectives:

• Brief overview of radiation techniques.
• Overview of symptoms that may be relieved by radiation.
• Brief overview of relevant literature to treatment of symptoms with palliative radiation.

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Further reading - Memantine Study
Further reading - Patchell Cord
Further reading - Quartz Whole Brain
Further reading - Bone mets

11/14/19 - Existential and Spiritual Assessments
Presented by Jason Callahan, MDiv.
Learning Objectives:

• Identify existential distress in patients, families and caregivers.
• Select appropriate interventions in addressing existential distress.
• Discuss grief and bereavement issues.

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Further reading - Bereavement follow up form guidelines for completion
Further reading - Bereavement follow up form template
Further reading - Bereavement booklet