Chapter 1

Introduction to palliative care

What is palliative care? In this chapter, we'll break down common misconceptions and address ethical considerations to determine which patients are ideal candidates for palliation.
7 Lessons (22m 25s), 1 Quiz
Chapter 2

Palliative care for special populations

This chapter focuses on assessing disease trajectory in patients with chronic or advanced illness and neurological conditions in order to determine timing and treatment goals of palliative care.
  • Creating individual treatment plans
  • Caring for patients with cancer
  • Caring for patients with organ failure
  • Caring for patients with dementia
  • Caring for older patients
  • Caring for patients with neurocritical illness
  • Caring for patients in the LGBTQ+ community
  • Palliative care for special populations quiz
8 Lessons (29m 43s), 1 Quiz
Chapter 3

Shared decision-making and advance care planning

How do you know if your patient has decision-making capacity? Is a DNR necessary? In this chapter, we discuss determining goals of care and planning for the future.
  • Exploring shared decision-making
  • Assessing decision-making capacity
  • Discussing outpatient care goals
  • Creating inpatient care goals
  • Documenting goals of care
  • Witholding or withdrawing treatments
  • Shared decision-making and advance care planning quiz
7 Lessons (24m 57s), 1 Quiz
Chapter 4

Bedside manner and communication

This chapter addresses how to handle tough situations, such as delivering bad news, addressing conflict, and how to best connect with your patient under a variety of circumstances.
  • Addressing communication basics
  • Connecting with your patients
  • Delivering bad news
  • Communicating remotely
  • Addressing conflict
  • Implementing family conferences
  • Bedside manner and communication quiz
7 Lessons (26m 39s), 1 Quiz
Chapter 5

Symptom management

Symptom management can greatly increase a patient's quality of life. This chapter discusses pain control as well as alleviation of other common symptoms in palliative patients.
  • Evaluating pain and other symptoms
  • Treating pain with opioids
  • Treating pain with non-opioids
  • Managing dyspnea
  • Managing nausea and vomiting
  • Managing constipation
  • Managing delirium and agitation
  • Managing depression and anxiety
  • Symptom management quiz
9 Lessons (38m 57s), 1 Quiz
Chapter 6

End-of-life considerations

This chapter shares how to recognize end-of-life signs, how to administer palliative sedation and other comfort measures, and how to proceed once the patient is deceased.
  • Recognizing when a patient is in their final days and hours
  • Using pharmacologic interventions
  • Using nonpharmacologic interventions
  • Deprescribing futile medications
  • Planning and preparing palliative sedation
  • Preparing to die at home
  • Caring for the deceased
  • Communicating death
  • End-of-life considerations quiz
  • Palliative Care Essentials outro
10 Lessons (33m 52s), 1 Quiz