PROGRAM OF CONTINUOUS MEDICAL EDUCATION
Workshops, Training Courses and Training Of Trainer
PALLIATIVE NURSING CARE
- Background
Dr. Cyrus Appell and a team of experts has started introducing Palliative Care and Hospice Care at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy from year 2011. They brought in the Multi-Disciplinary Team approach and set up a range of CME courses for residents, medical students, and MDs at the specialist level 1. Thanks to support from the Sandy Appell Fund, MEET approved a full program to train hospital nurses in Palliative-Hospice Nursing Care. This program kicked off in 2019 and has been running since then. - Course Name and General Introduction
- Course Name: "Palliative Nursing Care Training Workshop".
- Course Introduction: This course gives students hands-on knowledge in palliative care. You’ll learn to handle basic nursing procedures and tackle real health problems for patients, focusing on their whole well-being—body, mind, social life, and emotions. Along the way, we cover practical pain management, ways to ease tough symptoms, and how to truly listen to patients. You’ll see why it matters to honor patient choices and how to work with a team from different fields, all to make the patient more comfortable and supported. The goal is to ensure patients don’t feel alone as they face illness, and to help lift their quality of life.
- Target Audience and Entry Requirements for Students: Nurses who are currently working in hospitals and hold at least a college degree.
- Duration:
- Course 1: An 8-day workshop—“Palliative and Hospice Nursing Care.”
- Course 2: A 5-day “Training of Trainer” program for Clinical Instructors specializing in Palliative Care Nursing.
- Course 3: A 2-day teaching practicum where trainees from Course 2 lead trial teaching
sessions..
- Program Objectives
- General Objectives
By the end of this course, nursing students will have a solid foundation in both the knowledge and hands-on skills needed to care for and monitor critically ill patients. They’ll also be better at supporting families and working smoothly with different healthcare teams. - Specific Objectives
- Knowledge: Students will update and strengthen their understanding of palliative care for cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses.
- Skills: The course will help nurses master standard procedures like pain assessment and safe morphine use. They'll learn subcutaneous infusion techniques, how to care for malignant wounds in palliative settings, and handle real-life situations involving pain, shortness of breath, digestive issues, psychosocial support, and breaking bad news to patients and families. - Attitude: The course encourages nurses to rethink their views on palliative care. They'll focus on respecting patients’ and families’ choices, learn how to deliver bad news with compassion, and clear up any misconceptions about using morphine and similar medications in palliative care.
- Collaboration: Nurses will work alongside hospitals to become “core nurses,” equipped to teach and share knowledge about palliative care with their peers, both within the hospital and across its broader network.
- General Objectives
- Detailed Program
- Course 1: Palliative Care Nursing
This course runs over eight days, packing in sixteen sessions. There are thirty topics to cover, with 55 hours devoted to theory and another 25 hours spent on clinical practice. - Course 2: Training of Trainers for Clinical Instructors
Once trainees finish Course 1—usually in two to three weeks—those selected dive deeper. They strengthen their knowledge by breaking down each lesson, discussing their insights, building mind maps, and presenting from their own point of view. This part lasts ten sessions (fifty hours total: forty-two hours of theory and eight hours of practice). To get picked for Course 2, trainees must have completed the eight-day palliative care nursing course, hold a Medical Pedagogy certificate (or show strong teaching and presentation skills), and demonstrate a real commitment to palliative care and evidence-based practice. - Trial Teaching:
After finishing Course 2 (allowing four to six weeks), trainees split into small groups. Each group prepares two lesson plans on randomly drawn topics. Instructors give feedback and suggest revisions before the demo lessons. Every trainee then presents a demonstration lesson based on their group’s chosen topic, while instructors review and grade them. The grading system and criteria get shared right after Course 2 wraps up. Other trainees are encouraged to sit in on these sessions to learn and swap ideas. Trial Teaching goes for about two days, with four sessions and twenty demo lessons in total.
- Course 1: Palliative Care Nursing
Contact for detail and discussion: Program Manager from MEET:
Ms. Ly Thi Phuong Anh, Vice President.
Email:
