This course should be taken after the Essentials of Palliative Care course and continues building your primary palliative care skills – communication, psychosocial support and goals of care. You will learn how to screen, assess, and manage both physical and psychological symptoms. You will explore common symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue, and distress and learn specific treatments. You will continue to follow Sarah and Tim’s experience and learn cultural competencies critical for optimal symptom management.
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À propos de ce cours
We highly suggest taking the Essentials of Palliative Care before this course but it is not required as core concepts are reviewed.
Ce que vous allez apprendre
Respond to the subjective experience of symptoms and side effects using assessment tools and communication skills
Conduct a pain assessment and provide basic pain management using medication and lifestyle modification
Describe several interventions to help with emotions and coping and the role the palliative care psychiatrist plays in caring for the patient
Define distress and common causes of emotional distress related to life-threatening illness
Compétences que vous acquerrez
- symptom management
- Communication
- patient-centered care
- Symptom Assessment
We highly suggest taking the Essentials of Palliative Care before this course but it is not required as core concepts are reviewed.
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Université de Stanford
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is an American private research university located in Stanford, California on an 8,180-acre (3,310 ha) campus near Palo Alto, California, United States.
Programme de cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Course Introduction and Overview
Regular assessment and management of physical and psychological symptoms is critical to treatment adherence and quality of life for patients. Still, symptoms such as pain, nausea and distress are often under-treated. Palliative care specialists can help when symptoms are difficult to manage. People with a life-threatening diagnosis often experience symptoms that change regularly and may persist as chronic issues throughout life. We discuss common symptoms experienced by people such as pain, nausea and fatigue. Poorly managed symptoms often lead to isolation from regular activities and increased psychological distress. Some patients cite a loss of identity that comes along with life being defined by the experience of symptoms and side effects. In this course, you will learn more about how to identify, assess and manage common physical and psychological symptoms.
Review of Palliative Care
This module provides a review of the concepts learned in the course Essentials of Palliative Care and a brief summary of the symptoms covered in the Symptom Management course. Check your knowledge with the ungraded quiz in the next section and review the summary videos, if necessary. Also contained in this module are the Sarah case study videos from Essentials of Palliative Care for those who want review her story.
Pain
This module focuses on pain assessment and management for patients suffering from serious illness. We will also address how pain is subjective and why communication is critical to get a better understanding of a patient's experience.
Other Physical Symptoms
In this module, you will learn more about how to identify, assess and manage common physical symptoms that affect patients with serious illnesses.
Distress
Emotional distress is common for patients and families living with a serious illness. Distress may surface as a result of, among other things: physical symptoms, fears, uncertainty, or a sense of losing one’s identity.
Final Steps
Congratulations on completing the course content. You have a few more step to complete the course. First review your reflection, next complete a peer-reviewed course project and then take the final exam. We hope you have enjoyed the course and look forward to seeing you in other classes!
À propos du Spécialisation Palliative Care Always
Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel increasingly equipped to support the diverse needs of your patients and your own needs.

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