This presentation aims to guide PAs through the sensitive topic of normalizing death and dying. Attendees will gain insights into the profound impact of palliative care on patients, their families, and the clinical care teams. Any PA may encounter a patient with a serious illness, therefore all PAs should be familiar with the complexities affecting this group of patients. This includes having goals-of-care conversations and being able to recognize when patients necessitate referral to specialty palliative care clinicians. PAs are particularly poised at facilitating an interprofessional, collaborative approach to providing patient care.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
Recall which seriously ill patients are appropriate for goals-of-care conversations in a primary care and/or specialty setting
Identify patients requiring specialty palliative care
Integrate knowledge from specialty palliative care consultations and formulate treatment plans focused on patient-centered care
Reflect on the benefit and impact of palliative care on patients, families and the clinical care team
