The WHO defines Palliative Care as:
“an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual”.
As Family Physicians, we should apply a “palliative care approach” to most of our patient encounters.
By the end of your residency, you must achieve a basic competency in Palliative care skills. To achieve this, most sites expose their residents to Palliative care out-patient clinics, consultations, and inpatient wards. It is hoped that you will be able to provide palliative care services ‘in the home’.
Learning Objectives for Palliative Care
For a very helpful toolkit of resources, consult Canadian Virtual Hospice:
