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Palliative Care- UI Health/JBVA

PREREQUISITES AND PLACEMENT IN THE CURRICULUM:

4th year medical student, Completion of 3rd year Internal Medicine rotation, Current UI and VA computer access

PURPOSE: 

  • Students will learn how to navigate serious illness conversations and how to appropriately engage and communicate with patients and families living with life-limiting illness. They will also learn how to better manage symptoms with patients who have life-limiting illnesses.
  • Students will improve their overall communication skills and become more comfortable with serious illness conversations. They will also learn more about multimodal pain medications and be more comfortable with appropriately prescribing opioids.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:

  1. Use effective communication strategies to deliver bad news to patients and families.
  2. Apply empathy techniques to help patients as they go through difficult emotions.
  3. Obtain a thorough and accurate pain history and formulate an effective pain plan.
  4. Recognize appropriate situations to initiate long and/or short acting opioid medications.
  5. Utilize appropriate medications for treatment of other symptoms of severe illness including nausea, anxiety/depression, anorexia, constipation, etc.
  6. Identify critical illness situations where patients and families would benefit from engaging in goals of care conversations.
  7. Understand the components of hospice care and thoroughly explain the differences between hospice and palliative care.
  8. Discover the role that spirituality and miracle literacy plays in decision-making for patients with life-threatening illnesses.
  9. Observe the roles of chaplains and pastoral care and how they integrate with palliative care.

Description of Learning Activities

  • Interdisciplinary rounds with social work, chaplains, and APRNs
  • Ward rounds with attending physicians and fellow residents
  • Small group discussions with attending physicians and fellow residents
  • Lectures by attending physicians and APRNs
  • Independent study (library work and recommended readings)

Daily Responsibilities:

  • Pre-rounds: 1 hour
  • Interdisciplinary rounds: 0-1 hour
  • Ward rounds: 3-4 hours
  • Lectures or small group discussion: 1 hour
  • Independent study: 1-2 hours

Required Reading/ Educational Resources: 

  •  No required reading, recommendations below

Recommended Reading/ Educational Resources: 

  • Fast Facts
  • VitalTips
  • Primer of Palliative Care
  • GeriPal Podcast

Assessment

  • Daily feedback on clinical performance
  • 5–10-minute presentation at end of rotation on a palliative care topic to be presented at IDT

Administrative Information Heading link

  • Elective Number

    ELEC 219
  • Program Contacts

    Director: Tanjeev Kaur, MD
    Email: tkaur@uic.edu

    Coordinator:  Elizabeth Franco
    Email: efranco9@uic.edu

  • Program Information

    Location: UI Health
    Duration of Elective:  2 weeks or 4 weeks
    Night Call: No
    Weekends: No
    # of Students Accepted: 1 Min, 2  Max
    Housestaff Used as Faculty:  No
    Number of hours per week:   40
    Lectures/Conferences/Faculty Contact: Yes
    Laboratory: 0
    Independent Study:  0
    Outpatient:
    Inpatient:  40
    Total Hours /Week:  40