Educational Material Details

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Title: AAHPM UNIPAC 5: Caring for the Terminally Ill--Communication and the Physician's Role on the Interdisciplinary Team; 2nd Edition

Author(s): Porter Storey, MD, FACP; Carol Knight, EdM

This is module #5 of as multi-series, self-study training program prepared by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care. This UNIPAC provides physicians with basic information about working on an interdisciplinary team and communicating effectively with patients, families, and health care professionals. Specific, practical information and clinical situations likely to be encountered on an almost daily basis are included to illustrate techniques for enhancing communication and team participation. Upon completion of this module, authors state the learner will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

1. Use effective strategies to communicate with patients, families and other health care professionals.

2. Use effective techniques to communicate bad news.

3. Use knowledge of family systems theory and counseling techniques to facilitate family conferences.

4. Use knowledge of the roles and functions of team members to interact more effectively as a team member.

5. Use conflict-resolution skills to promote effective teamwork.

6. Use knowledge of basic issues to guide decisions about confidentiality and obtaining informed consent.

7. Use effective techniques to manage the stress associated with caring for terminally ill patients.

Reviewers commented on the theme of respecting values and cultures throughout the module and on the utility of the case studies. They also stated, "information was presented in a very simple way though the material is a complex subject" and "this is a great reference".

TO ORDER: The Mary Ann Liebert Publications Web site

Creation Date: 1/2003

Format: Self-Study Guide Book

Purpose: Self-Study Guide

Audience(s)

ACGME Competencies: Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Patient Care

Keyword(s): Advance directives, Assisted suicide/euthanasia, Autopsy/organ donation, Care for children of dying adults, Care for dying children, Caring for families, Communications skills, Cross-cultural care, Death pronouncement, Decision making capacity/surrogates, Discussing hospice care, Do not rescucitate orders, Ethics, Family conference, Giving bad news, Grief/bereavement, Home care benefit, Hope, Informed consent, Medicare hospice benefit, Negotiating treatment goals, Personal reflection, Post-death family care, Professional burnout, Prognosis, Quality of life, Spirituality, Terminal care, Treatment withdrawal/withholding

This item is part of the following curriculum package:

• AAHPM UNIPAC Series - Hospice/Palliative Care Training for Physicians