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Core Palliative Care Skills for Medical Students
This Learning Pathway contains training in core clinical skills to help medical students understand the needs of patients living with serious illness and how palliative care can help. Topics include an introduction to the principles and practices of palliative care, communication techniques for effective conversations with patients and caregivers, and pain assessment. This pathway contains approximately 4 hours of learning activities.
Understanding Palliative Care
Introduction to Palliative Care
An introduction to palliative care, how it is delivered, its impact on quality of life, and the growing population of patients who need it.
Communicating Effectively During Serious Illness
Discussing Serious News
Learn best practices for having patient-centered conversations about a serious illness diagnosis.
Clarifying Patient Goals of Care
Learn best practices for building trust, eliciting patient values, and having patient-centered conversations about goals of care.
“I Don’t See Color” Means You Don’t See Me
Why clinicians must unlearn well-intentioned but ultimately harmful conventions about race and ethnicity—and strategies to move forward.
Managing Pain Safely and Effectively
Course 1: Pain and its Impact on Our Patients
Learn to define and characterize pain, recognize the prevalence of pain, understand disparities in pain management based on race, ethnicity, and gender.
Course 2: How to Perform a Comprehensive Pain Assessment
Learn the components of a comprehensive pain assessment and its importance in safe and effective pain management.
Course 3: Matching Treatment to Pain Type
Gain an overview of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic pain treatments, including risks and benefits, and learn how to match the analgesic to pain type.
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