Palliative Care: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Healthcare Professionals

Palliative care focuses on preventing and relieving suffering for patients with serious, chronic, and life-threatening illnesses, with the aim of achieving the best possible quality of life for patients and their families. Essential to establishing goals of care in keeping with the patient’s values and preferences are an effective interdisciplinary approach and skilled, consistent communication between the patient, family members, and the healthcare team, as well as providing psychosocial, spiritual, and practical support. This activity will identify the primary tenets of palliative care and the importance of incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to meet the needs of palliative care patients and their families.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this educational activity, participants should be able to

  1. Identify the primary tenets of palliative care
  2. Explain the value of an interdisciplinary team approach to meet the needs of palliative care patients and their families
  3. Recognize the developmental aspects of an interdisciplinary healthcare team
  4. Distinguish the challenges of an interdisciplinary team approach

Presenter
Jennifer Kapo Jennifer Kapo, MD
Chief, Palliative Care Service
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Associate Professor of Medicine
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut

About the Presenter
Jennifer M. Kapo, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine in Medical Oncology and Chief of Palliative Medicine at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Her focus is on developing a research mission in palliative medicine and expanding teaching opportunities for Yale-New Haven Hospital faculty, staff, fellows, residents, and medical students. In addition, Dr Kapo created an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)–certified fellowship in hospice and palliative care, which accepted its first class of fellows in 2014.

Disclosures of Relevant Financial Relationships
In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Commercial SupportSM, OptumHealth Education requires all those involved in the development of activity content to disclose their relevant financial relationships. An individual has a relevant financial relationship if such person (or their spouse/partner) has a financial relationship in any amount occurring in the last 12 months with a commercial interest whose products or services are discussed in the activity content over which the individual has control.
OptumHealth Education ensures that the content is independent of commercial bias.

Faculty Disclosure
Jennifer Kapo, MD has indicated that she has no relevant financial relationships.

Activity Planners
Sarah Chart-Hart, RN
Senior Director
OptumHealth Education

Arlene Rome, RN, BSN
Activity Manager
OptumHealth Education

Activity Planner Disclosures
All of the planners reported that they are employees of and own stock in UnitedHealth Group.

Reviewer Disclosures
To ensure fair balance and avoid bias, the content for this activity has been reviewed by an independent medical expert with no relevant financial relationships.

Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in or receiving credit for this activity.
For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board.

Participants will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the activity, which includes the following:

  • Completing the entire activity
  • Completing the Pre- and Post-Activity Assessments, Activity Evaluation, and Application for Certificate of Credit forms

You must be logged into your account to participate in this activity. Get started by clicking “Begin” and viewing the “CE Info”; then follow the prompts at the bottom of the screen. At the end of the activity, you will be able to view, save, or print your certificate of participation. The Area of Practice you indicated in your profile corresponds with your certificate type. A complete listing of all of your activities can be found under “My Account”, “My Activities.”

Method for Calculating CE Credit
CE credit was calculated by the complexity of content.

Accreditation Statement
OptumHealth Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Credit Designation Statements
Physicians
OptumHealth Education designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physician Assistants
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

Nurses
The participant will be awarded up to 1.00 contact hour(s) of credit for attendance and completion of supplemental materials.

Nurse Practitioners
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.

Case Managers
The Commission for Case Manager Certification has approved this program for a maximum of 1.00 clock hour(s) for Certified Case Managers (CCM).

Social Workers R. Cassidy Seminars, ACE provider #1082 is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the ASWB, through the ACE Program. Approval: April 15, 2015-April 15, 2018. R. Cassidy Seminars maintains responsibility for the program. Social workers should contact their board to determine course approval. Social workers will receive 1.00 continuing education (clinical) clock hours in participating in this course.

OH: Provider approved by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for (1.00) clock hours, #RCST110701

Attendance
A certificate of attendance will be provided to learners upon completion of activity requirements, enabling participants to register with licensing boards or associations that have not been pre-approved for credits. To apply for credit types not listed above, participants should use the procedure established by the specific organization to which you wish you apply credit.

Provided By
This activity is provided by OptumHealth Education.

Commercial Support
This activity is supported by Optum™ Palliative and Hospice Care.

Hardware/Software Requirements
To view this activity you will need Internet Explorer 7.0+ or Firefox 3.0+ with Windows Media Player 9+, RealPlayer 12+, or Adobe Flash Player 9+. Be sure to disable your pop-up blocking software prior to the beginning of this activity.

Target Audience

This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, case managers, social workers, chaplains, and other healthcare professionals who have an interest in palliative care.

Activity summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
Activity opens: 
03/30/2015
Activity expires: 
03/31/2017
Rating: 
0

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
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