April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Teaching Palliative Care Communication: An Innovative Interdisciplinary Approach
Ryan et al. (2020) pointed out that “the most prominent reason for the confusion around the definition of palliative care is likely its gradual ‘upstream migration’ from its traditional realm at the end of life to soon after the diagnosis of any serious disease” (Introduction, para. 3). In order to overcome this “confusion” for Registered Nursing, Health Professions, and Communication majors, a Professor of Nursing (PN) and a Professor of Communication (PC) collaborated on an innovative approach to teaching palliative care communication.
PN and PC developed a unique hybrid, interdisciplinary, intercultural course. First offered in summer 2018 at the National University of Ireland in Galway (NUI-G), that included guest lecturers on palliative care in Ireland, plus opportunities for visits to University Hospital Galway and a local hospice. In addition, the Laura Lynn Pediatric Hospice in Dublin provided presentations by several members of their Interdisciplinary Team and a tour of their one-of-a-kind Irish facility.
This four-week course with two-weeks pre-Ireland, online focused on the history of palliative care and its Communication in USA; one-week in Ireland, in-person with intercultural opportunities (lectures, hospital, hospices) to learn about their approach to palliative care communication; and one-week post-Ireland, online focused on similarities and differences between the USA and Ireland. The course was also offered in summer 2022 with a 2-course total of 18 undergraduates (RN, health professions, and Communication majors) and 4 graduate (MSN and DNP) students. Students’ post-course, self-reflections included the following:
We traveled to Galway to learn about palliative care in Ireland, so their lectures were truly important. . . it was nice to hear different opinions about palliative care and have discussions regarding the fact that we still need to do more [USA] to make palliative care a norm for chronically and/or terminally ill patients. (BSN student, 2018)
“It made me truly recognize how important global collaboration and communication are because Ireland could learn from the US and vice versa. I never took the time to recognize how important communication is” (BSN student, 2022).
Based on student feedback, in 2023 PN and PC offered Palliative Care Communication: USA & Italy in Florence with the experiential learning opportunities as in Ireland. The 11 (RN, health professions, and Communication undergraduates) and 1 Communication MA student were able to attend lectures and tours of adult and pediatric hospitals, a long-term care facility, and facility for housing parents and children during palliative care treatments. One self-reflection from the cohort in Italy captured the essence of all 13 student responses, “I plan to use the knowledge I learned in this course to educate my peers and push for more education on communication and palliative care for all healthcare providers” (pre-Physician Assistant, BS major (2023). The possibilities for using similar innovative approaches to broaden information-sharing in palliative care communication are endless and only limited by an antiquated, intradisciplinary focus and/or denial of the importance for shared-learning and collaboration in order to improve palliative care access and delivery.
PN and PC developed a unique hybrid, interdisciplinary, intercultural course. First offered in summer 2018 at the National University of Ireland in Galway (NUI-G), that included guest lecturers on palliative care in Ireland, plus opportunities for visits to University Hospital Galway and a local hospice. In addition, the Laura Lynn Pediatric Hospice in Dublin provided presentations by several members of their Interdisciplinary Team and a tour of their one-of-a-kind Irish facility.
This four-week course with two-weeks pre-Ireland, online focused on the history of palliative care and its Communication in USA; one-week in Ireland, in-person with intercultural opportunities (lectures, hospital, hospices) to learn about their approach to palliative care communication; and one-week post-Ireland, online focused on similarities and differences between the USA and Ireland. The course was also offered in summer 2022 with a 2-course total of 18 undergraduates (RN, health professions, and Communication majors) and 4 graduate (MSN and DNP) students. Students’ post-course, self-reflections included the following:
We traveled to Galway to learn about palliative care in Ireland, so their lectures were truly important. . . it was nice to hear different opinions about palliative care and have discussions regarding the fact that we still need to do more [USA] to make palliative care a norm for chronically and/or terminally ill patients. (BSN student, 2018)
“It made me truly recognize how important global collaboration and communication are because Ireland could learn from the US and vice versa. I never took the time to recognize how important communication is” (BSN student, 2022).
Based on student feedback, in 2023 PN and PC offered Palliative Care Communication: USA & Italy in Florence with the experiential learning opportunities as in Ireland. The 11 (RN, health professions, and Communication undergraduates) and 1 Communication MA student were able to attend lectures and tours of adult and pediatric hospitals, a long-term care facility, and facility for housing parents and children during palliative care treatments. One self-reflection from the cohort in Italy captured the essence of all 13 student responses, “I plan to use the knowledge I learned in this course to educate my peers and push for more education on communication and palliative care for all healthcare providers” (pre-Physician Assistant, BS major (2023). The possibilities for using similar innovative approaches to broaden information-sharing in palliative care communication are endless and only limited by an antiquated, intradisciplinary focus and/or denial of the importance for shared-learning and collaboration in order to improve palliative care access and delivery.