Doing a course in palliative care (seeking ideas)

Jan 20, 2014

Hi,

I will be doing an e-learning on palliative care for staff at residential homes. It will cover things like how to relieve the patients symptoms (pain, nausea etc.), how to take care of the patient, how to communicate with the patient and his or her relatives and also things like the importance of actually touching the patient and fulfilling his or hers religious needs before dying.

My idea is to let the user follow a patient chronologically from when he/she gets terminally ill until the person dies and the aftermath of that. I'm thinking scenarios and simulations along the way to convey the material.

Do you have any ideas on how to improve the course, or a new idea altogether? All input is welcome!

4 Replies

Phil Mayor
Hero

over 10 years ago01/20/14 at 11:07 am (UTC)

I would build it as a branched scenario with different things happening based on the decisions that are made, if they make the correct decision reinforce the learning (you never know they may have guessed). If they make the incorrect decision either correct them of have a colleague correct them in the scenario.

Make it realistic so at any point a crisis could happen, I like the idea that the patient will die and you will follow through, perhaps have the scenario work differently if the address bereavement at an early stage before the patient dies compared to dealing with it as it happens.

the best thing is to map it out first

Nicole Legault

over 10 years ago01/22/14 at 5:56 am (UTC)

Hey there Eric!

I love your ideas and Phil's ideas about making this a scenario-based course, and having difference branched scenarios which change the outcome of the scenario depending on the decisions made along the way. This totally would make this content engaging and interesting.

An idea I thought of when I read this is, because I know in palliative care often a lot of the focus is on letting someone "die with dignity"... perhaps you could guide them through the scenarios with some type of "Patient Dignity Meter" or something similar (just an example name). As the learner makes correct decisions (such as choosing to make a bit of physical contact like resting a hand on the patients shoulder, and smiling and using warm language, etc.) it could make it so the "Dignity Meter" for the patient (or whatever is is you want to call it) can go up and up, or go down. Then, when it comes to the end of their life, based on how they treated the patient, the person will pass away with different levels of dignity. I think that helps incorporate the fact that it's really about the patient, how you are making them feel at their end of life, and how you can keep them content in their final months.

Just my two cents!!