Education and Research on the Palliative Care Unit

Education on the palliative care unit

The palliative care program as well as TGHC is committed to teaching and education.  The palliative care unit is a teaching site of the Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Medical residents in Family Medicine and Palliative Care routinely complete placements on the palliative care unit.

Learners from a variety of professions also complete palliative care placements at TGHC. These includes nursing students and students doing dietician training, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, recreation therapy, speech language pathology and social work placements.

Research on the palliative care unit

The palliative care team at TGHC has been actively involved in advancing and sharing clinical knowledge about Palliative Care.

Abstracts and workshops have been presented at provincial, national and international conferences on the following topics:

• Having Complex Conversations
• Using Standardized Assessment tools to enhance Palliative Care Rounds
• Improving Pain Assessment and Management in the Chronic Care setting

We have recently published work on a qualitative exploration of the transfer experiences of patients in palliative care and the issues that they identify as important. We are currently working on a study that examines the use of the medication, olanzapine on the palliative care unit.