This module will allow practitioners to develop an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to enhance palliative care for patients with a life-limiting condition and their carers, and to develop strategies for symptom control.
At the end of the module you will be expected to be able to:

• Assess health and holistic nursing/therapeutic needs of patient, their families and other carers by initiative and critically evaluate the appropriate steps for effective specialist palliative care for individuals and groups.

• Support and empower patients, their families and other carers to influence and participate in decisions concerning their care by providing information on a range of specialist palliative care services.

• Critically evaluate the medical and non-medical management of symptoms in palliative care to promote quality of life.

• Critically analyse multidisciplinary therapeutic strategies designed to promote and improve health and prevent disease in individuals and groups by identifying and selecting from a range of health and social agencies that will assist and improve care.

This module aims to enable health care practitioners to apply a systematic understanding of the patho-physiology and pharmacological management of palliative care conditions and further develop a critical, analytical, and reflective approach to the complexities of holistic symptom management, multi-professional working, empowerment, and specialist decision making.

At the end of the module you will be expected to be able to:

• Act autonomously to apply a systematic understanding of pathophysiology of palliative care symptoms to effectively assess the complex holistic palliative care needs of patient or clients, their families, and other carers.

• Systematically and critically analyse and evaluate the non-pharmacological management of symptoms in palliative care to meet the holistic health and social care needs of patients.

• Applies an in depth knowledge of pharmacological interventions in palliative care symptom management, including a critical and individualised approach to their selection in practice

• Critically explore the complexities of multi-professional working to enable a holistic symptom management approach and improve care outcomes.

• Apply in depth knowledge and critically evaluate ethical, legal, professional, and best practice frameworks to support and empower patients/clients, their families, and other carers to participate in decision making concerning symptom management and access to specialist care services.