CareSearch Blog: Palliative Perspectives

The views and opinions expressed in our blog series are those of the authors and are not necessarily supported by CareSearch, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health.
 

Free palliative care online training helping people live well with chronic illness

A guest blog post from Alison Verhoeven, Chief Executive, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association

  • 7 September 2016
  • Author: CareSearch
  • Number of views: 7088
  • 2 Comments
Palliative Care has become widely recognised as one of the most vital disciplines in Australian health, with our ageing population and increasingly effective medical treatments bringing about longer and longer final care stages of life.

Palliative care can be an awkward subject to broach – it is difficult to talk about death. However, given our ageing population and our rising rates of chronic and complex disease, including increasing instances of multiple morbidities, these discussions have never been more important and following the discussion, we must meet the growing need for carers with palliative care skills.

AHHA’s (Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association) free Palliative Care Online training portal offers self-paced training in six modules to health professionals and carers who provide palliative care to members of their community. It includes the knowledge, skills and values that are required to communicate and contribute to the care of clients in the community who have a life limiting illness and or are approaching the final stages of the normal ageing process.

The free online training provides those working in end-of-life and chronic disease care with a great opportunity to gain an insight into best-practice delivery, to ensure their clients are kept as comfortable and happy as possible at the end-of-life.
The training can be completed entirely at your own pace. The online modules have been developed to help participants:
  • Reflect on the needs of people and their families as they approach the end of life
  • Build your screening and assessment skills
  • Develop confidence in having end of life conversations, especially around Advance Care Planning
  • Invest in your own self‑care and build resilience, and
  • Connect you to a wider network of experts who can support and assist you.
The first four modules cover topics including a palliative approach to care, planning and assessment, providing care, and delivering a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting. More recently, two new modules have been developed which delve into pain management and recognising deteriorating clients.

In addition to the six modules, the online training portal also houses a resource library and participant forum, as part of AHHA’s ongoing commitment to delivering state-of-the art training for those working in the health sector.

Whether you work in aged care, acute or primary care, chances are you’ll find yourself at some stage caring for someone with a terminal illness.

Every person’s needs are unique and sorting your way through the emotional and social stresses faced by a dying person and their family can be difficult.

The Palliative Care Online training program has been developed to help health professionals and carers who provide palliative care to aged persons in the community. Over 27,000 people have taken advantage of this self-paced, free training and you can now access it to help you develop your skills and confidence, so that the next person you care for at the end of their life will benefit.
 






Alison Verhoeven, Chief Executive, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association
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Tags: palliative care CareSearch end-of-life palliative approach life limiting illness palliative perspectives online training chronic illness Australian health ageing palliative care online modules

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2 comments on article "Free palliative care online training helping people live well with chronic illness"

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Jennifer Tieman

13/09/2016 1:49 PM

Thank for the information on the modules. Great numbers. Do most people do multiple modules or only one or two? I am interested in what your participants felt were their most important education and knowledge needs.

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Rose

29/11/2017 3:50 PM

Please iam interested .... Send me where to register

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The CareSearch blog Palliative Perspectives informs and provides a platform for sharing views, tips and ideas related to palliative care from community members and health professionals. 
 

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