Project Structure and Activities

Structure

This project represents a partnership of two important groups - those involved in palliative and end-of-life care and education, and those involved in providing education in undergraduate and postgraduate medicine. Therefore, the Project Management Committee, which oversees the project and the activities of the core implementation team, reflects a balance between experts and Canadian leaders in palliative and end-of-life care and education, and leaders in medical education. The following groups will be involved in identifying the committee members:

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada;
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association;
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Committees of the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians; and
Working Group on Education for Formal Caregivers (of the Canadian Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care).

In addition, there is representation from Health Canada's Canadian Secretariat on Palliative and End-of-Life Care.

The Project Management Committee communicates with and seeks advice from a larger resource group including:

The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing;
The Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada and the Canadian Pharmacists Association;
The Canadian Association of Interns and Residents;
The Canadian Federation of Medical Students;
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada;
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
The Medical Council of Canada;
Québec palliative care education leaders;
University faculty of medicine educator opinion leaders established through the project and their local project teams;
Leaders in palliative care.

This National Palliative and End-of-Life Care Education Project Team is responsible for identifying, developing and maintaining resources to support the various activities of the project (personnel, teaching materials, models, training, etc) with expert assistance. The Team implements and oversees the various activities of the project and provides leadership, stimulate change and provide and support training.

This Project Team will consist of the paid staff of the project. The members of the team are:

A project physician leader - Dr. Larry Librach
A project manager - Ms. Louise Hanvey
An administrative assistant - Ms. Jennifer Kavanagh.

Key Activities

The first step of this project will be to build consensus among key leaders in academic medicine - Deans and Associate Deans in the Medical Schools, and the leaders in palliative and end-of-life care and medical education - around the objectives of the project.

The Education for Formal Caregivers Working Group (of the Canadian Strategy on Palliative and End-of-Life Care) has begun the process of consensus building for the development of common competencies in palliative and end-of-life care. The Working Group has produced a list of specific common competencies for a number of disciplines - including medicine - based on a consensus building process. The EFPPEC Project will work collaboratively with the Canadian Strategy on Palliative and End-of-Life Care Education for Formal Caregivers Working Group so that common competences and education standards for undergraduate trainees postgraduate trainees in the key clinical specialty areas, (e.g., internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery, medical and radiation oncology, family medicine, critical care, emergency care, etc.), are developed.

Undergraduate and postgraduate interdisciplinary curriculum change teams are being developed at each of the seventeen medical schools. These local teams include members from various disciplines, such as nursing, social work and pharmacy, as well as members from undergraduate medical education and postgraduate clinical specialties. These teams will include palliative and end-of-life care educators, educators in non-palliative care areas, local opinion leaders and undergraduate and postgraduate training committee members.

The teams will provide local leadership in identifying needs, opportunities, gaps and strategies related to palliative and end-of-life care at their respective medical schools and implementing and guiding the integration of palliative and end-of-life competencies (undergraduate and postgraduate). In collaboration with these teams, the Project Team will develop a strategy or process for the interdisciplinary teams to address the gaps at that specific university and to educate these teams in being effective agents of change.

Opinion leader training, faculty development and the networking and information sharing across Canada are important components of the Project. Approaches to faculty development will be adaptable to accommodate the needs of individual universities. Existing programs will be adapted and built upon.

Annual palliative and end-of-life care education symposia are an important aspect of the Project. Each year, a one-day educational symposium on palliative and end-of-life care will be integrated into the large national and international meetings held in the fall.

The project will encourage the integration of palliative and end-of-life questions in licensing and certification examinations. This will be done in consultation/collaboration with the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; the Medical Council of Canada, the Federation of Medical Licensing Authorities of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada.