Office of Palliative Care

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The Office of Palliative Care was established in 2007 to provide leadership in palliative care health professions’ education. As one of only a few in the country located within a medical university, the Office has heightened the visibility of palliative care among students, faculty and practitioners. A dedicated interprofessional advisory committee offers guidance and expertise in clinical and behavioral sciences, humanities, spiritual dimensions and ethics. The highly active Palliative Care Student Interest Group is a solid thread in the fabric of NEOMED, providing community service and enrichment opportunities.

Palliative Care Education at NEOMED

Cohesive curriculum that spans all four years of medical education assures that all students learn the fundamental principles of palliative care and develop skills to provide compassionate holistic care to patients and families experiencing severe, chronic or life-threatening conditions across the lifespan.

Educational initiatives embody humanistic, ethical, and lifespan perspectives for interdisciplinary team-based care. “Caring attitudes” build relationships among professionals, patients and families based on trust, compassion and open communication.

A hallmark component of the curricula is the Hospice Patient and Family as Teachers experience. Medical students, as a part of their required family medicine rotation, are linked with a community hospice agency, paired with a hospice patient and make three home visits. For many students this is one of the most powerful experiences of their education.

Building Caregiver Partnerships

Co-produced with Summa Health System to sensitize and enlighten students, health professionals, and the community to the rewards and the responsibilities of family care giving of an elder family member through a chronic and terminal illness. Families share their care giving stories, their challenges, their rewards and their advice to other families and to health care professionals.

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Pediatric Palliative Care Educational Film Series

Life, Love and Legacy through Pediatric Palliative Care

Developed in partnership with Akron Children’s Hospital. The short film features seven families who share stories of unthinkable journeys – caring for their own seriously ill or dying children. It shows what care can and should be for all. The film was aired on Western Reserve PBS.

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