The California State University Shiley Institute for Palliative Care has announced the keynote speakers headlining this year’s National Symposium for Academic Palliative Care Education and Research. Quality in Palliative Care: Fusing Education, Research and Practice will be held Oct.11-12, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina in San Diego. The event, designed for educators and practitioners, fosters collaboration and innovation in teaching, research, and patient care, with the goal of improving care and quality of life for seriously ill patients and their families.
Palliative care provides those with a serious or chronic illness – from the time of diagnosis throughout the course of treatment – care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and treating suffering. It is delivered by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, pharmacists and other practitioners to address the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and their families.
Steady Growth Since First Event
The Symposium, building on the momentum of its two previous national conferences, is expected to draw more than 200 faculty and clinicians from across the U.S. and foreign countries. “One of the Institute’s four strategic pillars is the advancement of palliative care education and research. We convene the Symposium to stimulate conversations and catalyze new work among educators and researchers, to ensure that tomorrow’s healthcare professionals are prepared to support patients and their families with the additional level of support palliative care provides,” said Jennifer Moore Ballentine, Executive Director of the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care.
Adam Shapiro, PhD, the Institute’s Director of University Relations and Research, and Professor of Sociology at CSU San Marcos, said, “In order to achieve the transformation necessary for palliative care to become the standard of care nationally, we need higher education faculty and researchers to share innovations in teaching the field, and explore opportunities for research and collaboration.”
The symposium will feature nationally recognized presenters including:
- Daniel Johnson, MD, FAAHPM, National Physician Lead for Palliative Care for Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute. A recipient of multiple teaching and leadership awards, Dr. Johnson will deliver the opening address, underscoring the importance of weaving palliative care tenets into all levels of instruction, research, and practice.
- Jennifer Wolff, PhD, Theresa A. Harvath, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Kathleen A. Kelly, MPA, will participate in a plenary panel on how caregiving impacts families. Dr. Wolff is Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Harvath is Executive Associate Dean at The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and the founding director of the school’s Family Caregiving Institute. Ms. Kelly is Executive Director of the Family Caregiver Alliance and the National Center on Caregiving.
- Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW,Professor and Head of the Department of Social Work at North Carolina State University and a prestigious John A. Hartford Faculty Scholar, will present her research on why some people choose to forego the physical, social, and spiritual support available through palliative care, and how interdisciplinary teams can improve access, quality, and outcomes for those needing palliative care.
- Marie Bakitas, DNSc, CRNP, NP-C, AOCN, ACHPN, FAAN, Marie L. O’Koren Endowed Chair, School of Nursing, and associate director, Center for Palliative and Supportive Care, University of Alabama at Birmingham, will conclude the event, weaving together the threads of the conference with the threads of her own work, to ensure all diverse populations can access palliative care.
Program Agenda Published
Each hour of the two-day Symposium will provide learning, sharing, and networking opportunities. In addition to the keynote sessions, concurrent sessions will feature workshops on topics ranging from the use of simulation labs to reinforce learning, to experiences of a healthcare system implementing its palliative care program. Paper and panel sessions will expose participants to a wide range of current research and practice in the field. An evening poster display will close the first day. The program can be viewed here.
Seed Grant Applications Now Being Accepted
Seed grant funding to support projects that advance palliative care education and research with a focus on seniors or family caregivers of seniors will be awarded at the Symposium. Applicants from accredited academic institutions in the U.S. are invited to apply for funding, with preference given to applicants who completed their terminal degree with the past 10 years or whose entry into palliative care research or teaching has been within the past 10 years. More information can be viewed here.
Mission Bay Is Welcoming Destination
The two-day conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina in San Diego, California. Known as America’s Finest City, San Diego offers near-perfect weather every day, the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, vibrant beaches, and activities for every preference. To learn more or register for the conference, please visit csupalliativecare.org/symposium or call the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care for more information at 760-750-7289.
About the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care
The CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care is dedicated to increasing access to and awareness of palliative care by educating current and future professionals as well as community members. It offers palliative care-focused professional development and continuing education courses that are enhancing the skills of current and future healthcare professionals across the country and around the world.
The Institute convenes the Symposium annually to focus on academic palliative care education and research, aligning itself with current goals of academic instruction: the creation and dissemination of knowledge; the application of knowledge to professional work; and the stimulation of groundbreaking research and scholarship in both clinical and nonclinical settings.
Housed within one of the largest university systems in the United States, the California State University Shiley Institute for Palliative Care helps organizations, professionals, and communities prepare the palliative care workforce needed to meet the growing needs of chronically or seriously ill people in all care settings.
