Partners with AAPA and PAHPM Physician Assistant Organizations
May 17, 2017 (SAN DIEGO) – The California State University Shiley Institute for Palliative Care (Institute) has announced the release of its newest course which will provide physician assistants (PAs) with vital education about palliative care. A collaboration between the Institute and the Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAHPM) culminated with the creation the course, “What Every Physician Assistant Needs to Know About Palliative Care.”
Physician assistants are an important and under-utilized group of health care providers that can help to address the shortage of qualified palliative care professionals.Helen McNeal, Executive Director of the Institute
Released at the American Association of Physician Assistants (AAPA)’s annual meeting this week in Las Vegas, the online course was created by a team of palliative care professionals, including physician assistants (PAs), to provide this growing group of clinicians with knowledge about what palliative care is, the benefits of providing palliative care, the care settings in which palliative care is used, and care skills to incorporate into their practice such as delivering bad news, when to refer, symptom management, and goal setting.
“Physician assistants are an important and under-utilized group of health care providers that can help to address the shortage of qualified palliative care professionals” said Helen McNeal, Executive Director of the Institute. “We are pleased to partner with AAPA and PAHPM and their members to offer the first palliative care educational program specifically for PAs. And, this is just the beginning of our offerings for educating PAs in palliative care.”
Nadya Dimitrov, DPM, PAC, Clinical Associate Professor and Assistant Director for the Physician Assistant (PA) Post-Professional Masters Program at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY, and chair of the Education Committee for PAHPM, made a statement about this important collaboration: “Physician assistants, as part of the interdisciplinary palliative care team, can expand the workforce of medical professionals that deliver palliative care in many areas, such as: advanced illness, critical care, geriatrics, emergency medicine – as well as in facilities where PAs already practice: skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, private practices and ICU settings. PAHPM is pleased to be leading physician assistants into the 21st century healthcare world by providing this new continuing medical education opportunity to our members,” added Dimitrov.
Palliative care provides those with a serious or chronic illness – from the time of diagnosis throughout the course of treatment – care that addresses not only physical needs but also their psychosocial, emotional and spiritual needs and optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and managing suffering. It is delivered by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, pharmacists and other practitioners. According to the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, more than 90 million Americans are living with serious illness today and this number is expected to significantly increase with more than 10,000 U.S. baby boomers turning 65 every day.
Interested physician assistants are invited to view more information on “What Every Physician Assistant Needs to Know About Palliative Care” at https://csupalliativecare.org/organizations/what-every/physician-assistant/
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. Housed within the largest university system in the United States, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the trained palliative care workforce needed to meet the growing number of chronically or seriously ill people in all care settings, today and tomorrow.
About the Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAPHM) is a non-profit membership based specialty organization affiliated with the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Members practice in clinical, research, and education settings. The purpose of this organization is to educate PAs on the fields of Palliative and Hospice medicine, grow these areas of medicine through the use of PAs, and advocate for PA rights in Hospice care.
CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care Media Contact:
Contact: Steve Dahl
(760) 750-7292
