Our Palliative Care MasterClass – as evaluated by you

Our Palliative Care MasterClass is one of our newest courses to date. Developed in response to delegate requests following Dr Ed Richfield’s course content on palliative care within the Parkinson’s MasterClass, the course goes into more depth and detail on the various aspects of palliative care in neurology from diagnosis to end of life.

Examining this complex and emotive area by drilling into specific neurological conditions Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), dementia and motor neurone disease (MND) in order to look at the nuances of each, much of the content is cross conditional, with practical challenges like swallowing and less tangible, but no less important topics like spiritual welfare all featuring in this packed two-day course.

Following our latest course, over 80% of attendees shared that they will modify their practice as a result of the teaching, with 100% of attendees evaluating the overall quality and usefulness of the course at a level ‘4’ or ‘5’ and over 70% of attendees awarding it a ‘5’ – the highest rating.

Neurology Academy’s ethos is to deliver ‘the stuff you can’t get in books’ and this course is no different, with one delegate noting that.

Inspirational

Our unique palliative care course is delivered by a varied faculty with a wealth of knowledge and experience including course designers Dr Rosse Dunne and Dr Ed Richfield. Rated highly, their sessions are ‘motivating’ and their enthusiasm for their topics is clear. ‘What knowledge and grasp of the subject! Inspiring!!’ said one delegate of Dr Dunne.

Dr Suresh Chhetri surprised some delegates with his humane and heartfelt presentation on palliative care in MND.

Putting learning into practice

The use of case studies throughout the course helped delegates to practically understand and apply the learning they were receiving, and a number of presentations were described as ‘thought-provoking’ with one delegate noting that the session on MS by Dr Siva Nair ‘prompted me to do my own thinking around the disease and symptom management’ whilst MS nurse Sarah White’s exploration of dysphagia ‘will definitely help in day to day practice.’

Occupational therapist Jenny Casson’s presentation on a non-pharmacological approach to the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) caused a number of delegates to really consider their own practice.

‘This was a very interesting session, very clearly explained and practical tips to put into practice.’ said one delegate.

Others noted that Jenny ‘raised new ideas to manage complex issues’ and ‘really made me think about how I interact with patients and their carers.’ Her presentation, described as ‘practical; full of great ideas’ was ‘well delivered and thought provoking’ and gives a depth of examination to BPSD seldom seen in courses elsewhere.

‘Symptomatic and supportive management’ was another cross-conditional presentation delivered by Dr Suresh Chhetri and Pauline Callagher, MND nurse coordinator, provided ‘some really great practical solutions that I wasn’t aware of.’ The duo also received brilliant feedback for their other talks on ‘recognising the end of life’, ‘care of the dying’ and ‘burden of the caregiver and support’, with every presentation rated as ‘inspirational’ or ‘excellent’.

Interested in attending?

We are always looking to improve our courses, and to consistently tailor them to your needs so receiving clear feedback like this helps enormously. Forthcoming courses will include more opportunities for small group discussion as well as content on advanced communication skills, at the request of this courses’ attendees.

Finding out how much your colleagues and peers have gained from a course can be inspiring in itself; if you find yourself wanting to attend a Palliative Care MasterClass yourself, our next course will run in Spring 2020. Keep an eye on our website for more information or get in touch with us.