Education

The Education Centre in St. Patrick’s Hospital (Cork) Ltd. was founded in 1987 and is part of the service provided by a specialist palliative care unit.

Education provided by the Education Centre includes academic, continuing professional development and in-service education.

Academic Education:

Postgraduate Diploma in Palliative Care
The School of Medicine, University College Cork in partnership with St. Patrick’s Hospital (Cork) Ltd. offer a Postgraduate Diploma in Palliative Care as an interdisciplinary programme. The Postgraduate Diploma in Palliative Care is a taught programme taken on a part time basis over a minimum of two and a maximum of four academic years from the date of first registration of the programme. This programme is designed to increase the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals in palliative care.
Click here for more information on this programme
Click here for application procedure. (pdf)

Continuing Professional Development:

Fundamental Aspects of Palliative Care:
This 4 day programme is designed for registered nurses and professional health carers working in all health care settings. The aim of the programme is to develop the learner’s fundamental palliative care knowledge, attitude and skills thus enabling participants to apply the principles of palliative care in their clinical practice so as to improve the quality of life of palliative care patients and their families.
Click here for more information on this programme. (pdf)
Click here for an application form. (word)

An introduction to end - of - life care for staff working in acute and long stay care settings for older people – a one day programme
This is a one day programme designed to provide Health Care Assistants and Registered Nurses working in acute and long stay care settings for older people with the knowledge and confidence to provide quality end-of-life care. The course content includes an introduction to the palliative care approach, national standards for end-of-life care and communicating with the dying patient and their family.
This course has category 1 approval from An Bord Altranais.
Click here for more information on this programme. (pdf)
Click here for an application form. (word)

Care of the Older Adult in Continuing Care programme:
This is a 5-day programme aimed at registered nurses to provide them with specific knowledge on caring for the older adult in continuing care facilities based on current research and evidence-based practice. The course content includes an introduction to care of the older adult, Government and local reports and strategies on caring for older people, the physiology, psychology and sociological aspects of ageing, symptom management related to older persons, legal aspects, pharmacological issues, palliative care and bereavement for older persons.

This course has Category 1 approval from An Bord Altranais.

Introduction to Bereavement 5-day programme:
This programme is for all grades of healthcare staff in hospitals, in nursing homes and in the community. The aim of the programme is to increase knowledge of the physical, psychological, sociological and spiritual aspects of bereavement. The programme content includes introduction to loss, the theoretical models of grief and bereavement, grief along the lifespan, psychological, sociological and spiritual aspects of grief and bereavement, grief in difficult circumstances and unresolved grief.

N.B. This course is NOT designed to train bereavement counsellors.

The course has Category 1 approval from An Bord Altranais.

The one-day programme on the Graseby MS16A Syringe Driver and its use in palliative care:
This programme is aimed at registered nurses and doctors to increase their knowledge and skills regarding the use of the Graseby MS16A Syringe Driver in palliative care. The programme includes an introduction to the Graseby MS16A Syringe Driver, the pharmacology of common drugs used in palliative care, the practical utilisation of the common drugs administered via the Graseby MS16A Syringe Driver and a practical based workshop on using the Graseby MS16A Syringe Driver in palliative care.

This programme has Category 1 approval from An Bord Altranais.

N.B. This one-day programme can be given as an outreach programme in other hospitals.

One-day Programme on the Management of Pain in Palliative Care:
This programme is designed for registered nurses and doctors and includes an introduction to pain, the physiology of pain, pain assessment and pharmalogical and non-pharmalogical pain management strategies in palliative care.

Should you require information or advice on a specific patient-related issue, multidisciplinary team members lecturing on the courses also provide support and advice and will be happy to answer your queries in the area of palliative care, bereavement care and care of the older person.

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