Training Course in Kiev, Ukraine [Новость добавлена - 01.08.2010]

By Dr. Frank D. Ferris

“ May you dedicate your hearts and hands to comfort all those who suffer”.

At the conclusion of a recent 2-week training course in Kiev, Ukraine, 40 physicians gathered around the table to first draw their own hands in collage and then have lavender-infused water washed over their hands. This moving celebratory ceremony symbolized their joining together and dedicating their efforts to palliative care service and education as a community. From all corners of the Ukraine, these doctors were specially selected to be trainers of advance palliative care skills and knowledge in varied settings across the country.

After 4 days of classroom teaching based on Education for Physicians on End-of Life Care – Oncology (EPEC-O) and End-of-Life Nursing Education (ELNEC) curricula, plus sessions on education, presentation and facilitation skills, the group coalesced to develop a sense of fun and camaraderie. The group then divided in order to begin bedside activities at four different clinical sites.

In the 6 days that followed, the team dynamics blossomed. Participants met and interviewed patients with complex problems related to AIDS, cancer and the elderly. In collaboration with the managing physician, they developed a comprehensive palliative care plan for each patient. These small case-based groups were rich with tears and laughter as the full humanity of the doctors, patients and families were explored at depth.

The US faculty included Dr. Frank D. Ferris, Course Director, Dr. Shannon Moore, Dr. Susan Bodtke, Ms. Mary Wheeler, an advanced practice nurse, and Ms. Rosene Pirrello, a clinical pharmacist. They taught during the first 2 weeks of a 4-week Train-the-Trainer initiative hosted by the Institute of Gerontology and Institute of Palliative Medicine and Hospice at the P. L. Shupik National Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education (NMAPO). The International Renaissance Foundation (IRF), Open Society Institute, and The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice were co-sponsors of the program.

How to relieve distressing symptoms with currently available in-country medications was emphasized, but future-based teaching was also provided. In anticipation that a broader range of medications will one day be available, and that revised prescribing practices will be the norm, scientifically-based pharmacology was reinforced to build the foundation of evolving international palliative medical therapeutics.

Some were initially resistant, “no, we can’t do that here.” However, as the participants saw the effect of the evidence-based prescribing practice, they experienced the patient transformations often seen when highly skilled palliative physicians are empowered to act. In addition to the strict focus on the bio-physical aspects of patient care, there was a holistic embrace of the patients and their concerns. Using courageous questions, the doctors experienced a deeper engagement heart to heart, witnessing the depth of humanity and dignity of these very ill and sometimes abandoned ones.

The finale reflected a tender journey taken together. The response to the invitation to join hearts and hands to create a Palliative Care community across Ukraine, and in unity with others globally, was a resounding “Da!”

Note: Photo consents on file for everyone in the photograph

Dr. Ferris is a member of the IAHPC Board and the Director, International Programs, San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care, a teaching affiliate of the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. To read more about Dr. Ferris please visit: http://www.hospicecare.com/Bio/f_ferris.htm

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