Palliative Care with Human Face

22-26 December a palliative care training took place in Ivano-Frankivsk. This training session was funded by the PLWH Network and International Renaissance Foundation. 29 persons from all over Ukraine took part in this training session. The issues of particular psychotherapeutic and medical interventions while managing patients in the terminal stage and life improvement models were covered in the course of the palliative care session. In the opinion of the participants the most important topics were dignity therapy, communication of sad news, pain management, reflections of each multidisciplinary team member while working with a terminally ill patient and his family.

The following international experts in palliative care took part in the training: Mark Sherman, medical psychologist (Member of the Palliative Council, Rambam Medical Centre from Haifa, Israel) and Ella Muller, Director of Oncological and Hematological Division (certified palliative care specialist from the Rambam Health Care University in Haifa, Israel).

The training purpose was to develop professional skills in palliative care, to form the sense of coherence in participants, psychologists of multidisciplinary teams working in hospices and HIV treatment and care projects. In the course of the training the participants were familiarized with diagnostic methods and symptomatic treatment of terminally ill patients and developed skills of individual management of such patients and acquired group work skills.

The trainers paid a special attention to the communication role in palliative care. They outlined communication principles patient-doctor, patient-nurse, doctor-nurse. The trainers also indicated an important role of a psychotherapist in the course of communication among the patients, health care staff and social workers. They also emphasized that the expertise gained by the Israeli health care system in hospice management demonstrated essential state cost reduction for diagnostics, treatment and care of hospital patients and prolongation of life term.

Professional burnout syndrome is a special topic which was covered at the training session. Many participants emphasized that it was one of the most important issues of the training session. Working in the palliative care area the specialists often go through heavy emotional stresses which get accumulated and affect psychological and physical health of care givers and patients. Therefore the trainers specially stressed the issue of professional emotional and physical burnout of hospice staff and palliative care units and the role of a psychotherapist in supporting proper team spirit.

Due to high professional expertise of the trainers, trustworthy relations were created within the group which resulted in giving way to complex feelings and emotions, their realization and reconsideration.