title: Building a transdisciplinary approach to palliative care in an acute care setting.
abstract: A transdisciplinary team is an essential component of palliative and end-of-life care. This article will demonstrate how to develop a transdisciplinary approach to palliative care, incorporating nursing, social work, spiritual care, and pharmacy in an acute care setting. Objectives included: identifying transdisciplinary roles contributing to care in the acute care setting; defining the palliative care model and mission; identifying patient/family and institutional needs; and developing palliative care tools. Methods included a needs assessment and the development of assessment tools, an education program, community resources, and a patient satisfaction survey. After 1 year of implementation, the transdisciplinary palliative care team consisted of seven palliative care physicians, two social workers, two chaplains, a pharmacist, and End-of-Life Nursing Consortium (ELNEC) trained nurses. Palomar Health now has a palliative care service with a consistent process for transdisciplinary communication and intervention for adult critical care patients with advanced, chronic illness.
authors: Clinical Resource Management, Palomar Health, USA. donnimarie@yahoo.com
authors: Donnelle
authors: D
authors: Daly
authors: Stephen Chavez
authors: SC
authors: Matzel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012947:Social Work / Q000193:education*; D029181:Spirituality