title: Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Curriculum Teaching Team-Based Palliative Care Integration in Oncology.
abstract: For students of the health care professions to succeed in today's health care environment, they must be prepared to collaborate with other professionals and practice on interdisciplinary teams. As most will care for patients with cancer, they must also understand the principles of palliative care and its integration into oncology. This article reports the success of one university's effort to design and implement an interdisciplinary curriculum teaching team-based palliative care in oncology which was mandatory for medical, nursing, social work, and chaplaincy students. Quantitative evaluation indicated that students made significant improvements related to palliative care knowledge and skills and readiness for interprofessional education. Qualitative feedback revealed that students appreciated the experiential aspects of the curriculum most, especially the opportunity to observe palliative teams at work and practice team-based skills with other learners. While there exist many obstacles to interprofessional education and hands-on learning, the value of such experiences to the learners justifies efforts to initiate and continue similar programs in the health sciences.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA. barbara.head@louisville.edu.|MedCenter One, Suite 330B 501 East Broadway, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA. barbara.head@louisville.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Head
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schapmire
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Earnshaw
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.|University of the Free State, Bloemfontain, South Africa.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faul
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville School of Nursing, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Monica Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Woggon
authors.affiliation: Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical Education and Palliative Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D058025:Interdisciplinary Studies; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D010166:Palliative Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011361:Professional Competence; D013663:Teaching
keywords: Cancer education; Interdisciplinary teams; Interprofessional education; Palliative care