Palliative Care Training
Online Learning – Short Courses
PALPRAC has partnered with EMGuidance (a widely used South African digital medical information hub) to develop short palliative care training courses. These courses aim to enhance healthcare providers’ knowledge and competencies in the management of pain and other distressing symptoms.
The first course focuses on the basics of morphine prescribing, dispelling myths and offering practical guidance. By improving education and equipping healthcare providers with essential skills, PALPRAC and EMGuidance are working towards better pain management and enhanced quality of life for patients in need of palliative care.
Prescribing Oral Morphine in Palliative Care
This online course, taken at the learner’s own pace, will cost R 450 and earn the learner 3 CPD points.
Enrol in the course here.
Introduction to Palliative Care
This short course course will equip healthcare and counselling professionals to assess and manage patients living with life-threatening and life-limiting illness, to improve their quality of life and to support their families in providing care at home.
This is a 10-week course presented on the UCT Vula online platform.
Each of the 8 modules requires 4-5 hours of teaching and learning. Each module is covered in a 1 week period. During this period there will also be an online discussion, facilitated by a palliative care clinician.
Contact: ce.administration@uct.ac.za or kerene.payne@uct.ac.za
Click here to register.
Next course dates: 20 January, 7 April, 21 July and 29 September 2025
Accredited and Holistic Palliative Care Programmes
Numerous courses are run by the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) throughout the year and you can obtain more detailed information on all their offerings, course formats and start dates for 2025 on their website.
Courses include:
Bereavement and Support Course (next online course starts on 28 January 2025)
Certificate Course in Palliative Nursing (starts 6 February 2025)
Introduction to Palliative Care for Professionals (next online course starts 20 January 2025)
Introduction to Palliative Care Course for Caregivers
Occupational Certificate in Home-based Care
Psychosocial Palliative Care Course
Direct all enquiries to the APCC Training Team at training@apcc.org.za.
Certificate Course in Palliative Nursing
Palliative care is essential to nursing. This certificate course equips nurses with the skills and knowledge to deliver quality palliative care across various settings. Combining theory, practice, and clinical work, it enhances patient care and professional performance.
Open to all professional and enrolled nurses registered with the South African Nursing Council. Applications close on 29 November 2024, and the course begins on 6 February 2025.
Further information can be obtained via the e-learning and day-release brochures.
Postgraduate Diploma in Palliative Medicine
Are you caring for patients with serious illness? Do you require the core competencies to improve their quality of life?
This is a one year part-time course offered by the Division of Family Medicine, UCT. There are two contact sessions of 1 week each; online learning between contact sessions.
Applications are open to all Health Care Professionals working with patients with life limiting illnesses. This includes doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, clergy: any Undergraduate degree relevant to Palliative Care.
HospiVision online course
ADDRESSING SPIRITUALITY IN PALLIATIVE CARE
Dates: 3-5 March 2025
2-4 June 2025
1-3 September 2025
Course Cost: R1050 University of Pretoria Certificate: R900
Registration: Luvhengo Tshikovele 012 329 9492
or friend@hospivision.org.za
This course, for all caregivers on the Bio-psychosocial-spiritual paradigm, is about caring for those patients diagnosed with life-limiting diseases. It covers relevant aspects of palliative care with a focus on spirituality and existential issues important in the end-of-life situation. A broad based approach is followed as it includes palliative care for those living on the streets, as well as what is of importance for those from other belief systems. As an interactive presentation style is followed, participants can bring their own personal experiences, thereby enriching the knowledge base of this course. Visit HospiVision’s website for further information.
Patch Academy Online Learning Platform
As the education arm of PatchSA (Palliative Care for Children South Africa), Patch Academy is an online learning platform offering 13 CPD accredited courses on key elements of paediatric palliative care. These self-directed e-learning courses allow you to study at your own pace and on your own schedule.
Developed by a group of South African specialists in the field and curated by content experts to be interactive and immersive, each course is accredited with General and/or Ethics Continuing Education Units by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). A certificate is earned on gaining 80% or more on completion of a final quiz.
The courses are targeted at all members of a multi-disciplinary team caring for children with serious, chronic, life-threatening and/or complex medical conditions and their families.
Two free courses are available.
Find out more at www.academy.patchsa.org
Short Course in Palliative Medicine
The discipline of Palliative Care focusses on the management of patients with life-limiting conditions including the terminal phase of the illness and management of the dying patient and their families. It deals with ensuring quality of life and well-being and ensuring dignity in death. Palliative care is a process that deals with a continuum of care from diagnosis onwards and this journey of the patient and the family of that patient mainly takes place in the community where the family practitioner is the cornerstone of co-ordinating continuous care as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
This course aims to equip the family practitioner for this critical role by enhancing the knowledge and skills of the family practitioner in the care of the patient with life-limiting disease and aging.
Duration: 12 weeks
Starting date: 2024 dates to be confirmed