Geriatric Palliative Care

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the Principles : Integrate core concepts of geriatrics and palliative care to address the complex needs of older adults with chronic and life-limiting illnesses.
• Conduct Holistic Assessments : Perform thorough, multidimensional evaluations that consider physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of ageing and serious illness.
• Apply Person-Centred Approaches: Deliver individualized care that honours the values, preferences, and goals of elderly patients, promoting dignity and autonomy.
• Promote Functional Wellbeing: Focus on maintaining and enhancing function, mobility, and quality of life through evidence-informed and rehabilitative strategies.
• Strengthen Communication Skills: Engage in clear, compassionate, and culturally sensitive communication with patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams.
• Ensure Continuity and Coordination: Facilitate seamless transitions across care settings and stages of illness through proactive planning and team-based collaboration.
• Embrace Ethical and Reflective Practice: Address ethical dilemmas with sensitivity and reflect on practice to improve care outcomes and professional development.
• Advocate for Accessibility and Equity: Recognize and address barriers to palliative and geriatric care, advocating for systems that support accessible and equitable care for the elderly.
• Clinical Attachment: Bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and clinical practice by providing experiential learning, guided mentorship and in person Clinical Attachments.

By the end of the course, participants will demonstrate:

• the ability to deliver holistic, person-centred palliative care to elderly individuals living with multimorbidity or chronic conditions.
• The skills to integrate principles of geriatrics and palliative medicine, conduct comprehensive assessments, communicate effectively across care settings.
• Apply ethical, functional, and culturally sensitive approaches to care.
• Skills to translate theoretical knowledge into clinical competence through reflective practice, interprofessional collaboration, and mentored clinical attachments, thereby enhancing the accessibility, coordination, and quality of care for older adults.
• enhanced communication skills to facilitate sharing difficult diagnosis, and prognosis and making informed decisions across the illness trajectory with patient and family.

•  Hybrid learning over 6 months
  Carefully curated content combining asynchronous modules, live sessions, assessments, and clinical practice.
• Dedicated mentors
  One-on-one guidance to support learning, clinical application, and reflective practice.
• 2 live synchronized sessions per month
  Facilitated by experienced faculty to enhance interaction and contextual understanding.
• Supervised clinical engagement
  Details regarding workplace-based practical engagement will be announced soon.
• Accreditation and Endorsement:
  The course is delivered in collaboration with the Indian Academy of Geriatrics (IAG). The certification issued upon completion is jointly endorsed by APM and IAG, reflecting its alignment and recognition by leading professional bodies. These sessions not only enhance academic engagement but also build practical skills essential for delivering high-quality palliative care in diverse clinical settings across India.

• Postgraduate students in Palliative Medicine and Geriatrics
• Postgraduates from other medical disciplines and super-specialties
• Practicing doctors, especially family physicians, general practitioners, and specialists in critical care, neurology, nephrology, etc.

While 100% attendance is ideal,

• A minimum of 80% attendance is required for both online and offline components. Students are expected to inform the course coordinators in advance with a valid reason if they are unable to attend any online session. However, no module may be missed in its entirety.
• submission of all assignments is mandatory.
• Active participation in discussions, case presentations, and group activities is mandatory.
• Remain active on platform with videos on is mandatory.

• Each module comprises online tests, assignments, peer discussions, and a final end of Module Test.
• Final evaluation criteria:
  • 20% from formative assessments
  • 80% from summative assessments

Certificates of Completion will be awarded only upon:

• Meeting attendance requirements
• Completing all assignments
• Satisfying assessment criteria