“There are people who have life-limiting illnesses in every area of health care, and I think what the framework highlights is that these competencies are needed by all healthcare practitioners.”
Kathleen Yue, Director of Strategic Initiatives
BC CENTRE FOR PALLIATIVE CARE
“There are people who have life-limiting illnesses in every area of health care, and I think what the framework highlights is that these competencies are needed by all healthcare practitioners.”
Kathleen Yue, Director of Strategic Initiatives
BC CENTRE FOR PALLIATIVE CARE
Working together to achieve a common goal: high-quality palliative care.
Collaboration on a Global Scale
The BC Centre for Palliative Care has made significant progress in building the palliative care capacity of health care providers over the years. Initially, their focus was on developing palliative care competencies specific to British Columbia in 2019. Building on their success, the Centre contributed to the development of the pan-Canadian competencies. Now, the organization is transitioning to using the pan-Canadian competencies in their current activities. Over several years, the BC Centre for Palliative Care undertook a collaborative journey with their partners that included leaders, healthcare providers, and educators. The Centre also benefitted from the knowledge and experience shared by teams in other provinces and countries.
This collaborative effort resulted first in the formalization of competencies that serve as a standardized framework for palliative care. Moreover, the Centre went on to create inter-professional, accessible learning resources and ECHO sessions based on the competencies. These resources are designed to enable the provision of high-quality palliative care in every setting and every region of British Columbia. They can also be accessed by learners outside of the province.
Recognizing the importance of nationwide cooperation, the Centre is already connecting with organizations across Canada that share the commitment to promoting quality palliative care. The pan-Canadian competencies serve as a common foundation, facilitating the creation of shared resources and tools. They are a vehicle for ongoing, collaborative partnerships which can benefit all Canadians seeking palliative care services.
The Value of Competencies for all Healthcare Providers
Palliative care is commonly believed to be a specialty type of care that only few provide. In reality, almost every discipline in health care can and does treat individuals with a life-limiting illness, be it in hospice centres, at home, in long-term care or in hospital.
There is now a greater focus on integrating quality palliative care competencies into every health professional’s practice. While specialized care is always going to be needed, there is even more need for generalists to be competent and confident in providing high-quality palliative care.
Palliative care is and should be accessible throughout the system when and where a patient needs it. Health care organizations and professionals can use the competencies to identify learning needs and create professional development plans to ensure consistent, quality palliative care everywhere and for everyone.
Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Access to Palliative Care in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario: 2018
As a provincial non-profit organization established and funded by the Ministry of Health, the BC Centre for Palliative Care works with partners in the health system and community, along with researchers and policy makers, to fast-track the reach of advances and best practices in palliative care in British Columbia.
This project has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
This post is also available in: French
