Hospice and Palliative Care

Course overview

This course provides an overview of hospice and palliative care and describes care that meets the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of suffering patients and families. Palliative care is the overarching supportive approach that helps seriously ill patients and families address problems and improve their quality of life (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research [MFMER], 2021). Hospice is a type of palliative care specifically for those that have a terminal disease and life-limiting prognosis. The course will review theoretical models of the dying process, the psychological and physical symptoms as death approaches, misconceptions and barriers to providing end-of-life care.