Georgian College and Brightshores Health System's Research Institute are partnering up to offer palliative care simulation training to a variety of health care providers.
This research project will see numerous healthcare providers, from primary care physicians and care coordinators to community nurses and pharmacists, receive palliative care training.
Dr. Kelly Fenn, Palliative Medicine Physician at Brightshores Health System and the lead physician for this project, says palliative care isn't just about end of life care.
"It's about helping people live well in the face of uncertainty with serious illness. It doesn't have to be seen as bad or difficult, but actually, it brings out what's important in life and can provide sort of a reframing of how we live our lives and what's important," Dr. Fenn shared.
The project will see focus groups held over the summer with prospective healthcare providers, and the training part of the project will get underway this fall.
Dr. Rebecca Brookham is the first adjunct scientist at Georgian through this new partnership, as well as Director of the Brightshores Research Institute. She will help lead the research and training at the college’s Owen Sound Campus, which will include a mix of hired actors and high-fidelity manikins as simulated palliative patients. She says the project will yield positive results for palliative care across the region.
"I think it's really impactful to see these three sectors of healthcare provision, academic from Georgian College and the Brightshores Research Institute all coming together to tackle this challenge of palliative care delivery in rural regions. I think we'll see some really positive benefits for our patients and our residents throughout Grey and Bruce because of it," added Dr. Brookham.
The project was made possible through a grant from the Pan-Canadian Care Research Collaborative, through a contribution from Health Canada’s Health Care Policy and Strategies Program. The funding will make it possible to provide "three six-hour sessions in a simulated lab setting that looks like the inside of someone’s home," according to the press release from Georgian College and Brightshores.
"Georgian’s innovative simulation labs are the perfect location for this research and training to take place – not only to help advance palliative care in the Grey-Bruce region, but also to strengthen and expand our health care and research partnerships," said Dr. Mira Ray, Executive Director, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Georgian. "This partnership is a direct example of Georgian’s strategic plan to build thriving, supported communities, and it creates more localized opportunities for people to live and work in their home communities."
Dr. Fenn says the project is about researching how we can translate knowledge from book learning on palliative care into practice while improving the care experience.
"Across Canada, most people want to have the opportunity to die at home or in a home-like setting, rather than in acute care or a hospital setting. So beefing up the resources in the community, it's just so imperative," said Dr. Fenn.
Dr. Brookham adds that the training received during the project will be very in-depth.
"Georgian College is helping us with their training expertise to build the development to offer community care providers this experience that feels like you're in a home and providing care across the journey of a patient that's experiencing a near end-of-life experience," Dr. Brookham explained.
The official press release also notes that Georgian’s Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing program is "currently expanding its clinical placements into palliative care, so there’s potential to expand this new training into the college’s curriculum to even better prepare students for in-demand health care careers."