An Innovative Self-Care Module for Palliative Care Medical Learners

Abstract

Palliative care is a uniquely demanding field in that clinicians routinely address the complex needs of patients living with incurable illness. Due to their relative inexperience, medical learners completing a palliative care educational experience are particularly vulnerable to the stresses that are often encountered. To address this educational need, a structured Self-Care Module was developed for medical learners rotating through a palliative care clinical rotation. Components of this module include completion of a process recording exercise, a structured reflection, and participation in a facilitated group discussion. An examination of the acceptability, utility, and operational feasibility of the module demonstrated that 86% (n=35) of learners found the module helpful in reflecting on their clinical encounters, 86% (n=35) gained an appreciation for the importance of self-reflection and self-awareness as a component of self-care and 97% (n=35) gained a greater appreciation for sharing clinical experiences with other learners. This novel Self-Care Module was found to be a well accepted, useful, and operationally feasible educational experience for postgraduate and undergraduate learners completing a palliative care educational experience.

Evaluation of the effect of a 1‐day interventional workshop on recovery from job stress for radiation therapists and oncology nurses: A randomised trial

“…It has been argued that health‐care workers have a professional duty to ensure, to whatever extent possible, that their own health is well maintained so that patient needs are met . Interventions that can increase workers' personal resources to meet the demands of job‐related stress are, however, limited for cancer care health professionals.…”

Communicating With Dying Patients and Their Families: Multimedia Training in End-of-Life Care

“…19 Yet, given the emotional toll the caring for dying patients, to which relatively inexperienced medical learners may be especially vulnerable, it becomes particularly important that EOL curriculum include acknowledgment of these challenges and offer strategies for coping and self-care. 10,18,20 -23 A recent national survey of the essential palliative care competencies for medical students identified the ability to reflect on personal emotional reactions to patients’ death and dying as one of the top medical student competencies. 24…”

Narrative Interventions in the Palliative Care Setting: A Scoping Review

“…Studies assessing outcomes in students/postgraduate physicians identified intervention goals related to cultivating humanism and professionalism, including self-care through patient connection and meaning making. Kim et al 19 in particular used a patient interview activity explicitly as part of a wider student self-care intervention. The single study focusing on post-graduate physicians/residents oriented toward preparing residents to practice the skill of being able to appreciate the emotional, existential, and spiritual aspects of caring for people who are at the end of life.…”

“…Each reflective exercise had a distinct process: in Borgstrom et al, 21 students wrote a reflective essay; in McBain et al, 22 students produced a work of expressive art (poetry, photography, etc.) companied by a written commentary; in Kim et al, 19 students transcribed their interviews, completed a reflective questionnaire, and participated in a group discussion. The study with a post-graduate physician population used an interview format based on a dignity therapy intervention that led to the production of a life review document, as well as reflection taking place in the context of the semi-structured interview used to measure outcomes.…”