Integrated Palliative & End of Life Care

The normal minimum requirement is a degree equivalent to UK first-class or second-class honours (2:2 or above) in a health or social care related subject. Other subjects may be considered subject to a successful interview. You must be currently working in a health care setting. If you have a minimum of five years’ experience working within health and social care, you may be able to access the programme without a degree, subject to a successful interview, if you are able to demonstrate evidence of relevant continuous professional development.

This PGCert is designed to make palliative and end-of-life care real, meaningful and accessible for all frontline clinical staff. The programme is suitable for nurses (community, hospital, nursing home, hospice), health and social care practitioners, allied health professionals, paramedics and doctors (GPs, specialist doctors and doctors in training). You will gain enhanced knowledge, confidence and competence in assessing the palliative and end-of-life care needs of patients and their families. Individual disease groups will be analysed and the trajectory of dying assessed, looking for similarities and differences and seeing how these might be managed. In addition to this, you will learn how to manage symptoms and address concerns arising across the four domains of holistic care (physical, psychological, spiritual and social). Ethical and legal aspects of care will also be considered.

Assessment methods vary according to the demands of each module and include written assignments, designing a teaching pack, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), portfolios, seminar presentations and work-based learning projects.