OVERVIEW

Palliative Care in Surgery: Not Just for "When All Else Fails" is organized by Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and will be held on Nov 20, 2020.

Program Overview:
The Palliative Care in Surgery: Not Just for “When All Else Fails” webinar will introduce the concept of concurrent palliative care for surgical patients. The webinar will highlight the partnerships between palliative care and surgery, while discussing the importance and appropriateness of palliative care for patients at all stages of serious illness, not just end of life.
Dr. Ana Berlin will review the common misconceptions prevalent in the surgical culture. We will review the complex role that modern surgeons play as both providers and gatekeepers in meeting the palliative needs of their patients. Surgical palliative care is ideally delivered by surgical teams as a component of routine surgical care, and includes management of physical and psychosocial symptoms, basic communication about prognosis and treatment options, and identification of patient goals and values. The indications for referral of surgical patients to specialty palliative care will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives:
• Introduce concept of concurrent palliative care for surgical patients and the role that surgeons have in meeting their patient’s needs.
• Discuss the palliative care partnership with surgery and methods used to promote the incorporation of ethics and professionalism of palliative care into the surgical setting.
• Describe the benefits of palliative care of early intervention to improve the patient’s care experience.
• Understand the misconceptions of palliative care in the surgical setting.