Palliative Care

During this rotation, residents should develop an approach to the following:

Symptom Control: 

•  Pain: including neuropathic & incident pain, pain in the cognitively impaired, tolerance, somatization, addiction 

• Nausea: including constipation and bowel obstruction 

• Anorexia - cachexia 

• Dyspnea 

• Delirium 

• Depression\ 

• Anxiety

Common Clinical Syndromes in cancer patients: 

• Spinal cord compression 

• Hypercalcemia 

• Hyponatremia 

• Venous thromboembolism 

• Superior vena cava obstruction 

Pharmacology: 

• Opioids 

• Non-opioid analgesics 

• Antiemetics 

• Antipsychotics 

• Antidepressants 

• Drugs for treatment of hypercalcemia 

• Drugs for sedation 

Communication: 

• Counselling 

• Discussing prognosis 

• Breaking bad news 

• Conducting a family conference 

• Discussing "Do Not Resuscitate" orders 

Other: 

• Describe the role of different members of a multidisciplinary team 

● Describe an approach to ethical decision making 

• Describe an approach to discharge planning

Updated August 2025

By the end of this rotation, residents will be graded as “progressing as expected” in each of the following and in the Global Rating.  The expected level of performance in the PGY1 year is Interpreter level,  PGY2 is Manager level, PGY3 is Educator level (See Program Information - Overall Goals and Objectives).

1. Medical Expert

• Data Collection and Clinical Reasoning: The resident appropriately collects and synthesizes clinical information to formulate a primary diagnosis and appropriate differential.

• Clinical Decision Making: The resident is able to make appropriate and cost-effective investigation and management decisions based on the context of the case and best available evidence.

2. Communicator

• Patient and Family Communication: The resident communicates with and about patients and family in a patient-centred manner.

• Documentation and Verbal Presentation: The resident appropriately documents and presents cases for new consults, progress notes, and handover of care (succinctly organized, prioritized, summarized) including answering the question asked by the referring service.

3. Collaborator

• Interdisciplinary Team: The resident works well in a team, shares work, and interacts with referring physician and other healthcare providers effectively.

4. Leader

• Efficiency: The resident prioritizes tasks and manages time effectively.

5. Health Advocate

• Patient Advocacy: The resident addresses disease prevention, risk factor reduction, and health surveillance when indicated.

6. Scholar

• Personal and Team-based Learning:  The resident demonstrates an effective personal learning strategy (reading around cases, appropriate use of resources) and shares knowledge with other team members.

7. Professional

• Scope of Practice: The resident is trustworthy and responsible, knows limitations (asks for help appropriately), and responds well to feedback.

Assessment

We use the following In-Training Evaluation Report (ITER):  

• Palliative Care

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)

This rotation focuses on both Foundations and Core of the Discipline EPAs. Due to scheduling, a resident may do this rotation during Foundations or Core. Residents are allowed to start Core of Discipline EPAs during the Foundations stage. This rotation is an ideal learning environment for the following EPAs:

• FD2: Managing patients admitted to acute care settings with common medical problems and advancing their care plans

• FD6: Discussing and establishing patients’ goals of care

• CD3: Providing internal medicine consultation to other clinical services

• CD9: Caring for patients at the end of life

  • CD9A/Form 1: Approach to symptom management

  • CD9B/Form 2: Discussion about transition to C-level Goals of Care

Rotation Supervisor

Dr. Sarah Burton-MacLeod

sarah.burtonmacleod@albertahealthservices.ca

Rotation Administrator 

June Carter

June.Carter@albertahealthservices.ca 

Phone: 780.735.7727 (Tues-Thurs)