MAKING HISTORY: THE ROAD TO A BETTER FUTURE
A GATEWAY TO PROVIDING QUALITY PALLIATIVE CARE FREE TRAINING MODULES AVAILABLE FOR AGED CARE NURSES AND PROVIDERS
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lder Australians often have diverse and complex needs. The Aged Care Royal Commission’s case studies remind us of these differences: Ms J, a resident in her 90s, is showing symptoms of depression; Mr N receives aged care services at home but is very unwell and has become withdrawn; Ms G lives in residential aged care because her advanced chronic lung disease requires access to on-site medical services; and Mrs C is increasingly frail with declining mobility. Aged care users rely on the skills, knowledge, and compassion of nurses to provide care and ensure quality in their daily living, including as they approach the end of their life. The importance of a capable and confident aged care workforce, including nurses with specialised geriatric training, is increasingly evident. While training initiatives such as the Aged Care Transition to Practice Program will support general aged care nursing skills, there are also specific knowledge and practice needs. The Aged Care Royal Commission’s final report reminds us: ‘Residential aged care is often a person’s final place of residence before they die. Palliative and end-of-life care, like dementia care, should be considered core business for aged care providers.’ Aged care training needs to build capability in palliative care with its focus on quality of life and support for the person and their family. palliAGED, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, has been providing palliative care evidence, practice information and resources for aged care since 2017. In late 2019, they introduced the palliAGED Practice Tips booklets for careworkers and nurses. A free set of introductory modules that draw on, and complement, the widely used palliAGED Practice Tip Sheets for nurses, is now available to all nurses and services in aged care. These modules were designed to help nurses who are beginning in aged care or who are new to palliative care. They draw on the best available evidence and deal with common palliative care issues and concerns.
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The modules introduce core concepts, support the use of aged care and palliative care evidence by nurses, and provide links to practical resources for care. Available online in a user-friendly format, each module takes about 15 minutes to complete. Not only are the modules an easy and effective way to get started, they provide a gateway to key resources within palliAGED and to additional palliative care education and training opportunities. The new modules were developed with the assistance of staff at Opal HealthCare and members of an expert review group. Gabrielle Prest, Opal’s National Clinical Systems Project Manager & Palliative Care Project Lead, says palliAGED is improving their service delivery. “The palliAGED modules have become a valuable part of Opal’s new comprehensive Palliative Care program for 2021 in building skills and knowledge in palliative and endof-life care and will help new staff feel more comfortable and confident in providing care,” she said. “The modules will allow Opal to reach many more of our approximately 6,000 team members and will complement other education and training initiatives.” palliAGED offers the perfect way to introduce aged care nurses to palliative care and start them on a learning pathway. Older Australians are depending on it. Katrina Erny-Albrecht and Jennifer Tieman, palliAGED. For more information visit www.palliaged.com.au
