AMA seeks educational materials on EOL care
Reference guide to be published this fall
The American Medical Association is initiating its first program of the Institute of Ethics this fall. According to Ellen Fox, MD, project director, the Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care Project (EPEC) "is an ambitious, two-year initiative designed to educate physicians across the U.S. on the essential clinical competencies in end-of-life care that every physician should have."
The project has several components, namely a standardized core curriculum that will be used to train physicians in the basic knowledge and skills needed to care for the dying appropriately, she explains. Two advisory groups of national experts in the field will develop the curriculum that is expected to combine didactic sessions, videotaped presentations, interactive discussion, and practical exercises in a two-day conference format. Participants will learn and practice fundamental skills in communication, ethical decision making, palliative care, psychosocial assessment, and symptom management.
Damon Marquis, MA, project manager, tells Medical Ethics Advisor that a consensus conference will kick off the educational effort sometime in late spring of 1998. Four regional training sessions will be scheduled for September 1998. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to attend an optional-half-day train-the-trainer session.
Fox and colleagues in the EPEC project are seeking educational materials for a resource guide that will be published and widely distributed later this fall. The guide is being designed to assist organizers of continuing medical education programs and other educational opportunities for physicians. According to Fox, the book will provide an annotated list of recommended resource materials and how to obtain them.
"We want to glean the best from all professionals in the field," says Fox. Although the project focuses on physician education, materials aimed at medical students, nurses, and other health care professionals also will be reviewed.
Materials appropriate for submission include but are not limited to the following: full curricula; individual educational modules; instructional videotapes. A speaker’s list also is being compiled for publication in November 1997. Fox says the list will include recommended individuals who are available to speak on topics related to EOL care. Each speaker will have agreed to participate in the EPEC project according to agreed-upon guidelines.
Finally, a self-directed learning manual, EPEC Monograph, will be developed and made available to physicians across the country. With content similar to the curriculum, the monograph will serve as a practical alternative to physicians who cannot attend the national and regional EPEC conferences. Physicians who complete the monograph’s self-directed learning program will be eligible to apply for continuing medical education credit.
Interested individuals can send education materials to the AMA. Contact: Ellen Fox, MD, and Damon Marquis, Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care Project, Institute for Ethics, American Medical Association, 515 N. State St., Chicago, IL 60610. Telephone: (312) 464-4679.
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