The Department of Anaesthesiology in collaboration with the Institute of Nursing Education and Research AIIMS Bathinda conducted a Capacity Building Training Program in Palliative Care for Healthcare Providers in association with the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) from 29 November to 1 December 2024. The program aimed to equip healthcare providers with essential skills and knowledge to deliver compassionate care to patients in their end-of-life journey.
The training saw enthusiastic participation from stakeholders, including Community Health Officers (CHOs), ASHA Facilitators, Nurses from Civil Hospital and from AIIMS Bathinda, along with nursing faculty from the Institute of Nursing Education and Research (INER). The training program was meticulously designed to combine theoretical insights with practical applications in palliative care.
The first two days of the program were dedicated to academic learning, focusing on the core areas of palliative care including the principles and holistic approach to end-of-life care, pain management, effective communication strategies to foster empathetic and meaningful conversations with patients and their families, ethical decision-making, addressing grief and bereavement, care during death, and symptom management.
Along with that, sessions included interactive discussions, role plays, and problem-solving exercises where participants shared their personal dilemmas encountered in community settings. These activities created a collaborative learning environment, encouraging healthcare providers to explore innovative solutions to ethical and psychosocial challenges in palliative care.
The final day was dedicated to providing participants with real-world exposure to home-based palliative care. Healthcare providers were guided through practical demonstrations and field visits, enabling them to understand the logistics of home care for terminally ill patients.
This hands-on experience was instrumental in building confidence among healthcare workers to provide holistic care beyond clinical settings. To encourage and celebrate outstanding contributions, selected healthcare workers were felicitated for their exemplary work in the community.