Palliative Medicine is one of the developing medical specialties. It has been recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) and defined as an approach that improves quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness through prevention and relief of suffering employing identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems as physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
In United Kingdom, General Medical Council has held doctors guilty of serious professional misconduct because they had been unable to provide Palliative Medicine or refer for specialist Palliative Medicine. The concept of Palliative Medicine is not new. In 460 BC, Hippocrates became the father of Medicine by providing simple symptom relief. In the modern world, many developed countries do not consider Cancer services provision appropriate until the services have the back up of Palliative Medicine teams. Many developing countries, including some Muslim countries, also recognize the need for Palliative Medicine.
In Pakistan, the concept of palliative care is like a new-born baby who needs a lot of attention. According to the Global burden of diseases (2010), it is estimated that by 2025 there will be 3.9 million deaths in people aged between 30 to 69 years in Pakistan due to NCDs including cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus and mental health illnesses.
Low allocation of budget for healthcare services in a country with over 200 million population of which almost fifty percent people living below or close to the poverty line, lack of courses in medical training and drastic diversity in cultural changes demand this course, in Pakistan where the concept of palliative care in hospitals is in infancy stages, to be organized to equip and enrich our healthcare providers with the concept and hands-on training of palliative care.
The NUMS PG- Certificate in Palliative Care is designed to develop knowledge, skills and confidence of Health care professionals to care for patients and their families who have life limiting illnesses. The course is designed for a variety of registered adult healthcare professionals within primary and secondary care. It will contribute to and enhance abilities of Health care professionals to lead and drive clinically effective care with patients having advanced disease.
To improve the capabilities of health care providers to deliver compassionate palliative care for patients living with a life-limiting illness and their families, through physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social support.
To work towards specialist palliative care service with guidelines based on experience of various existing services in Pakistan and UK which would consist of:
At the completion of certificate program, the participants will be able to:
Eligibility for Award of Certificate:
The basics and advance management of palliative care will be divided into 4- courses.
This program is of 12 credit hours; details are given in the table below.
Online Contact Session Once in a week (Lecture or chat box) |
Self-study Pre-recorded lectures, case studies, forum discussion, reading material and assignments |
Online Contact Session Once in a week (Lecture or chat box) |
Self-study Pre-recorded lectures, case studies, forum discussion, reading material and assignments |
||
Course 301 |
Course 302 |
Course 303 |
Course 304 |
||
12 weeks |
5 weeks (3 credit hrs) |
6 weeks (3 credit hrs) |
12-weeks |
6 weeks (3 credit hrs) |
7 weeks (3 credit hrs) |
This is a 26-week online certificate program with hybrid workshop.
Commencements of Program |
|
Duration |
26 weeks |
Credits |
12 credits |
Number of Courses |
04 |
Starting Date (Tentative) |
November 18 2022 |
NUMS Tuition Fee Structure |
|
Registration Fee |
PKR 2000/ |
Tuition Fee for Consultants |
PKR 55,000 |
Tuition Fee Residents and Juniors |
PKR 50,000 |
Nurses |
PKR 33,000 |
Faculty |
Designation |
Qualification |
Dr Rimsha Azhar |
Assistant Professor, CTU |
MBBS, FCPS (Medicine) |
Dr Muhammad A Butt |
Consultant Oncologist UK |
MBBS, MRCP, FRCP |
Dr Muhammad Saeed |
Consultant Palliative Care KSA |
MD, FACP, CMD |
Dr Humaira Jamal |
Consultant Palliative Care |
MBBS, PhD, FRCP |
Dr Qamar Abas |
Medical Director, St Clare’s Hospice, UK |
|
Dr Fawad Ahmed |
Consultant Palliative Care KSA |
MBBS, FRCP |
Dr Tayyaba Irshad |
Consultant Palliative Care USA |
MBBS, MRCGP |
Dr Farhan Zahid Khawaja |
Consultant oncologist UK |
MBBS, FCPS,MRCPI |
Dr Sadaf Mudassir |
Founder- SPPP, GP-UK |
|
Dr Maimoona |
Senior Registrar Palliative Care UK |
MRCP |
Dr Bilal Malik |
Senior Registrar Dermatology UK |
MRCP |
Core Team Tutors mentioned above plus following faculty
Faculty |
Designation |
Dr Haroon Hafeez |
Consultant Oncologist SKH Lahore |
Dr James Grose |
Consultant palliative care, UK |
Dr Nicky Bailhache |
MBChB, MRCGP, |
Dr Zafar Javed |
Consultant Palliative Care UAE |