National Palliative Care Week is taking place this week between 21-28 May. The theme for this year is ‘You matter, your care matters. Palliative care can make a difference.’ The focus of this year’s theme is aged care, both residential and in the community.
“Every Australian deserves access to high quality palliative care, regardless of their age or where they reside as palliation can be required at every stage of life including children through to the elderly. The Australian College of Nursing supports palliative care in all settings including in the aged care sector to improve the quality of life for individuals,” Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward explained.
“I would like to thank all palliative care nurses for their incredible work and dedication to improving patient wellbeing as we celebrate National Palliative Care Week.
“Palliative care nurses are an integral part of the palliative care team that provides invaluable support to individuals and their families at often very difficult times. As more Australians are ageing we need to make sure the palliative care sector is well-resourced and equipped to provide the most appropriate options for people in need.
“A key message resulting from ACN’s inaugural Policy Summit which took place on 21 April 2017 in Canberra is the need to increase the affordability and accessibility of home-based palliative care to support greater choice for individuals,” Adjunct Professor Ward said.
The Australian College of Nursing offers courses in subjects starting in July 2017 relevant to palliative care nursing, including:
Symptom Management in Advanced Disease States
Assessing and Managing Adult Pain
Paediatric Pain – Assessment and Management
For further information about any of ACN’s courses please visit our education webpage: https://www.acn.edu.au/education
