Nora McKee

Interprofessional palliative care problem-based learning: Evaluation of a pilot module as a teaching and learning method

The demand for high-quality palliative care continues to escalate as life expectancies increase and illness trajectories lengthen (Teno et al., 2004). Integral to providing excellent end-of-life care is a team-based approach that draws upon the expertise of diverse health care providers (Mularski, Bascom, & Osborn, 2001) and hence the need for interprofessional education (IPE), ‘‘occasions when two or more professions learn from, with and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care’’ (Oandasan & Reeves, 2005). This report describes the evaluation of a Problem-based Learning (PBL) (Barrows & Wee, 2007) module in palliative care developed for health science students at the University of Saskatchewan. The interprofessional authors collaborated because of involvement with the local EFFPEC project (Educating Future Physicians in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, 2004) and were granted funding from a Health Canada initiative in Saskatchewan called P-CITE (Patient-Centered Interprofessional Team Experiences, 2008). The objective was to create and evaluate an educational tool to accelerate education in palliative care, interprofessional collaboration and the use of PBL methodology.

Engaging with the Community to Enhance Primary Health Care

Primary health care as defined by the World Health Organization in 1978 is: essential health care; based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable methods and technology; universally accessible to all in the community through their full participation; at an affordable cost; and geared toward self-reliance and selfdetermination (WHO & UNICEF, 1978).