Intentionally Interprofessional Palliative Care: Synergy in Education and Practice

About

DorAnne Donesky PhD ANP-BC is an adult nurse practitioner and professor emerita at University of California San Francisco. Dr. Donesky is the founding faculty and nurse lead for Practice-PC a longitudinal interprofessional palliative care continuing education course for practicing clinicians. Clinically DorAnne has over 25 years of experience in pulmonary symptom management and palliative care-supporting patients with chronic lung disease through clinic visits pulmonary rehabilitation clinical research and Better Breathers support group facilitation. She is a fellow of the American Thoracic Society and a fellow of Hospice and Palliative Nursing through the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association a Cambia Sojourns Scholar and a Macy Faculty Scholar. Michelle M. Milic MD FCCP is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH) in the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and the Division of Palliative Care Medicine. As a clinician educator Dr. Milic's clinical and scholarly work focuses on finding collaborative cross-sectoral and patient-centered answers to questions that often arise at the intersection of these specialties. The Georgetown motto is cura personalis or care for the whole person which is the essence of compassionate and holistic care. Dr. Milic infuses this concept into practice by bringing interprofessional palliative care principles to patients with advanced lung disease those who are critically ill in the intensive care unit (ICU) and those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS. As a Cambia Sojourns Scholar Dr. Milic leads interprofessional teams conducting educational workshops called Improving Palliative Care Teamwork in the ICU- Interprofessional Education (IMPACT-IPE). The program is designed to provide communication skills training team-based support and to address moral distress for clinical ICU teams. Improving communication and functionality in an ICU can improve the work culture and create a sense of camaraderie trust and support which in turn builds the essential trust necessary for teamwork and ultimately improved patient care. Naomi Tzril Saks MA MDiv BCC serves as an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Division of Palliative Medicine at University of California San Franciscos Department of Medicine. She is an inpatient palliative care chaplain chaplain supervisor and director of the Individual and Collective Wellbeing Program for hospice and palliative care fellows. She was ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi and is a board certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School a Master of Arts degree in Business Management from Antioch University and completed seminary with ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Prior to serving in health care she founded a national non-profit educational organization focused on economic wellbeing and social activism with women and girls. Cara L. Wallace PhD LMSW APHSW-C is the Votsmier Endowed Chair and a Professor in the School of Nursing at Saint Louis University and is coordinator for SLUs Interprofessional Gerontology Certificate Program in the School of Social Work. Her scholarship primarily focuses on end-of-life care and barriers and access to hospice care. Dr. Wallace is funded by NIH/NINR and her work is informed by years of experience as a social worker in hospice and hospital systems. She is a Cambia Sojourns Scholar and a 2020 recipient of Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Networks Award for Excellence in Psychosocial Research.