Text Box: Editor’s Notes William Farr, PhD, MD Vice Chair

Nine Hospice and Palliative Medicine Training Programs Accredited

Programs Train Physician Specialists to Alleviate Suffering of Patients with

Life-Threatening Illness

“Silver Spring, MD – The Palliative Medicine Review Committee (PMRC), a joint committee of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM) and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), announced today that nine physician fellowship training programs successfully completed the new PMRC accreditation process, becoming the first physician training programs in the U.S. to receive accreditation specifically in hospice and palliative medicine.

To receive accreditation, the programs had to demonstrate in their applications that they were in substantial compliance with all of the requirements in the voluntary program standards adopted by the PMRC. The program standards were developed through a three-year consensus process funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Open Society Institute's Project on Death in America.

The program standards require programs to offer at least 12 months of training experience covering the key knowledge and competencies needed to be a successful specialist physician in hospice and palliative care. Training programs must arrange for fellows to care for patients in inpatient settings, community settings (including Medicare-certified hospices), and ambulatory settings. Consultation services, longitudinal care and exposure to bereavement support must also be part of the training experience.

Training programs are designed to prepare physicians for a career in academic or community-based medicine as palliative medicine specialists. Trainees must have already completed residency training in a primary care specialty, such as internal medicine or family medicine……

The accredited training programs and fellowship directors are:

· Beth Israel Medical Center, New York NY. Russell K. Portenoy, M.D.

· The Harry R. Horvitz Center for Palliative Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland OH. Susan B. LeGrand, M.D.

· Marshfield Clinic. / St. Joseph's Hospital, Ministry Health Care, Marshfield WI

Tomasz R. Okon, M.D.

· Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston MA. Vicki Jackson, M.D., MPH

· National Institutes for Health, Bethesda MD. Daniel L. Handel, M.D.

· San Diego Hospice and & Palliative Care, San Diego CA. Charles von Gunten, M.D., Ph.D.

· University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA. Robert M. Arnold, MD

· The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX. Suresh K. Reddy, M.D.

· VA Palo Alto Health Care Service & Stanford University School of Medicine,
Palo Alto CA . James Hallenbeck, M.D.” …

“Further information may be found at the website of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine http://www.abhpm.org/?ref=fellowships.”

The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) is now accepting abstracts for its 2nd Annual Conference, 27 - 29 January 2005, at the Wyndham Phoenix, in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. The meeting is dedicated to Translating Psychosocial Oncology Research into Interdisciplinary Practice and will bring together the top leaders in the field.

Please visit www.apos-society.org for abstract submission and more information on the meeting. The current deadline to submit an abstract is 6 August 2004.

A preconference training program on Thursday, 27 January 2005 will be made up of full day and half day workshops including the following:

· Persistence Pays Off: Getting Your Research Funded (full day) - Diana Jeffery, PhD, National Cancer Institute

· Genetics in Psychosocial Oncology (half day) - Kathryn Kash, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University

· Psychopharmacology (half day) - William Breitbart, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

· Technology in Psychosocial Oncology (half day) - Mitch Golant, PhD, The Wellness Community

Problem-Solving (half day) - Peter Trask, PhD, The Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School

The Annual Conference will be held Friday, 28 January 2005 - Saturday, 29 January 2005. Two full days with two tracks of sessions and symposia will explore the latest research and hot topics in the field. Continuing Education credit will be available. You will not want to miss this ground-breaking conference. Submit an abstract now via www.apos-society.org!

We hope to see you in Phoenix!

Sincerely,

APOS 2nd Annual Conference Planning Committee

The Biennial Scientific Meeting on Pain Management 2004 with the

theme 'Asia Against Pain' will be held on 11-12 September 2004 at Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.

This is a biennial scientific meeting of The Pain Association of

Singapore, co-organised by National Cancer Centre & National Neuroscience

Institute.

The meeting aims to gather the healthcare professionals, working in the

field of pain, to share and exchange knowledge and experiences in a favourable and

informal setting.

Event: "Asia Against Pain" - Biennial Scientific Meeting on Pain

Management 2004

Dates: 11 - 12 September 2004

Venue: Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore

Registration Fees: SGD150.00 (Nurses & Paramedical) / SGD200.00

(Medical)

Website: www.pain.org.sg

Contact: [email protected] / Tel: (65) 6357 7162

CDC - Organised Training Workshop on Palliative and Home - based Care in Nigeria

Recently the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program (CDC GAP), Nigeria, in collaboration with Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland,Baltimore,USA and the Federal Ministry of Health organised a two-day training workshop on the state of the art approaches to Palliative Care.

Dr. Folaju O.Oyebola was one of the 26 participants nominated to be trained on Palliative and Home-based Care and the Workshop took place on May 6-7,2004 at Abuja , Nigeria.

The Workshop was part of CDC-GAP Nigeria`s overall country plan to assist in building national capacity for improved care and treatment services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

Carla S. Alexander, MD and Fay A. Burrs were the distinguished resource persons with wealth of experiences and passion to establish Palliative Care in Nigeria.

The climax of the workshop / Training was the birth of the "NIGERIA PALLAITIVE CARE ASSOCIATION ". It is on record that this was the biggest and first ever gathering of Palliative Carers form all the corners of the country. No doubt this is the beginning of good things to come and we hope that other Carers all over the world will support the nascent association and nurture it .

courtesy: http://www.wadn.org/wahcp

2^NDANNUAL CONFERENCE

Advanced Learning in Palliative Medicine

February 17 – 20, 2005

Le Westin Resort, Tremblant, Quebec

Sponsored by: Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto and the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians

Building on the success and great collegiality of Banff in 2004, the Committee brings you a challenging program set in the beautiful Laurentians at the five-star, Le Westin Tremblant. Tremblant offers world-class skiing and snowboarding with 92 trails and four mountain faces. Located just 90 minutes north of Montreal, this European-style pedestrian village is famous for its old-world charm.

ACCREDITATION (Approximately 12 hours):

· Mainpro-M1 Credits of the College of Family Physicians of Canada

· Section 1 of the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Category 1 of the Physician’s Recognition Award of the American Medical Association

Westin Tremblant Room Features: All units are equipped with kitchenette, gas fireplace, and high-speed Internet access as well as many additional luxury amenities.

Detailed program and registration form will be available by October, 2004.

Please contact us if you do not receive a copy by October 12, 2004.

Continuing Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

500 University Avenue, Suite 650, Toronto ON M5G 1V7

416.978.2719 / 1.888.512.8173

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.cme.utoronto.ca

IAHPC Clearing House Project

Donate books and journals to be sent to colleagues in developing countries. Contact Ms. De Lima @ [email protected]

Join IAHPC

Please consider joining the IAHPC’s effort to improve palliative care in developing countries. We recently developed a new sliding fee schedule. Join by Clicking on this secure Membership Application —>

http://www.hospicecare.com/join.htm

International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care News On-line