Education Network for Availability, Accessibility and Transferability of Learning
AIIHPC brings the providers and consumers of education, and service users together to ensure that the required learning opportunities are available, accessible and of the highest quality.
AIIHPC will develop an Education Network involving the stakeholders of palliative care education; including the universities, hospice education teams, accreditation bodies, and relevant representation from users, carers and communities. This group will meet on a quarterly basis to consider the current realities relating to palliative care education. They will help to prioritise key initiatives, and will implement appropriate sub-committees to drive specific initiatives (as outlined below). The Director(s) for Education and Training will play a key leadership role in the Education Network.
The Education Network, with appropriate sub-committees and support, proposes the following initiatives:
- Supporting professional bodies in the establishment of core competencies for palliative care. To support workforce planning and development, robust core competencies are required for different professional groupings (e.g. nursing, social work, AHP, etc.) at the different levels of palliative care delivery (including specialist and non-specialist palliative care). The Institute will facilitate an appropriate process for core competency development, building on international experiences, e.g. competency development in Canada, UK, and EAPC.
- Translation of palliative care qualifications and experience to European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) equivalence. Achieving a consistent standard for assessing and comparing the level of palliative care qualifications will facilitate transparency and coherence in the sector and enable employment mobility. An appropriate subgroup including the relevant accreditation bodies will develop a framework for the application of ECTS to all palliative care education and for the accreditation of prior and experiential learning (APEL). Ongoing, AIIHPC will provide practical advice and support (e.g. through a series of open 'clinics') to education providers in meeting ECTS requirements.
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Promoting the availability and accessibility of palliative care education. Having identified the specific needs within palliative care education AIIHPC will:
- Work with existing providers to leverage expertise and minimise unnecessary duplication. The result will be streamlining of programmes for quality, efficiency and critical mass of education expertise across the island of Ireland.
- Drive the availability of relevant education through commissioning of new palliative care education programmes where specific needs have been identified. Develop greater accessibility of existing education programmes through supporting the adoption of innovative delivery methods (online streaming, DVD, blended learning, etc) and collaborations for programme delivery.
- Working with key partners (e.g. IHF, NICaN, IAPC), implement targeted campaigns around understanding of the palliative care approach to care in the wider health sector, with a focus on supporting improved palliative care practice across a range of settings.
- Work closely with relevant academic education providers to support and enable the consistent delivery of foundation palliative care education within undergraduate programmes.
Work Package 3 offers:
- Transparency of palliative care education and qualifications allowing measurement of learning
- Employment mobility for palliative care staff
- Critical mass in palliative care education
- Consistent delivery of high quality and accessible palliative care education
- A collaborative culture across the palliative care education sector
- Appropriate palliative care education for a range of professions