KUHS one step closer to integrating palliative care in healthcare
In 2016, Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) took a very important step by incorporating the principles of palliative care into the existing undergraduate MBBS curriculum.
In the last few years, significant progress was made with the help of many discussions between Dr. Mohanan Kunnummal, the VC of KUHS and Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India. His vision to groom medical students into humane doctors who treat their patients with a person-centred (instead of a disease-centred) approach led to a Faculty Development program, which had online and onsite components.
The online session, with a total duration of 30 hours spread over 20 weeks, covered the basics of palliative care and was attended by 95 faculty members from various medical colleges of KUHS.
This was followed by a 2-day onsite workshop at KUHS, Thrissur, held on 9th and 10th of September 2024. 25 faculty members from various medical colleges attended this highly interactive program. Topics like pain management, end of life care and advance medical directives generated a lot of discussions. The role-plays on communication stimulated everybody to reflect on the communication styles and strategies adopted by themselves.
The hands-on training program was inaugurated by KUHS Registrar Mr. S. Gopakumar. He emphasised the importance of integrating science with humanity while caring for patients.
Dr. M R Rajagopal (Chairman Emeritus, Pallium India), who gave the key note address praised the officials of KUHS for their efforts to integrate palliative care into undergraduate curriculum, thereby making a drastic improvement in patient care. Also present at the occasion were Dr.K.S.Shaji (Dean Research), Dr.V.V.Unnikrishnan (Director, Academic Staff College), Dr.Sajithkumar (Visiting Professor), Dr.Geetha Govindaraj (Professor, School of Family Medicine) and Dr.M M Sunilkumar (Director-In charge, TIPS, Pallium India).
The facilitators of this workshop, with a wealth of experience in palliative care, included Dr.Baburaj C (Professor and HOD, Dept of Anaesthesia, GMC, Thrissur), Dr. I P Yadev (Additional Professor, Dept of Surgery, GMC, Kollam), Dr. Rajasree K C (Assistant Professor, Dept of Palliative Medicine, AIMS, Kochi), Dr.Sreedevi Warrier (Head- Education and Skill building, TIPS) and Dr.M.M Sunilkumar (Driector-In Charge, TIPS, Pallium India).
At the conclusion of the workshop, the attendees expressed their eagerness and willingness to integrate palliative care into undergraduate curriculum. They shared the opinion that specialists and super specialists as well as at least two faculty members from each department should be trained in palliative care. Interesting discussions ensued regarding the catalysts and barriers in implementing palliative care in MBBS curriculum.
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